Visualization of airless TRAPPIST-1b and its red dwarf star host

Exoplanets

Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1b Has No Atmosphere

The TRAPPIST exoplanets offer the James Webb Space Telescope some of the best opportunities to observe rocky worlds. But Webb images show the innermost planet b has no atmosphere.

Dark planet with translucent atmosphere in front of bright star

Exoplanets

JWST Investigates an Exoplanet "Corgi"

The James Webb Space Telescope has found the tiny tail of a close-in exoplanet that's losing its atmosphere.

Exoplanets

Webb's Exoplanet Data Are Almost Too Good

A new study urges caution in interpreting the chemical fingerprints that Webb is collecting of alien worlds.

Webb's first deep field

Exoplanets

What the James Webb Space Telescope's First Year Will Reveal

The James Webb Space Telescope's first year of observations promises to reveal exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces, infant galaxies, and maybe even the first black holes.

a large orange org against a brown background with clouds and a distant light

Exoplanets

Hot and Cold: Jupiters Reveal Formation and Chemistry of Exotic Worlds

At the extremes: A hot Jupiter reveals extreme chemistry on a sizzling world, and a cold Jupiter sheds light on giant planet formation.

a dark purple orb is half illuminated by a bright white, smaller orb to its left

Exoplanets

Astronomers Watch the Making of a Super-Earth

Gaseous mini-Neptunes may become rocky super-Earths when they lose their atmospheres. Now, astronomers have caught that process in action.

Exoplanets

Milestone: Astronomers Discover Water Vapor on a Super-Earth

Two independent teams of astronomers have discovered the signature of water vapor in the atmosphere of super-Earth K2-18b.

Illustration of helium escaping exoplanet HAT-P-11b

Astronomy & Observing News

60-Second Astro News: Helium Exoplanets and a Supernova Surprise

This week in astronomy news: Inflated helium atmospheres surround two exoplanets, and the Kepler Space Telescope captures the moments around a supernova that hint at a companion star triggering the explosion.

Exoplanets

An Atmosphere of Heavy Metals

Researchers have found strong evidence of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a hot giant planet, adding new insights to the complex motions of these planets’ extreme atmospheres.

Exoplanets

Do Atmospheres Spin Worlds to Habitability?

The best place to look for nearby Earth-size planets are around the smallest, coolest stars. New research shows that any exoplanets tightly circling their stars might have a better chance of being habitable than previously thought.

Exoplanets

Titan Sheds Light on Alien Atmospheres

Saturn’s largest moon Titan played a cameo as an exoplanet, allowing astronomers to better understand how a thick layer of haze or clouds might affect their observations of more distant alien worlds.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement