Exoplanets

Some exoplanets seem to have walked directly out of the best science fiction movies. Worlds made of diamond? Volcano covered surfaces? Mysterious magnetic storms? We’ve discovered single exoplanets orbiting two stars and as many as seven exoplanets orbiting a single star. We’ve probed the planet-forming disks that spawn these alien worlds, and we’re even starting to map the weather on these distant planets. Here, you can find the latest exoplanet news, from super-Earths to hot Jupiters. We’ll continue monitoring results from the Kepler and TESS missions and more, as astronomers come up with new and creative methods for studying these alien worlds. We’ll probe the mysteries of nearby systems, report on the farthest-known planets, and share more about their atmospheres and likelihood of habitability.

The hunt for Earth 2.0 is on as we attempt to answer the age-old question: “Are we alone?”

381 results

Exoplanets

Why are there two peaks in the light curve on page 97 of the October 2005 issue?

Why are there two peaks in the light curve on page 97 of the October 2005 issue? One might imagine that a planet of the star would produce only one sharp peak on the rounded dashed line. But why two? This is an insightful question, because astronomers who use the…

By: Robert Naeye July 24, 2006