Exoplanets
- Astronomy
First known exoplanets have few counterparts
The first known exoplanets were discovered around pulsars — probably one of the least likely places to have been found, astronomers now say.
- Astronomy
Choose Ninja, Cervantes or Rosalind as names for exoplanets
Names for 20 exoplanets are in the hands of a discerning online audience.
- Astronomy
Faint red stars can build water worlds drip by drip
Rocky planets around faint red stars have a hard time getting water, but they’re still probably the most common habitable locales in the Milky Way, new computer simulations suggest.
- Space
Best cosmic ‘cradles of life’ may be elliptical in shape
Giant elliptical galaxies might harbor up to 10,000 times as many Earthlike planets than galaxies like the Milky Way.
- Astronomy
Kepler telescope identifies new ‘habitable zone’ planet
A new analysis of data from NASA’s Kepler mission has uncovered a planet orbiting a sunlike star that could be Earth’s “cousin.”
- Space
Search for E.T. gets financial boost
Search for extraterrestrial intelligence gets a $100 million donation from a Russian entrepreneur.
- Astronomy
Beta Pictoris planet makes waves
Spiral waves whip through the belt of debris around a young star — and it’s all a giant planet’s fault.
- Astronomy
Super-Earths are not a good place for plate tectonics
The intense pressures inside super-Earths make plate tectonics less likely, new research suggests.
- Astronomy
Big exoplanet may be surrounded by helium
Warm Neptune-sized exoplanet might have atmospheres filled with helium.
- Astronomy
Erupting volcanoes may cause exoplanet’s temperature extremes
Temperatures fluctuate wildly on a nearby exoplanet, and volcanoes might be the culprit.
- Astronomy
Wandering planets, the smell of rain and more reader feedback
Readers consider how hard it would be to fashion Paleolithic tools, discuss what to call free-floating worlds and more.
- Astronomy
Astronomers celebrating Hubble’s past focus on its future
Astronomers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope by reflecting on its diversity and looking ahead to the future.
