Extrasolar Planets
Large Amounts of Carbon Around a Distant Star
Astronomers have discovered a solar system with an unusually high amount of carbon; it could be at the stage where…
Metal in Planets Depends on Their Stars
Correlation between the heavy elements in transiting planets and the metallicity of their parents. Image credit: A&A. Click to enlarge…
Amateur Team Finds an Extrasolar Planet
Artist's Concept of Transiting Planet XO-1b. Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI. Click to enlarge Amateur astronomers have used inexpensive equipment to discover…
Super Earths Might Be Common
Artist illustration of a super Earth. Image credit: CfA. Click to enlarge. Nearly all the extrasolar planets discovered have been…
Block Starlight to See Planets
University of Arizona researchers have developed an "optical vortex mask" that will block the starlight from a bright star, so…
Nearby Exoplanet is Scorching Hot
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has uncovered a hot extrasolar planet orbiting a nearby star. Planet HD 189733b orbits its parent…
Icy Extrasolar Planet Discovered
Astronomers have discovered an extrasolar planet only 5 times larger than the Earth orbiting a star in the Sagittarius constellation.…
Planet Finding Instrument Should Allow Many Discoveries
A new instrument called Exoplanet Tracker has turned up an extrasolar planet orbiting a star 100 light years away. This…
Debris Disk Could Be Forming Rocky Planets
Astronomers have discovered a dusty disk around a young star that could be in the process of forming new planets.…
Earth-Like Planets Should Be Easy Spot While They’re Forming
Researchers at the Washington University in St. Louis have developed a "field guide" for planet hunters searching for other Earths.…