Free-floating planets are worlds ejected from developing solar systems during the first few million years of planetary system evolution. They were first discovered during a joint Japan-New Zealand survey of […]
The Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (Gaia) mission launched by ESA in 2013 is tasked with creating the largest three-dimensional map of the Milky Way galaxy to date by surveying […]
JWST was launched into space on December 25, 2021, and started taking pictures and collecting data a few months later. Since the telescope has been fully operational, JWST has been […]
To understand how, when, and where planets form in a star system, we need to first look at planetesimals, the building blocks of the planets. Age dates of meteorites provide […]
Two exoplanets, WASP-76b and WASP-121b, have clouds of barium in their upper atmospheres. Barium is the heaviest element ever recorded in an exoplanet atmosphere thus far. These two exoplanets, which […]
In the age of exoplanet discovery, most planets found have either been large gaseous giants or large terrestrial planets orbiting very close to their stars. Both types of planets are […]
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was launched in 2021 and recently completed its deployment and mirror alignment. The start of the primary science phase of the mission was heralded […]
Liquid water is a prerequisite for life as we know it. Consequently, scientists have long sought stable liquid water in our solar system to search for life. This idea has […]
The Copernican principle, inspired by the mid-16th-century idea of Nicolaus Copernicus that Earth is not the center of the universe, states that we may not be alone in the universe […]
One of the most exciting advances that has accompanied the detection of exoplanets is the discovery of exomoons—natural satellites orbiting these far away, alien planets. While we know moons to […]
Giant planets are defined by their massive size, thick gaseous atmospheres, and lack of solid planetary surfaces due to low amounts of solid rocky material. The current “core-formation” model for […]
NASA’s Kepler mission and other efforts have shown that planets are ubiquitous in our galaxy. However, finding planets outside the Milky Way is a different challenge. Because the light from […]
Isotope variations provide important insights into the origin and evolution of stellar and planetary systems. The carbon isotope ratio in carbon monoxide molecules, 12CO/13CO, is roughly constant across the solar […]
To date, more than 4,000 exoplanets have been confirmed, with thousands more possible exoplanet detections. The physical properties and chemical compositions of these planets are important for understanding how planets […]
The search for signs of life on exoplanets relies heavily on our ability to detect key biosignatures within a given planet’s atmosphere. Among potential markers for life in exoplanet atmospheres, […]
Getting an early start may have helped rocky exoplanets in the race for habitability, according to researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Plate tectonics is considered an important factor […]
Extrasolar planets or “exoplanets” are planets that orbit around stars other than our Sun. With increasingly sophisticated technology and detection methods, more exoplanets are being discovered. One method for identifying […]
Magnetic fields around planetary bodies are important factors for understanding the habitability of other worlds because they reduce atmospheric loss and protect the surface of the planet from radiation. The […]
Many planets have been detected around stars beyond our Sun, but few of them are solid like the Earth, and it has been a struggle to determine whether any are […]
Giant planets have been identified orbiting 290 of the stars within 500 light-years of the sun; the remaining 4,200 stars appeared to be planet-less. However, Natalie Hinkel of the Southwest […]