Exoplanets
12 articles
NASA TESS mission discovers two new super-puff planets
Two newly discovered planets, TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c, are larger than Jupiter yet so light they have densities comparable to cotton candy, according to NASA's TESS mission .
Astronomers propose telescope swarm to detect alien life
On April 16, researchers announced a 'three sigma' detection of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), implying a less tha
FAST telescope discovers pulsar in tight, circular orbit
A neutron star spinning 220 times per second has been found locked in an orbit so perfectly circular, its eccentricity is a mere 0.
Theory: Exoplanets Could Form Near Supermassive Black Holes
Millions of Jupiter-mass planets, dubbed 'dust giants' and 'lava balls,' could emerge tens of parsecs from supermassive black holes, according to Space .
Models predict JWST will detect exoplanets with diesel smog
Imagine a world half the mass of Jupiter, orbiting a dim K-dwarf star, its atmosphere thick with the same sooty hydrocarbons found in diesel exhaust on Earth.
NASA study finds phosphorus and nitrogen key for life origin
In a lab at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, scientists watched a chaotic soup of mixed RNA-DNA precursors spontaneously sort themselves into distinct, replicating strands.
JWST spots cloud cycles on exoplanets with new method
On the distant exoplanet WASP-94A b, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have observed magnesium silicate clouds forming in the morning and completely dissipating by evening, revea
JWST Detects Methane in Atmosphere of Temperate Exoplanet TOI-199b
On a world the size of Saturn, bathed in a balmy 79 degrees Celsius, the James Webb Space Telescope has pierced the veil of exoplanet TOI-199b, pinpointing methane, a fundamental organic molecule.
Roman Telescope's infrared mirror is ready for flight
The average bump on the primary mirror surface for NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is only 1.
Astronomers find longest period young transiting exoplanets
Around a star barely 15 million years old, two newly discovered exoplanets trace orbits of 225 and 314 days.
M Dwarf Surveys Find Super-Earths Abound, Sub-Neptunes Vanish
Around mid-to-late M dwarf stars, a common exoplanet type, the sub-Neptune, effectively vanishes.
NASA Confirms Over 6,000 Exoplanets; Hubble's Contributions
In 2008, the Hubble Space Telescope detected methane, an organic molecule, in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized exoplanet HD 189733b.