To answer significant questions about planetary systems, such as whether our solar system is a rare phenomenon or if life exists on planets other than Earth, NASA should lead a large direct imaging mission – an advanced space telescope – capable of studying Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars similar to the sun, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Do certain exoplanets mirror Earth regarding their distribution of iron and water? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to addre

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

How can the metal content of stars influence the formation of Earth-like exoplanets? This is what a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal hope

I'm trying to find a story published on Clarkes World or tor.com or something similar, in the last ~15 years? A woman protagonist is on an exoplanet, and we become aware that she's being transformed by a parasite from the planet, but her experience of it is expansive and euphoric. I think it explicitly mentions the tongue-eating louse, though I could be misremembering that bit.

NASA scientists used a neural network called ExoMiner to examine data from Kepler, increasing the total tally of confirmed exoplanets in the universe.

Orbiting Barnard's star, the nearest solo star to Earth, the world is too hot to be habitable—a scorching 257 degrees Fahrenheit

NASA's Roman Space Telescope has successfully integrated the Roman Coronagraph, a vital step in detecting planets far beyond our solar system. This tool will help block starlight, enabling the telescope to capture faint planetary light. The coronagraph marks a significant advancement in exoplanet detection, allowing the telescope to observe planets 100 million times fainter than their stars. The mission will provide insights into dark energy, exoplanets, and more, paving the way for future observatories like the Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Exoplanets in binary star systems usually orbit both stars, but astronomers have now spotted three planets orbiting one or the other star in a pair

Cham, Switzerland : Springer, [2016]

Bjazevich, Wendy, author

Using data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and Magellan II Telescope at Las Campanas Observator in Chile, astronomers have found that the atmosphere of the inflated hot Jupiter WASP-79b is almost transparent to blue light, leaving it with a yellow-tinged sky. “We’re really not sure what’s going on here,” said [...]

The far-out planet, named 55 Cancri e, is twice as big as Earth and nearly nine times more massive. It is most likely composed of rocky material, similar to Earth, supplemented with light elements such as water and hydrogen gas. Scientists estimate the planet’s surface is much hotter than ours: close to 2,700 degrees Celsius.

The post Stellar eclipse gives glimpse of exoplanet: New data reveals a ‘super-Earth’ next door, astronomically speaking appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

New research shows that aurorae on distant "hot Jupiters" could be 100-1000 times brighter than Earthly aurorae. They also would ripple from equator to poles (due to the planet's proximity to any stellar eruptions), treating the entire planet to an otherworldly spectacle.

The post Exoplanet aurora: An out-of-this-world sight appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

This Jupiter-sized world reflects less than one percent of the light that falls on it, making it blacker than any planet or moon in our solar system.

The post Darkest known exoplanet, a Jupiter-sized gas giant, discovered appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Astronomers have discovered a transiting exoplanet with the longest known year. Kepler-421b circles its star once every 704 days. In comparison, Mars orbits our Sun […]

The post Transiting exoplanet with longest known year appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

 The distant planet GJ 1132b intrigued astronomers when it was discovered last year. Located just 39 light-years from Earth, it might have an atmosphere despite […]

The post Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, But Not Life appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To answer significant questions about planetary systems, such as whether our solar system is a rare phenomenon or if life exists on planets other than Earth, NASA should lead a large direct imaging mission – an advanced space telescope – capable of studying Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars similar to the sun, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A team of Carnegie scientists has discovered three giant planets in a binary star system composed of stellar ''twins'' that are also effectively siblings of our Sun. One star hosts two planets and the other hosts the third. The system represents the smallest-separation binary in which both stars host planets that has ever been observed. The findings, which may help explain the influence that giant planets like Jupiter have over a solar system's architecture, have been accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal.

read more

Trefil, James, 1938- author

Wenz, John, author

The trifecta, discovered by NASA’s TESS, includes a “super-Earth” and two “sub-Neptunes” in a system called TOI-270.

Scientists say the planet, called K2-18b, is “the best candidate for habitability” beyond our solar system.

PIONEERING new research has indicated life can thrive on planets with hydrogen-rich atmospheres, opening up a whole new area of exploration for astrobiologists.

(Arizona State University) An interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Arizona State University, has provided a framework called a 'detectability index' to help prioritize exoplanets to study and provide scientists with a tool to select the best targets for observation and maximize the chances of detecting life.

Winds on WASP-76b blow gaseous iron into cooler regions, where it condenses and falls to the planet’s surface as liquid

Study suggests alleged exoplanet may have been a cloud of asteroid debris

The planet, being called Kepler-1649c, was discovered by the team when they were looking through the data of previous observations from the Kepler telescope, which had been retired by NASA in 2018.

The less distance from Kepler 1649 c's host red-dwarf star, scientists believe, puts the exoplanet in the habitable zone where liquid water could exist on the world's surface.

The discovery was made by a group of astronomers led by the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA). The new plant was discovered after studying six years of data.

The Nobel prize in physics has been jointly awarded to  James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth’s place in the cosmos.

These findings suggest that scientists may need to broaden their definition of what a life-supporting planet might look like.

For the first time, astronomers have spotted an exoplanet by detecting radio waves generated by interactions with its parent star

Exoplanet WASP-76b, which is about 390 light years from the solar system, has a strange iron signature in its atmosphere, suggesting the metal is raining down on the planet's night side

An enormous rocky planet orbiting a distant star may be a gas giant that has had its atmosphere ripped off, which could help us understand how huge worlds like Jupiter form

A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has demonstrated that single-celled microorganisms such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae that normally do not inhabit hydrogen-rich environments can survive and grow in a 100% hydrogen atmosphere. “There’s a diversity of habitable worlds out there, and we have confirmed that Earth-based life can [...]

Researchers have found the weird exoplanet WASP-79b, nearly 800 light-years from Earth, does not have a blue sky as our planet does. Instead, its skies are yellow.

Three 'cotton candy' exoplanets are the size of Jupiter but with a hundred times lighter mass - and NASA believes it is because they are still evolving. They are only 500 million years old.

Scientists at University of California Riverside are using NASA's new James Webb Space telescope to detect changes in light that may be suggestive of oxygen on planets outside our Solar System.

Hayden Library - QB820.P47 2018

Hayden Library - QB820.S287 2018

Hayden Library - QB820.G64 2018

Online Resource

All seven worlds circling a red dwarf could be habitable, say astronomers

When humans touch down on an exoplanet they'll need some new tools—like NASA's prototype mining robot and the Z-2 suit made for Martian hiking trips.

Hayden Library - QB820.H46 2017

Dewey Library - QB820.W46 2019

Listen to stories on how once we lose cartilage it’s gone forever, genetically engineering a supersniffing mouse, and building an artificial animal from silicon and heart cells, with Online News Editor David Grimm.  As we learn more and more about exoplanets, we find we know less and less about what were thought of as the basics: why planets are where they are in relation to their stars and how they formed. Kevin Wagner joins host Sarah Crespi to talk about the latest unexpected exoplanet—a young jovian planet in a three-star system.  [Image: Hellerhoff/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0;Music: Jeffrey Cook]