Search Results for: exoplanet

Space

Planets with many neighbors may be the best places to look for life

Solar systems with many planets in circular orbits suggest a calm life-nurturing past, while single exoplanets with eccentric orbits hint at chaos.

Planetary Science

Some exoplanets may be covered in weird water that’s between liquid and gas

“Supercritical” water, a corrosive substance used to break down toxic waste on Earth, coats some small worlds around other stars, simulations suggest.

Astronomy

How radio astronomy put new eyes on the cosmos

A century ago, radio astronomy didn’t exist. But since the 1930s, it has uncovered cosmic secrets from planets next door and the faint glow of the universe’s beginnings.

Astronomy

Hubble watched a lunar eclipse to see Earth from an alien’s perspective

Hubble observed sunlight filtering through Earth’s atmosphere during a lunar eclipse to see what a habitable exoplanet’s atmosphere might look like.

Astronomy

Saturn has a fuzzy core, spread over more than half the planet’s diameter

Analysis of a wave in one of Saturn’s rings has revealed that the planet’s core is diffuse and bloated with lots of hydrogen and helium.

Astronomy

The Milky Way may have grown up faster than astronomers suspected

Most of the galaxy’s disk was in place before a merger 10 billion years ago with a dwarf galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage, a new study suggests.

Planetary Science

Some ‘superpuff’ exoplanets may actually be ringed worlds like Saturn

“Superpuff” planets look fluffy and light. But for some of the worlds, the effect could instead be explained by large, rocky rings, a study suggests.

Astronomy

The definition of planet is still a sore point – especially among Pluto fans

In the 15 years since Pluto lost its planet status, scientists have continued to use the definition that works for them.

Space

‘Exotic’ lightning crackles across Jupiter’s cloud tops

Newly spotted lightning, which could form thanks to ammonia antifreeze, is weaker but more frequent than any flashes seen on Jupiter before.

Space

A new mission to investigate exoplanets has rocketed into space

The European Space Agency’s CHEOPS satellite has launched on a mission to gather intel on previously discovered planets outside of the solar system.

Astronomy

Heavy metal may rain from the skies of planet WASP 76b

Astronomers saw hints of iron rain on an ultrahot gas giant, an exoplanet where starlike atmospheric temperatures drive weird weather.