SUNSET: 
Best View Yet of Baby Giant Exoplanet
Astronomers have taken the best spectrum yet of exoplanet HR 8799e, a gas giant in its infancy.
Inflating a Super-Puff Planet
Super-puffy exoplanets are a problem. They shouldn’t exist — and yet we've detected half a dozen of them. Here's what theory might be getting wrong.
Tilted Exoplanets Could Explain Odd Orbits
Scientists think a significant fraction of exoplanets may be rolling on their sides. If they were, it would explain a longstanding mystery.
Scientists Question Popular Planet Formation Theory
New studies are challenging the core accretion theory, the primary model astronomers use to understand how worlds form in our solar system and beyond.
NASA’s TESS Mission Announces New Planets, Supernovae
The TESS mission announces eight confirmed planets along with hundreds of exoplanet candidates.
Exploring the Escaping Atmosphere of HAT-P-11b
The atmospheres of planets close to their host stars live a tenuous existence. New observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show signs of a Neptune-like exoplanet’s atmosphere being eroded away.
Amateur Planet Hunters Have a New Online Resource
A database run by the American Association of Variable Star Observers will organize and archive data on transiting exoplanets collected by amateur astronomers.
A Chilly Super-Earth May Orbit Barnard's Star
One of the closest stars to the Sun hosts a planet at least three times as massive as our own where temperatures might be just low enough to freeze liquid water.
Planets Appear More Massive Than Disks Where They Form
Infant worlds might gobble up dust quickly, the interstellar environment might feed protoplanetary disks, or planet-building dust could be hiding in plain sight. Although disks of gas and dust around young stars are a necessary precursor to planet formation, an expanded survey of stars in our Galaxy confirms earlier doubts…
Hubble Boosts Case for Exomoon
Exoplanet Kepler-1625b might harbor a moon the size of Neptune—potentially the first confirmed exomoon—but researchers urge caution.
Super-Earth Discovered in (Fictional) Vulcan System
Thirty years ago, Gene Roddenberry, of Star Trek fame, and three astronomers made the case that the orange-hued star 40 Eridani A ought to host Vulcan, Mr. Spock's home. Now, a robotic survey has discovered a planet around that very star.
Astronomers "Weigh" Beta Pictoris b
Astronomers have a precise new mass measurement for Beta Pictoris b, a young gas giant still in the throes of formation 63 light-years from Earth.
Iron and Titanium Found in Ultrahot Jupiter
New observations provide solid evidence of heavy metals in a gas giant exoplanet’s atmosphere.
Planet Formation Caught in the Act
A team of scientists has captured evidence that PDS 70b, the first directly imaged instance of early planet formation, is actively accreting material, and they’ve measured the rate at which it’s growing.
Auroras Discovered Around Rogue Brown Dwarf
Astronomers have discovered auroras around a set of brown dwarfs — including one that wanders the galaxy by itself — indicating surprisingly strong magnetic fields in these failed stars.
When Giant Planets Orbit Evolved Stars
A new study explores the impacts of stars that age past the main sequence and evolve into red giants on the planets orbiting around them by looking at the orbits of gas giants closely circling evolved stars.
First Confirmed Image of Newborn Planet
Astronomers using a new instrument on the Very Large Telescope in Chile have directly imaged a newborn planet.
60-Second Astro News: 3D View of Star-Forming Cloud & A Cloud-Free Exoplanet
This week in astronomy news: Researchers discover the first completely cloud-free exoplanet and a star-forming cloud reveals its structure through vibrations.
Scientists Spot Helium Escaping Giant Planet's Atmosphere
Hubble observations reveal a Jupiter-size exoplanet losing its atmosphere in a system 200 light-years away.
60-Second Astro News: Tech Advances for Exoplanet Hunters
A mini-satellite demonstrates exoplanet-hunting technology, a superconducting camera tests its abilities to image exoplanets, and bad news for life on Proxima Centauri b.
