SUNSET: 
Trapping Alien Dust
New observations with the powerful ALMA observatory reveal a huge pile-up of dust around a young star. The result could help astronomers solve a long-standing mystery in planet formation.
Big Science with Modest Scopes
A recent annual meeting of amateur astronomers in Big Bear, California, proved once again that the amateur community is pursuing impressive science endeavors.
Chance to Catch Closest Exoplanet?
In 2014 and 2016, Proxima Centauri will pass in front of two distant stars, potentially revealing details about itself and whether it hosts any planets in the process.
Exoplanets After Kepler: What’s next?
In the wake of the apparent loss of the Kepler mission, the exoplanet community salutes one of its legends while pivoting to new ground- and space-based opportunities.
No Planet of Alpha Centauri B?
The uncertain tale of our closest exoplanet neighbor — is it there or isn’t it? — may end on a cliffhanger.
One Gap, No Planets
There's a big gap in the dusty disk around the young star V1247 Orionis. Such a gap should be carved out by one or more planets, but astronomers can't find any.
Almost Earth-like Exoplanets
NASA’s Kepler mission has discovered a 5-planet system that includes a hot Mars and four super-Earths, two of which might host liquid water. These aren’t quite the Earth-like exoplanets Kepler’s been looking for, but they’re close.
Closest Brown Dwarf System Discovered
Two newly discovered brown dwarfs lie just 6.5 light-years away, making them the closest brown dwarfs known, the third-closest star system known, and best of all, a promising target for exoplanet studies.
Tiniest Exoplanet Around a Sunlike Star
The Kepler mission has discovered an exoplanet smaller than Mercury orbiting a Sun-like star.
Earth-Size Planets Common, But Are They Habitable?
The best place to look for nearby Earth-size planets might be the smallest, coolest stars — but these stars could also be bad for creating Earth-like planets.
Amateurs Help Find Multi-Planet System
Amateur astronomers perform a crucial role in detecting exoplanets by a technique called microlensing, including the most recent discovery of a multiple-planet system.
Dead Stars: Good Exoplanet Targets?
White dwarfs can have stable habitable zones for a few billion years, and planets with Earth-like atmospheres might be much easier to detect around these stellar remnants than normal, hydrogen-fusing stars.
Mapping Alien Atmospheres in 3D
A new technique charts the stormy weather of a brown dwarf 35 light-years away, allowing astronomers to probe deep into the atmosphere as well as across the cloud tops.
Planets Orbit Zombie Stars
Forget finding Earth 2.0 around a Sun-like star. Some astronomers aim for more exotic fare, searching for exoplanets around white dwarfs and pulsars. These studies could also teach us about the solar system’s fate.
Kepler Hits Planet Bonanza?
Kepler observations have revealed several thousand potential planetary transits. The results are preliminary, but if they hold up there could be more than 200 habitable planets in the mix.
ALMA Minds the (Planet‑Forming) Gap
For the first time, astronomers have imaged a key stage in planet formation, witnessing the gas streams that signal two gas giant planets sweeping up material around a star.
Planets Around Tau Ceti? Not So Fast.
News media have pounced on the recent announcement of a five-planet system around Tau Ceti, a nearby Sun-like star. But is the hubbub merited?
Making Planets Around Brown Dwarfs
Astronomers searching for forming planets have a new place to look. Even the thin disks around brown dwarfs are capable of forming grains large enough that, one day, they could potentially coalesce into a rocky planet.
Making Mini-Oort Clouds
A new set of simulations shows that systems with so-called "hot Jupiters" might also have mini-Oort clouds detectable by today's space telescopes, giving astronomers a new potential tool for finding exotic extrasolar systems.
A New Goldilocks Planet
Astronomers have found a system of six super-Earths, one of which is at the "Goldilocks" distance for sustaining liquid water. The Sun-like host of the system lies only 40 light-years away.
