Exoplanets

Astronomy

TESS has found the first-ever ‘ultrahot Neptune’

NASA’s TESS telescope has spotted a world that could be a bridge between other types of exoplanets: hot Jupiters and scorched Earths.

Astronomy

Gaps in gas disks around stars may not always mark newborn planets

New research has prompted a rethink of the theory that gaps in planet-forming disks around young stars mark spaces where planets are being created.

Astronomy

Moons that escape their planets could become ‘ploonets’

If giant planets in other star systems lose their moons, the freed objects could become “ploonets,” and current telescopes may be able to find them.

Astronomy

A new algorithm finds nearby stars that could host hidden worlds

An algorithm dubbed “Netflix for exoplanets” identified more than 350 stars that, based on their chemistry, might have planets orbiting out of sight.

Astronomy

This planetary remnant somehow survived the death of its sun

A small, sturdy piece of planet survived the collapse of its sun and now orbits the dead star.

Astronomy

The first planet Kepler spotted has finally been confirmed 10 years later

Astronomers had dismissed the first exoplanet candidate spotted by the Kepler space telescope as a false alarm.

Astronomy

A space rock collision may explain how this exoplanet was born

Simulations suggest a planet roughly 2,000 light-years away formed when two space rocks collided, supporting the idea that such events are universal.

Astronomy

The first suspected exomoon may remain hidden for another decade

The discoverers of the first evidence for a moon orbiting a planet around a distant star are still trying to confirm the object’s existence.

Astronomy

Less than a year after launch, TESS is already finding bizarre worlds

The TESS exoplanet hunter has spotted eight confirmed worlds in its first four months, and several of them are really weird.

Planetary Science

Hints of Oort clouds around other stars may lurk in the universe’s first light

Sifting through the universe’s early light could reveal planetary graveyards orbiting other stars.

Astronomy

The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope is dead

The Kepler space telescope is officially out of fuel and will hunt planets no more, NASA announced.

Astronomy

Hubble may have spotted the first known exomoon

A single sighting with the Hubble Space Telescope seems to confirm that there’s a Neptune-sized moon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1625b.