Kepler has taught us that rocky planets are common
Rocky planets are probably a whole lot more common in our galaxy than astronomers previously believed—according to the latest release of Kepler Space Telescope data last week—a scenario that enhances...
View ArticleHidden stars may make planets appear smaller
In the search for planets similar to our own, an important point of comparison is the planet's density. A low density tells scientists a planet is more likely to be gaseous like Jupiter, and a high...
View ArticleMore to life than the habitable zone
Two separate teams of scientists have identified major challenges for the development of life in what has recently become one of the most famous exoplanet systems, TRAPPIST-1.
View ArticleUltraviolet light may be ultra important in search for life
In everyday life, ultraviolet, or UV, light earns a bad reputation for being responsible for sunburns and other harmful effects on humans. However, research suggests that UV light may have played a...
View ArticleAre we being watched? Tens of other worlds could spot the Earth
A group of scientists from Queen's University Belfast and the Max Planck Institute for solar system Research in Germany have turned exoplanet-hunting on its head, in a study that instead looks at how...
View ArticleMine craft for Mars
If there are habitable conditions on Mars, they may be underground. Scientists from around the world are now testing how to live on other planets by venturing a kilometre beneath the surface in a UK...
View ArticleOur living planet shapes the search for life beyond Earth
As a young scientist, Tony del Genio of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City met Clyde Tombaugh, the discoverer of Pluto.
View ArticleTwo super-Earths around star K2-18
New research using data collected by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has revealed that a little-known exoplanet called K2-18b could well be a scaled-up version of Earth.
View ArticleSpanning disciplines in the search for life beyond Earth
The search for life beyond Earth is riding a surge of creativity and innovation. Following a gold rush of exoplanet discovery over the past two decades, it is time to tackle the next step: determining...
View ArticleMars mission sheds light on habitability of distant planets
How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It's a complex question but one that NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission can help answer.
View ArticleA new approach for detecting planets in the Alpha Centauri system
Yale astronomers have taken a fresh look at the nearby Alpha Centauri star system and found new ways to narrow the search for habitable planets there.
View ArticleHabitable planets around pulsars theoretically possible
It is theoretically possible that habitable planets exist around pulsars. Such planets must have an enormous atmosphere that convert the deadly X-rays and high energy particles of the pulsar into heat....
View Article