Exoplanet 55 Cancri e has many names, but the rocky world located 40 light years from Earth is the best known for its reputation as a “hellish planet”. This super-Earth, so named because it’s a rocky planet eight times more massive and twice as wide as Earth, is so hot it has an ocean of …
A newly weighed exoplanet has left astronomers deeply perplexed. After taking measurements on a very young, Jupiter-sized exoplanet named HD-114082b, scientists found that its properties don’t exactly match either of the two popular models of gas giant planet formation. In short, it is much too heavy for its age. “Compared to currently accepted models, HD-114082b …
A gas giant exoplanet has been discovered with twice the density of Earth Read More »
This illustration represents the exoplanet WASP-39b and its star. Credit: Melissa Weiss/Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian New Webb Space Telescope observations of WASP-39b reveal a molecule never before seen in a planet’s atmosphere – sulfur dioxide – among other details. The telescope’s highly sensitive instrument array was trained on the atmosphere of WASP-39b, …
New molecule: Webb reveals an exoplanet atmosphere “Hot Saturn” Read More »
Title: Hazy with a Chance of Starspotting: Constraining the Young Planet’s Atmosphere, K2-33b Authors: Pa Chia Thao, Andrew W. Mann, Peter Gao, et al. Institution of First Author: Department of Physics and Astronomy, UNC Chapel Hill Status: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal, available on arXiv. As any astronomer on the ground can tell you, cloudy, …
Exoplanets have been causing a stir over the past decade-plus, with scientists regularly confirming new exoplanets thanks to NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions, as well as the James Webb Space Telescope recently examining exoplanet atmospheres. It’s because of these discoveries that exoplanet science has become an exciting field of intrigue and wonder, but do the …
Do exoplanet scientists have any favorite exoplanets? Read More »
The James Webb Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to study the atmosphere of a distant gas giant exoplanet with greater precision than ever before, leading to the discovery of Three firsts in astronomy. “We predicted this [the telescope] would show us, but it was more precise, more diverse and more beautiful than I actually thought,” …
Astronomers detect a “mysterious molecule” in the atmosphere of an exoplanet Read More »
Title: X-ray rockets from the young host planet DS Tuc A Authors: I. Pillitteri, C. Argiroffi, A. Maggio, G. Micela, S. Benatti, F. Reale, S. Colombo and SJ Wolk Institution of the first author: INAF-Astronomical Observatory of Palermo Status: Accepted at Astronomy & Astrophysics [closed access] The study of exoplanets, or planets orbiting stars other …
Artist’s impression of Ariel en route to Lagrange 2 (L2) point. Here the spaceship is shielded … [+] from the Sun and has a clear view of the whole sky. ESA/STFC Espace RAL/UCL/Europlanet-Science Office Five thousand extrasolar planets detected and counting, we still don’t have a standard model of the full range of planets circling …
What is a medium exoplanet? ESA’s next ARIEL mission should provide answers Read More »
Image of the TESS target pixel file of HD 20329 observed in sector 42. Credit: Murgas et al, 2022 Using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has detected a new ultrashort-period exoplanet. The new alien world, designated HD 20329 b, orbits its host star in just under a day. The …
Ultra-short-period exoplanet discovered with TESS Read More »
Artist’s impression of Ariel en route to Lagrange 2 (L2) point. Here the spaceship is shielded … [+] from the Sun and has a clear view of the whole sky. ESA/STFC Espace RAL/UCL/Europlanet-Science Office Five thousand extrasolar planets detected and counting, we still don’t have a standard model of the full range of planets circling …
What is a medium exoplanet? ESA’s next ARIEL mission should provide answers Read More »
