Exoplanets

Latest about Exoplanets

a giant blazing star hangs in the black of space, burning vibrant yellow and dark orange. A small planet sits to the right, just below the star's equator.

Could nearby stars have habitable exoplanets? NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory hopes to find out

By Stefanie Waldek published

Astronomers are using the Chandra X-ray Observatory to study stars' radiation and establish the feasibility of exoplanet habitability.

Exoplanets
a blue haze partially covers the view of a large burning yellow and orange star. A smaller orb, a planet, passes in front of the star within the haze.

Scientists find a surprise ingredient in exoplanet cake mix — sulfur dioxide

By Keith Cooper published

The presence of sulfur dioxide around a hot Neptune exoplanet with an evaporating atmosphere could help us understand how it formed.

Exoplanets
illustration of a space telescope orbiting earth, with the sun in the background

NASA funds tech development for life-hunting Habitable Worlds Observatory

By Conor Feehly published

NASA recently selected three proposals that will help develop the tech needed by its proposed life-hunting Habitable Worlds Observatory space telescope.

Exoplanets
A red world on the left ans a churning star on the right.

NASA exoplanet hunter finds 'weird' world surviving a star's relentless bombardment — it's named Phoenix

By Robert Lea published

NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter has discovered a weird world called Phoenix that has managed to hold on to its atmosphere despite being relentlessly bombarded with radiation from its red giant star.

Exoplanets
A bright yellow orb is followed by a purplish hazy tail.

This planet-forming disk shaped like a comet is struggling to survive

By Keith Cooper published

Proplyds, which are ionized protoplanetary disks, struggle to survive in the Orion Nebula as they come under an onslaught of radiation from a nearby massive star.

Exoplanets
Two disks with bright centers are perpendicular to one another in the center of the image. A rogue planet appears to be zooming away from that scene, leaving behind a hazy trail.

Rogue planets may originate from 'twisted Tatooine' double star systems

By Robert Lea published

"Twisted Tatooine" binary star systems could be a major player in ejecting rogue planets that go on to drift through the Milky Way without a stellar parent to heat or illuminate them.

Exoplanets
a mottled brown planet orbits a fiery orange star. thousands of stars dot the background

Real-life 'Star Trek' planet was actually just an illusion caused by a 'jittery' star

By Robert Lea published

Just like the fictional planet of Vulcan was wiped out in Star Trek, new research has destroyed the real-life version of Spock's homeworld, albeit in a less violent fashion.

Exoplanets
Lots of different exoplanet illustrations neatly organized in a grid pattern. They're all the same size, but different colors.

Massive new NASA exoplanet catalog unveils 126 extreme and exotic worlds

By Robert Lea published

A new catalog of the masses and widths of 126 new exoplanets showcases the extreme and exotic nature of worlds beyond the solar system.

Exoplanets
A red orb toward the top left of the screen and an Earth-looking world toward the bottom right.

NASA space telescope finds Earth-size exoplanet that's 'not a bad place' to hunt for life

By Robert Lea published

NASA exoplanet-hunter TESS has found a temperate, Earth-size world in the habitable zone of its red dwarf star. This planet could make waves in the search for life.

Exoplanets
An illustration of a red and yellow run in the top left of the screen. Three worlds are seen toward the right of the screen, two of which have leaking atmospheres.

Stars give tiny planets a gravitational 'squeeze' to strip away their atmospheres

By Robert Lea published

Modeling distant planets has revealed that tidal forces generated by their parent stars can combine with intense radiation bombardment and strip away their atmospheres.

Exoplanets
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