exoplanets
Defining Life II: Metabolism and Evolution as clues to Extraterrestrial Life
In the movie "Avatar", we could tell at a glance that the alien moon Pandora was teeming with alien life.…
Exciting Exoplanet News from AAS: How Rocky Worlds are Made; Oceans on Super-Earths
Astronomers from around the world gathered in Seattle today for the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Although it’s…
Pluto-like Objects Turn to Dust Around a Nearby Young Star
A planetary system’s early days readily tell of turmoil. Giant planets are swept from distant birthplaces into sizzling orbits close…
Spectroscopy: The Key to Humanity’s Future in Space
Imagine, if you would, a potential future for humanity… Imagine massive space-elevators lifting groups of men, women, and children skyward…
New Research Suggests Better Ways To Seek Out Pale Blue Dots
The search for worlds beyond our own is one of humankind's greatest quests. Scientists have found thousands of exoplanets orbiting…
Searching for Alien Worlds and Gravitational Lenses from the Arctic
The quest for optimal sites to carry out astronomical observations has taken scientists to the frigid Arctic. Eric Steinbring, who led a team…
Chaotic Wombs May Birth Wrong-way Planets
We’ve heard it time and time again. When it comes to new exoplanet findings, our conventional wisdom never holds. So…
NASA’s Next Exoplanet Hunter Moves Into Development
NASA's ongoing hunt for exoplanets has entered a new phase as NASA officially confirmed that the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite…
Will Gaia Be Our Next Big Exoplanet Hunter?
Early on the morning of Dec. 19, 2013, the pre-dawn sky above the coastal town of Kourou in French Guiana was briefly sliced by the…
VLTI Detects Exozodiacal Light Around Exoplanets
If you've ever stood outside after twilight has passed, or a few hours before the sun rises at dawn, then…