Extrasolar Planets
A Space Telescope With one job: Find Habitable Planets at Alpha Centauri
Breakthrough Initiatives just announced a collaborative effort to launch a space telescope that will search for habitable planets around Alpha…
Astronomers Measure the Atmosphere on a Planet Hundreds of Light-Years Away
In a recent study, an international team of astronomers directly measured the atmospheric composition of a hot Jupiter hundreds of…
Rocky Planets Might Need to be the Right age to Support Life
In a new study, a team of Earth scientists shows how scientists could look for signs of a carbon-silicate cycle…
A Technique to Find Oceans on Other Worlds
A new study shows how next-generation observatories could directly observe oceans on exoplanets, which could narrow the search for extraterrestrial…
Astronomers Look at Super-Earths That had Their Atmospheres Stripped Away by Their Stars
A new study examines two rocky exoplanets (TOI-1634b and TOI-1685b) that appear to have been stripped of their atmospheres.
Ocean Worlds With Hydrogen-Rich Atmospheres Could be the Perfect Spots for Life
A new study has identified another class of exoplanet that could drastically increase the odds of finding life beyond the…
There are Probably Many More Earth-Sized Worlds Than Previously Believed
In the past decade, the discovery of extrasolar planets has accelerated immensely. To date, 4,424 exoplanets have been confirmed in…
NASA Continues to Try and Rescue Failing Hubble
The search for Hubble's error continues, and could involve some complex and risky operations really soon!
To Take the Best Direct Images of Exoplanets With Space Telescopes, we’re Going to Want Starshades
The Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS) has released a special edition of papers dedicated to educating the…
Most Exoplanets won’t Receive Enough Radiation to Support an Earth-Like Biosphere
According to new research, most extrasolar planets do not get enough radiation to support photosynthesis, which places limits on how…