SUNSET: 
Weather on Alien Worlds
From high-altitude clouds discovered on a super-Earth to massive, hurricane-force storms on a nearby brown dwarf, a bevy of results show that the age of “astrometeorology” is upon us.
Are Super-Earths Really Super?
Most alien planets are nothing like what we've got in the solar system. Scientists are homing in on these mysterious worlds to see what they’re made of.
Putting Exoplanets on the Scale
Astronomers have come up with a new technique for measuring an alien planet’s mass, and therefore its composition and potential habitability, even when standard methods don’t work.
Hubble Homes in on Hazy Worlds
Two teams have announced the discovery of water on alien worlds. But they found less water than expected, suggesting these planets are surrounded by a high-altitude haze.
Kepler Mission Hits 3,500 Candidates
The Kepler team has released its analysis of the mission’s first three years of observations. The haul includes 10 Earth-size (and probably rocky) exoplanets in their stars’ habitable zones, and the stats show such planets are common.
A Bite-Size Planetary System
Planet Hunters citizen-science program identifies 14 exoplanet candidates the Kepler mission missed, including a seventh planet in a known system, making it the first seven-planet system discovered.
Charred Earth Hugs Star
Two independent teams have confirmed that the planet Kepler-78b is roughly Earth-size and less than twice Earth's mass, making it the smallest exoplanet with a known density.
A Planetary System Out of Whack
The red giant star Kepler-56 spins on an axis offset by a bizarre 45 degrees from its transiting planets. The discovery of a third companion could explain why.
Fomalhaut Star System Actually a Triple
Turns out “the lonely star of autumn” has not just one, but two distant companions, making it one of the most widely separated systems known.
Is Oxygen a False Positive for Alien Life?
Photosynthetic life has infused Earth's atmosphere with abundant oxygen that otherwise wouldn't be here. So can oxygen be used as a dependable signature for life on other worlds? Maybe not, according to a new analysis.
A Cloudy Exoplanet
Visible and infrared observations suggest that the hot Jupiter Kepler-7b has a large patch of clouds on one side.
Skinny Stars or Fat Planets?
New studies of the coolest brown dwarfs are helping astronomers explore the mysterious objects that bridge the gap between stars and planets.
Kepler KO'd; NASA Ponders New Purpose
The disabled space telescope's prolific planet-hunting run is officially over, as the team abandons efforts to salvage its full pointing ability and focuses on data analysis. Its next mission? Hunting for a job.
Subaru Sees New "Planet" Directly
A new companion found by direct imaging reveals a potentially cloudless gas giant oddly far from a young sun.
A Glassy Blue Jupiter
For the first time, astronomers know the true color of an exoplanet — and it appears an un-Earthly shade of blue. But don't pack your bags…
Ring Around the Dust Disk
Dusty disks that encircle young stars sometimes host giant gaps. But a new study shows these gaps aren't necessarily the signature of a nearby planet.
Crowded Clusters Host Planets
The discovery of two mini-Neptunes around Sun-like stars in a distinctly un-Sun-like environment reveals that small planets can live in more crowded neighborhoods than we thought.
Three Habitable Planets? Maybe
Two new studies highlight the growing importance of red dwarfs in the competitive search for alien worlds — and the challenges of characterizing them.
COROT Mission Ends
After several months of trying to reboot, mission planners for the exoplanet hunter COROT have declared the satellite's failure official.
How to Toast a Planet
A new study suggests that close-in gas giants may heat up electrically like toaster coils plugged in to their host stars via the power lines of the stellar wind — explaning why the planets inflate.
