Articles tagged with Exoplanets
A new study by LMU reveals that microorganisms could survive in Enceladus' hidden ocean, overcoming carbon scarcity through unique metabolism. The findings strengthen the scientific case for future missions to retrieve samples from the moon's ocean-derived plumes.
A new study led by the University of Michigan rules out planets with the mass of Jupiter or larger in the 70 Oph AB binary system, but finds that smaller worlds may still exist within the habitable zone. The research achieved record-setting sensitivity for the system and opens the door for future studies of smaller planets.
A team of astronomers discovered water, methane, and ammonia in HATS-6 b's atmosphere, challenging our understanding of giant planet formation. The planet's unexpected temperature suggests cloud and haze may be responsible, raising questions about the reliability of atmospheric analysis.
The Roman Space Telescope will discover new exoplanets using the Coronagraph Instrument, which combines coronagraphs and adaptive optics for improved contrast ratios. The telescope will also investigate the history of the universe and the contributions of dark matter and dark energy.
Researchers developed a model explaining how lava-covered worlds can maintain thick atmospheres due to molten rock sloshing over surfaces. This new theory expands the cosmic shoreline framework, suggesting a 'cosmic sandbar' region where outgassing balances escape, enabling planets to retain atmospheres.
Astronomers discovered a cosmic river of gas that tilted the outer ring of GW Orionis, causing its orbital plane to deviate from its expected orientation. This finding suggests that streamers may play a significant role in shaping planetary systems.
A new study by University of Florida Assistant Professor Jason Dittmann reveals that the rocky exoplanet LHS 1140b may have its own atmosphere. The planet's age and atmospheric composition suggest a steady-state atmosphere with water, which could persist over time.
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.
Astronomers have discovered a third planet, Beta Pictoris d, in the system, which is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b and 2.4 times more massive than Jupiter. The planet's wide orbit and extreme faintness make its detection a significant achievement.
Astronomers discovered a giant planet orbiting a dead star, WD1856b, and used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to analyze its atmosphere. The study found the planet migrated toward its dead companion billions of years after the star died, surviving destruction through extreme heat.
The TESS mission has discovered a planet orbiting a distant star through microlensing, revealing a world about 1.63 times as massive as Jupiter at an orbital distance similar to Jupiter's. This finding suggests additional microlensing planets may be hidden within archived TESS observations.
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.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first direct evidence of salt clouds in a cold object's atmosphere, surrounding the 'Pink Planet' GJ504b. The discovery provides insights into the composition and formation of this ancient, rosy-hazed world, which is too faint for ground-based telescopes.
Researchers found that even small shifts between mirror segments can greatly affect the performance of image-processing techniques used to detect exoplanets. The study's findings highlight the importance of segment alignment stability for planet detection and provide valuable guidance for future instrument design.
Astronomers at Caltech IPAC have settled on a leading hypothesis for the unusual hot spot on CoRoT-2 b, a hot Jupiter that defies previous assumptions about its behavior. The planet's slow rotation speed, which is equivalent to about three Earth days per orbit, suggests it is not tidally locked to its host star.
Researchers discovered a sun-like star TOI-5882 with unusually high lithium concentrations, suggesting it has consumed a planet in the past. The team used spectroscopy to analyze light from the star and compared its results to control stars, finding that TOI-5882's lithium content is among the highest ever observed.
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.
The SETI Institute has awarded $1 million in STRIDE grants to support cutting-edge research in astrobiology, exoplanet science, and public engagement. The awards will fund projects that push the boundaries of life detection, planetary climate modeling, and innovative education initiatives.
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.
Researchers have discovered daily cloud cycles on WASP-94A b, a Hot Jupiter planet, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The findings reveal different weather patterns on the morning and evening sides of the planet, with magnesium silicate clouds forming in the mornings and clearing up by nightfall. This breakthrough provide...
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.
Researchers found amino acids are consistently more diverse and evenly distributed in biological samples than abiotic ones, while fatty acids show the opposite pattern. This fundamental principle of life may be detectable in data collected by space missions.
Scientists have measured the atmosphere of the mini-Neptune, revealing a heavy composition with water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. The findings suggest that both planets formed far from their host star, then were drawn inward through a gradual process, preserving their atmospheres.
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.
The team analyzed LHS 3844 b's infrared radiation, finding it doesn't match Earth-like silicate-rich minerals. Instead, the spectrum suggests a dark, rocky surface composed of basaltic or magmatic minerals, possibly with a recently active geological history.
Researchers found massive amounts of ammonia gas expected but less than anticipated, and instead discovered thick patchy water-ice clouds on the exoplanet. The discovery sheds light on the limits of current models for studying exoplanet atmospheres.
Scientists at MIT have developed a new wave model called PlanetWaves that predicts how waves will behave on planetary bodies with different liquids, atmospheres, and gravity. The model reveals that gentle winds can create massive waves on Titan, while hurricane-force winds barely move the surface of lakes on exoplanet 55-Cancri e.
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 Paranal solar ESPRESSO Telescope (PoET) has made its first observations, aiming to understand how stellar activity affects the detection of exoplanets. PoET uses the Sun's light to analyze distant star spectra and remove 'noise' that can mask planetary signals.
The discovery of TOI-5205 b, a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a four times more massive star than our Sun, reveals its atmosphere has fewer heavy elements than expected. The research suggests that the planet's interior and atmosphere are not mixing, resulting in a carbon-rich, oxygen-poor atmosphere.
Researchers have discovered that a giant planet, WASP-189b, echoes the composition of its host star, providing direct evidence for a foundational concept in astrobiology. The team's findings offer insights into how exoplanets form and evolve, and open new avenues for studying exoplanet atmospheres.
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.
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.
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.
A new class of molten planet has been discovered, with a permanent ocean of magma and a unique composition of heavy sulphur molecules. This exoplanet, L 98-59 d, is unlike any known planet in our Solar System and may be the first of its kind in the galaxy.
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.
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.
Astronomers may need to look beyond the traditional habitable zone for liquid water and potentially life-friendly conditions. A new study suggests that tidally locked worlds, even those orbiting closer to cool M- and K-dwarf stars than previously thought, could sustain liquid water on their night side.
Deep magma oceans beneath rocky exoplanets called super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields to protect against harmful radiation. This suggests that these planets might be more hospitable for life beyond our solar system.
A team of researchers led by Alian Wang has discovered the isotopic geochemical consequences of Martian dust activities. The study reveals that dust-induced electric discharges can lead to various oxidized chemicals, including volatile chlorine species, activated oxides, and airborne carbonates.
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.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a cosmic fender bender, revealing two luminous clouds of debris from violent collisions between space rocks. The discovery offers insights into planet formation and asteroid composition, shedding light on the structure of asteroids crucial for planetary defense programs.
Scientists observe violent collisions around young star Fomalhaut, detecting the aftermath of two powerful collisions over a 20-year period. The collided objects are estimated to be at least 60 kilometers across and may have formed planets.
Researchers reanalyze Cassini mission data to find that Titan's interior is more icy and slushy than previously thought, with implications for the search for life on Titan. The new findings suggest a slushy layer instead of an ocean, which could facilitate the growth of simple organisms.
The discovery of PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass exoplanet orbiting a rapidly spinning neutron star, challenges our understanding of planet formation. The exoplanet's atmosphere is dominated by molecular carbon and exhibits a unique helium-carbon composition.
A team of researchers has discovered a distinct group of hot Jupiters whose circular orbits contradict the expected timescale for tidal migration. These planets exhibit characteristics consistent with disk migration, such as primordial alignment and planet multiplicity, suggesting they formed smoothly within the protoplanetary disk.
A team of astronomers used NASA's JWST to reveal an alien atmosphere in the ancient, ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b. The planet's thick atmosphere is upending conventional wisdom about ultra-short-period planets, and its composition could be representative of planets that formed when the universe was relatively young.
Astronomers at Northwestern University have directly imaged a Tatooine-like exoplanet orbiting two suns, revealing unique insights into how planets form around multiple stars. The discovery provides an unprecedented look at the complex dynamics of binary systems and offers new opportunities to test theories of planet formation.
Researchers detect strong evidence for an atmosphere on ultra-hot super-Earth TOI-561 b, challenging the idea that small planets can't sustain atmospheres. The planet's unusually low density is explained by a thick volatile-rich atmosphere that circulates heat and cools the nightside.
A team of astronomers detected with precision two huge tails of gas surrounding the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b using the James Webb Space Telescope. The continuous observation revealed a trailing tail pushed back by radiation and a leading tail pulled towards the star, covering over three times the distance between planet and star.
Scientists at UNIGE have developed a high-precision spectrograph called RISTRETTO to analyze light from the exoplanet Proxima b. The instrument can detect signs of oxygen or water in its atmosphere, similar to Earth.
Recent observations of TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone, reveal hints of methane but raise questions about its atmosphere's existence. Researchers caution that more rigorous studies are needed to determine if the methane is a sign of an atmosphere or stellar contamination.
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 have discovered a stellar companion near a star with hot dust, offering a complex laboratory to understand the origin and composition of this phenomenon. This breakthrough builds on decades of technological leadership in interferometry, enabling scientists to study the interaction between the companion and the dust.
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 developed a new spectral shaper technology that can precisely control 10,000 individual lines of light, improving signal fidelity and enabling faster data transfer in various fields. This advancement could aid in the detection of Earth-like planets by making tiny stellar wobbles easier to measure.