Astronomers have detected an atmosphere on a rocky planet, LHS 1140 b, in the habitable zone of its host star, which is consistent with conditions for liquid water and potentially life. The discovery was made using the WINERED spectrograph on the Magellan Clay telescope and reveals helium escaping from the upper atmosphere.
Researchers have found four exoplanets orbiting Barnard's Star, all smaller than Earth and Venus, but larger than Mars. The planets' composition suggests they are rich in magnesium, which creates periclase, a mineral that does not store water effectively.
Researchers found that clouds in sub-Neptune atmospheres actively shape their interior conditions, driving temperatures higher and potentially creating magma oceans. This discovery challenges the interpretation of James Webb Space Telescope data, suggesting clouds may be distorting our view of these planets' true bulk composition.
Researchers have discovered two rare 'super-puff' planets with densities lower than candy floss, orbiting an F7-type dwarf star. The study provides a unique laboratory for understanding how these planets form and evolve, offering insights into their extremely low densities.
Researchers measured wind speeds on seven hot, Jupiter-like exoplanets and found that magnetic fields govern the winds. The team's findings provide the strongest evidence yet of magnetism on planets outside our Solar System.
Researchers found strong magnetic fields on ultra-hot Jupiters, similar to those in our Solar System. The presence of these fields could affect planetary climates and potentially create dramatic aurorae displays.
Astronomers have developed a novel method to estimate the masses of newborn planets using the properties of dust rings around stars. By analyzing the width, brightness peak location, and dust content of these ring structures, researchers can reconstruct planet masses even when those planets are too faint or embedded to observe directly.
Astronomers have found strong evidence that young red dwarf stars can swallow their own nearby planets. The study, published in Monthly Notices of the Astronomical Society, suggests that six different red dwarfs had engulfed Earth-like rocky planets, providing a fresh burst of lithium to their atmospheres.
Researchers use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to analyze light passing through a distant, temperate gas giant planet's atmosphere, revealing methane and potentially other gases. The study provides insights into planetary formation and evolution, and could improve understanding of Earth's atmosphere.
A team of astronomers using a new method to find planets has detected 27 potential circumbinary planet candidates in double star systems. The findings, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, broaden our understanding of planet formation and evolution in complex environments.
New research from McMaster University challenges existing theories of planet formation around mid-to-late M dwarfs. The study found that sub-Neptunes almost completely disappear around these stars, hosting many super-Earths instead. This suggests that water-rich worlds may be more common in these systems.
Researchers propose an agnostic biosignature that detects life on a population level by analyzing patterns of planetary traits and spatial relationships. This method prioritizes reliability over completeness, minimizing false positives even if it misses some life-bearing planets.
Scientists found that habitable planets must have sufficient water to support a geologic carbon cycle, which stabilizes surface temperatures. Arid planets in the habitable zone are unlikely to be good candidates for life due to carbon cycle disruption, which can lead to runaway warming.
An international team maps the climate of rocky exoplanets like TRAPPIST-1b and c for the first time, ruling out dense atmospheres due to extreme temperatures. The study uses James Webb Space Telescope observations to determine surface temperatures on both day and night sides.
The discovery of two planets forming in the disc around young star WISPIT 2 suggests that the system could resemble a young Solar System. The two gas giants, WISPIT 2b and WISPIT 2c, are found in clear gaps within the disc of dust and gas, indicating that more planets may be currently forming.
A new AI pipeline called RAVEN has validated over 100 exoplanets, including 31 newly detected planets, using NASA's TESS data. The study found that around 9-10% of Sun-like stars host a close-in planet, and 'Neptunian desert' planets occur around just 0.08% of Sun-like stars.
Researchers use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to study the ultra-low-density planet Kepler-51d, which defies planetary formation models. A thick layer of haze on the planet obscures its chemical elements and origin, making it challenging to discern its formation process.
Astronomers discovered a distant planetary system around LHS 1903 that breaks the pattern of rocky planets orbiting close to their host star and gas giants farther away. The system's unusual architecture suggests an inside-out planet formation process, where planets form sequentially in ever-changing environments.
A team of astronomers has discovered a planetary system with four planets that breaks the conventional pattern of rocky inner worlds and gaseous outer planets. The system, LHS 1903, features a rocky outer world, defying expectations, which may have formed in a gas-depleted environment.
Researchers using ESA's Cheops satellite find a small rocky planet in LHS 1903 system, which defies conventional understanding of planetary order and formation. The discovery sparks renewed interest in exploring alternative explanations for this unusual system.
Astronomers at UCLA and UCSD have discovered hydrogen sulfide in the atmospheres of four distant gas giant planets orbiting HR 8799, confirming their planetary status. The detection uses a new data analysis technique that will improve the search for life on other planets.
A team of researchers used spectral data from the James Webb Space Telescope to study the HR 8799 star system, finding clear evidence of sulfur on three gas giant planets. This discovery suggests that these massive planets likely formed through core accretion, contradicting older models.
The absence of exoplanets orbiting tight binary stars is attributed to the effects of general relativity, which causes gravitational tugs from the stars to make a planet's orbit precess. This process makes it difficult for close-in planets to survive, with 75% being destroyed due to tidal disruptions or ejection from the system.
Researchers have found a rare snapshot of worlds in the process of transforming into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes, the galaxy's most common planetary types. The discovery provides an unprecedented glimpse into the turbulent lives of young worlds, shedding light on their formation.
Astronomers have created a naturally occurring space weather station around complex periodic variable M dwarf stars to study the environment of planets. This discovery sheds new light on how stars affect their planets' makeup and might provide clues about the habitability of distant worlds.
An international team of astrophysicists observed four baby planets in the V1298 Tau system forming into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. The planets' low densities, comparable to Styrofoam, were measured for the first time, providing observational proof.
A Saturn-mass rogue planet has been detected via microlensing event observation from both Earth and space, enabling direct measurement of its mass and distance. The discovery provides key findings on the diverse pathways of planetary ejection, shedding light on how planets can form and become isolated.
A new study by the University of Zurich suggests that Uranus and Neptune may be more rocky than icy, challenging their classification as ice giants. The researchers developed a unique simulation process to model the planets' interiors, which found that the two planets could have either water-rich or rock-rich compositions.
A new study on TRAPPIST-1's flares could help scientists unravel how the star shapes its nearby planets, potentially in drastic ways. The researchers used observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and computer simulations to understand the physics behind TRAPPIST-1's temper tantrums.
The SPHERE instrument has produced an unprecedented gallery of debris disks in exoplanetary systems, allowing for deductions of smaller bodies. These observations provide a glimpse of the earliest history of the solar system, with small bodies serving as remnants from planetesimals that did not evolve into larger planets.
Astronomers at UCL and the University of Warwick discovered that aging stars are destroying giant planets orbiting closest to them. The researchers analyzed nearly half a million stars and found that planets were less likely to occur around stars that had expanded and cooled enough to be classed as red giants.
Researchers discovered three Earth-sized planets in the binary stellar system TOI-2267, which defies conventional wisdom on planet formation in double-star environments. The unique planetary arrangement allows scientists to test their understanding of planetary architectures and stability.
Researchers have created a new model that shows how planet formation timing influences planetary composition and density. The study suggests that older, rocky planets are less dense than younger ones due to the varying lifetimes of stars.
Researchers seek to understand the origin of eccentric warm Jupiters, which are thought to have complex formation processes. Building on precise data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, scientists aim to develop new models and update existing ones to shed light on these planetary outliers.
New research reveals that many protoplanetary discs are subtly warped, challenging the textbook picture of flat discs. These small warps can naturally explain large-scale patterns observed in gas motion and may be responsible for creating spiral patterns and temperature variations within cosmic nurseries.
Scientists found that ionic liquids, formed from sulfuric acid and organic compounds, could persist on planets too warm for water to exist. This discovery increases the habitability zone for rocky worlds, suggesting life might be possible without water.
A study by researchers at UC Santa Barbara, Yale University and others found that a third of young stars have misaligned rotational axes with their protoplanetary disks. This challenges centuries-old assumptions about the alignment of stars and planets in our solar system and suggests that some stars may be born tilted.
A new paper introduces a simple theoretical framework to describe the evolution of hot rocky exoplanets, known as 'lava planets'. The study predicts two end-member evolutionary states: fully molten interior and mostly solid interior. These predictions will be tested with upcoming observations from the James Webb Space Telescope.
Researchers used NASA's TESS mission data to estimate the sizes of over 200 exoplanets and found that many are likely larger than previously thought. This discovery could impact the search for life on distant planets, as water worlds may harbor life but lack features that help life flourish on Earth.
A team of astronomers detected a large gas giant between three and ten times the size of Jupiter hiding in the swirling disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star called MP Mus. The discovery was made using a combination of results from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Space Agency’s Gaia miss...
A recent study led by Heidelberg University astronomers has found that Earth-like planets are more common than previously thought around low-mass stars. The research team identified four new exoplanets, with the largest one having a mass 14 times greater than Earth and orbiting its host star in approximately 3.3 years.
A recent paper by SwRI-led researchers summarizes the scientific community's notable progress in advancing the understanding of the formation and evolution of the inner rocky planets. The study focuses on late accretion's role in controlling the long-term evolution of these planets, with implications for their habitability.
A new study by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) proposes that compact exoplanetary systems may be surviving remnants of planet accretion during the final stages of stellar formation. This process results in similarly sized planets with characteristic masses determined by infall and disk conditions.
Astronomers have discovered a giant planet, TOI-6894b, orbiting the smallest known star to host such a companion. The planet's existence contradicts current planet formation models, which suggest that small stars cannot form or retain massive planets.
Researchers suggest wide-orbit planets are natural by-products of a chaotic early phase in planetary system development. Simulations show that internal instabilities and gravitational influence can trap planets in extreme orbits.
Researchers use NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to investigate a protoplanetary disk around a young star in the Lobster Nebula. They found sufficient solid material to potentially form at least 10 rocky planets and detected various molecules that contribute to planetary atmospheres.
Astronomers have found the first strong evidence for a 'polar planet' orbiting a stellar pair, with the unprecedented exoplanet named 2M1510 (AB) b. The planet orbits at an angle of 90 degrees around two young brown dwarfs.
Researchers estimate that detecting no signs of life on 40-80 exoplanets would allow for an upper limit on the prevalence of life in the universe. However, uncertainties and biases in individual observations must be carefully considered to ensure reliable results.
A recent study by ETH Zurich researchers suggests that if scientists examine 40–80 planets and find no signs of life, they can confidently conclude that fewer than 10–20% of similar planets harbor life. This finding would enable scientists to put a meaningful upper limit on the prevalence of life in the universe.
Researchers found that the intense heat and pressure under new planets cause water and gas to react, creating unexpected mixtures. This reaction leads to a 'rainfall' deep inside the atmosphere, reshaping the planet's evolution for billions of years.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system. The observations suggest that four giant planets formed like Jupiter and Saturn by slowly building solid cores, providing strong evidence for core accretion as their formation model.
Researchers used TESS data to identify close-in sub-Neptunes and found that their frequency changes over time, suggesting a combination of processes shaping their formation and evolution. The study provides clues about the properties of these planets and addresses long-standing questions about their origins.
The discovery of two exoplanets around TOI-1453, a star about 250 light years away, reveals insights into planetary configuration and formation. The super-Earth and sub-Neptune present an interesting contrast in their characteristics, with the sub-Neptune exhibiting unusually low mass and density.
Researchers identify methyl halides as a potential sign of microbial life on Hycean planets with thick hydrogen atmospheres. The gas could accumulate in exoplanet atmospheres and be detectable from light-years away, offering an optimal strategy for the search for extraterrestrial life.
Astronomers have found solid evidence for four tiny planets circling Barnard's Star, with masses only 20-30% that of Earth. The discovery was made using the MAROON-X instrument and confirms previous hints from another study.
Using advanced simulations, researchers Sho Shibata and Andre Izidoro suggest that super-Earths and mini-Neptunes form from distinct rings of planetesimals, providing fresh insight into planetary evolution. Their model replicates key features of exoplanetary systems, including the radius valley and 'peas-in-a-pod' pattern.
Researchers measured exoplanet orbits, finding small planets have nearly circular orbits while giant planets have more elliptical orbits. This discovery points to two different formation pathways for small and large planets.
Researchers from UNSW Sydney have discovered a potential new exoplanet using the transit timing variation method. The new planet is estimated to be 10-16 times the size of Earth and orbits its star in under 16 days.
The Magellan Adaptive Optics Xtreme (MagAO-X) instrument observed two young planets orbiting PDS 70, revealing compact rings of dust and startling changes in brightness. The team believes these features are telltale signs of the planet's turbulent youth.
Astronomers are using the James Webb Space Telescope and high-performance computers to study the atmospheres of seven planets beyond our solar system, gaining insights into planetary formation and evolution. The KRONOS program aims to understand how planets form, evolve, and potentially harbor life.