exoplanet Archives

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Why is JWST Having So Much Trouble with the TRAPPIST-1 System?

A new step-by-step roadmap describes how to improve the efficiency of data gathering with the JWST to benefit the astronomy community at large. “Our hope now is that a large-scale community effort guided by the roadmap can be initiated to yield deliverables at a timely pace,” says MIT Associate Professor Julien de Wit. Credits:Image components courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.

When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched it came with a fanfare expecting amazing things, much like the Hubble Space Telescope. One of JWST’s most anticipated target was TRAPPIST-1. This inconspicuous star is host to seven Earth-sized planets, with at least three in the habitable zone. The two inner planets are airless worlds but so far there has been no word of the third planet, the first in the habitable zone. The question is why and what makes it so tricky to observe?

July 16, 2024July 16, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Webb Maps the Weather on the Closest Brown Dwarfs to Earth

An artist’s impression of the nearest brown dwarf to Earth, WISE 1049AB, (pictured main), along with an impression of the stormy weather on a brown dwarf planet (inset). Credit ESO-I. Crossfield-N. Risinger

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has done it again. A team of astronomers have used it to map the weather on a pair of brown dwarf stars. Infrared light was analysed from the pair and its variation over time was measured. The team were able to generate a 3D picture of the weather and discovered gasses in the atmosphere like water vapour, methane and carbon dioxide. Swirling clouds of hot sand were also found with temperatures reaching as high as 950 C!

June 30, 2024July 5, 2024 by Laurence Tognetti

Exomoons: Why study them? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?

Artist's depiction of an exomoon orbiting a gas giant within the star's habitable zone. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Universe Today has had the recent privilege of investigating a multitude of scientific disciplines, including impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, cosmochemistry, meteorites, radio astronomy, extremophiles, organic chemistry, black holes, cryovolcanism, planetary protection, dark matter, supernovae, and neutron stars, and how they both individually and collectively contribute to our greater understanding of our place in the universe.

Here, Universe Today discusses the growing field of exomoons with Dr. David Kipping, who is an assistant professor in the Astronomy Department at Columbia University, along with his PhD students, Benjamin Cassese and Daniel Yahalomi, regarding the importance of studying exomoons, the benefits and challenges, potential exomoon candidates, how exomoons can teach us about finding life beyond Earth, and advice for upcoming students who wish to pursue studying exomoons. Therefore, what is the importance of studying exomoons?

June 28, 2024July 26, 2024 by David Dickinson

Existing Telescopes Could Directly Observe ‘ExoEarths…’ with a Few Tweaks

The four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes of the Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory complex. ESO/VLT

One proposal offers a unique method to directly image ExoEarths, or rocky worlds around nearby stars.

It’s the holy grail of modern exoplanet astronomy. As of writing this, the count of known worlds beyond the solar system stands at 6,520. Most of these are ‘hot Jupiters,’ large worlds in tight orbits around their host star. But what we’d really like to get a look at are ‘ExoEarths,’ rocky worlds (hopefully) like our own.

June 27, 2024June 27, 2024 by Mark Thompson

That’s No Planet. Detecting Transiting Megastructures

One of the easiest ways to find exoplanets is using the transit method. It relies upon monitoring the brightness of a star which will then dim as a planet passes in front of it. It is of course possible that other objects could pass between us and a star; perhaps binary planets, tidally distorted planets, exocomets and, ready for it…. alien megastructures! A transit simulator has been created by a team of researchers and it can predict the brightness change from different transiting objects, even Dyson Swarms in construction.

May 23, 2024May 23, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Webb Explains a Puffy Planet

I love the concept of a ‘puffy’ planet! The exoplanets discovered that fall into this category are typically the same size of Jupiter but 1/10th the mass! They tend to orbit their host star at close in orbits and are hot but one has been found that is different from the normal. This Neptune-mass exoplanet has been thought to be cooler but still have a lower density. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has recently discovered that tidal energy from its elliptical orbit keeps its interior churning and puffs it out.

May 22, 2024May 22, 2024 by Laurence Tognetti

Maybe Ultra-Hot Jupiters Aren’t So Doomed After All

Artist's impression of an ultra-hot Jupiter. (Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon)

Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) are some of the most fascinating astronomical objects in the cosmos, classified as having orbital periods of less than approximately 3 days with dayside temperatures exceeding 1,930 degrees Celsius (3,500 degrees Fahrenheit), as most are tidally locked with their parent stars. But will these extremely close orbits result in orbital decay for UHJs eventually doom them to being swallowed by their star, or can some orbit for the long term without worry? This is what a recent study accepted to the Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of international researchers investigated potential orbital decays for several UHJs, which holds the potential to not only help astronomers better understand UHJs but also the formation and evolution of exoplanets, overall.

May 14, 2024May 14, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Saturn-Sized Exoplanet Isn’t Losing Mass Quickly Enough

Pablo Carlos Budassi - Own work. Simulated view of a mini-Neptune or "gas dwarf"

We have discovered over 5,000 planets around other star systems. Amongst the veritable cosmic menagerie of exoplanets, it seems there is a real shortage of Neptune-sized planets close to their star. A new paper just published discusses a Saturn-sized planet close to its host star which should be experiencing mass loss, but isn’t. Studying this world offers a new insight into exoplanet formation across the Universe.

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Astronomers Try to Directly Observe Epsilon Eridani b. No Luck. Maybe Webb Can Find it?

Back in the year 2000, Epsilon Eridani b was discovered. It is a Jupiter-like exoplanet 10.5 light years away but it has taken decades of observations to learn more about the planet. One thing that remains a mystery is it’s orbit which, until recently has been unknown. There has never been a direct image of the planet either, so now, it’s the turn of JWST to see what it can do.

April 29, 2024April 29, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Measuring Exoplanetary Magnetospheres with the Square Kilometer Array

Life on Earth would not be possible without food, water, light, a breathable atmosphere and surprisingly, a magnetic field. Without it, Earth, and its inhabitants would be subjected to the harmful radiation from space making life here, impossible. If we find exoplanets with similar magnetospheres then those worlds may well be habitable. The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) which is still under construction should be able to detect such magnetospheres from radio emissions giving us real insight into our exoplanet cousins.