exoplanets

Luis Calçada, a science visualization artist who works with the European Southern Observatory, chose another hot Jupiter: Vega b.“This star, which is only 25 light-years away from us, is central to Carl Sagan’s novel ‘Contact,’” Mr.…

In the 1980s, we knew of no planets outside our Solar System. This week, NASA announced more than 5,000 exoplanets. It’s quite the leap from the discovery of an odd set of planets around a dead star in 1992 that slowly opened the…

Among thousands of known exoplanets, MIT astronomers have flagged three that are actually stars. Pictured is an artist’s interpretation of stars and planets. Credit: NASA Among thousands of known exoplanets, <span…

The field of extrasolar planet studies is undergoing a seismic shift. To date, 4,940 exoplanets have been confirmed in 3,711 planetary systems, with another 8,709 candidates awaiting confirmation. With so many planets available for…

Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not…

The number of planets discovered beyond our Solar System has grown exponentially in the past twenty years, with 4,919 confirmed exoplanets (and another 8,493 awaiting confirmation)! Combined with improved instruments and data analysis,…

Astronomers have just peered into the atmosphere of one of the most extreme exoplanets ever discovered.Although it's absolutely not habitable (at least as we understand it), the exoplanet WASP-189b is the first in which scientists have…

Artist impression of an earth-like exoplanet. Credit: NASA Life thrives at stable temperatures. On Earth, this is facilitated by the carbon…

Is there life beyond our solar system? A team of international astronomers has taken one step closer to answering this time-old question.New research published on Tuesday has uncovered what could be an important clue in understanding if…

Vega is arguably one of the prettiest stars in the night sky. Brilliant and blue, it's the sparkling sapphire that marks the constellation Lyra high in the northern sky. It's one of the brightest stars in the sky, due to it…