News Archive / Tagged: exoplanet

• Isotope of carbon found in exoplanet’s atmosphere

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 17th, 2021

  An international team of scientists has detected isotopes of carbon in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time ever, a discovery noted in the journal Nature.

• Kepler data reveals Earth-like planet in star’s habitable zone

  Laurel KornfeldApril 21st, 2020

  Scientists who took a second look at data returned by NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star.

• Spitzer and Hubble identify atmospheric composition of “sub-Neptune” exoplanet

  Laurel KornfeldJuly 6th, 2019

  Scientists have identified the atmospheric composition of an exoplanet larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune by studying it with both the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.

• Hot super-Earth, 55 Cancri e, found to have an atmosphere

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 27th, 2017

  Scientists analyzing data collected by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered that a hot super-Earth, which might have flowing lava on its surface, likely has an atmosphere.

• Century-old data holds earliest evidence for existence of exoplanets

  Laurel KornfeldNovember 3rd, 2017

  Exoplanets, or planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, were first discovered in the 1990s, but old photographic plates taken nearly 100 years ago and recently found in storerooms at Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, contain the first evidence of their existence.

• Sunscreen ingredient falls as ‘snow’ on hot exoplanet Kepler-13Ab

  Laurel KornfeldOctober 29th, 2017

  One of the hottest known exoplanets – Kepler-13Ab – experiences 'snowfall' composed of titanium dioxide, an active ingredient in sunscreen. However, the sunscreen "snow" only precipitates on the planet's permanent dark side.

• FINESSE mission to investigate atmospheres of hundreds of alien worlds

  Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 5th, 2017

  One of NASA’s proposed missions, known as the Fast INfrared Exoplanet Spectroscopy Survey Explorer (FINESSE), could greatly improve our understanding of extrasolar worlds. If selected for development, the spacecraft will investigate at least 500 exoplanet atmospheres, providing detailed information about climate processes on distant alien planets.

• TRAPPIST-1 could be twice the age of the Solar System

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 13th, 2017

  The red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 and its seven known planets have been around far longer than the Solar System, according to a new study by scientists who have estimated the system's age.

• Hubble spots exoplanet with glowing water atmosphere

  Jim SharkeyAugust 6th, 2017

  Researchers working with data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have found the strongest evidence to date for the existence of a stratosphere – the layer of an atmosphere in which temperature increases with altitude – on an exoplanet (a planet outside of the Solar System).

• Kepler discovers 10 Earth-like exoplanets from 219 planet candidates

  Laurel KornfeldJune 21st, 2017

  NASA's Kepler mission has released the most extensive list of exoplanet findings: a total of 219 planet candidates, of which ten are Earth-like and occupy their stars' habitable zones – where temperatures allow liquid water to exist on the surface.

• French nanosatellite to observe planet Beta Pictoris b transiting its star

  Tomasz NowakowskiMay 29th, 2017

  A small satellite developed by Paris Observatory is currently undergoing final preparations for its exoplanet-observing mission. The nanosatellite, known as PicSat, will observe the transit of the planet Beta Pictoris b as it passes in front of its host star.

• Scientists use Kepler telescope data to uncover details about TRAPPIST-1 planet

  Laurel KornfeldMay 26th, 2017

  Data collected by NASA's exoplanet-hunting Kepler Space Telescope has enabled scientists to uncover orbital information for the outermost planet of the unusual TRAPPIST-1 planetary system.

• Nearby brown dwarf turns out to be a free-floating planetary-like object

  Tomasz NowakowskiMay 15th, 2017

  A new study has found that one of the nearest brown dwarfs to our Solar System, designated SIMP J013656.5+093347 (SIMP0136 for short), might actually be a planetary-mass object.

• Spitzer discovers star system with seven orbiting Earth-sized planets

  Laurel KornfeldFebruary 23rd, 2017

  A star system, approximately 40 light-years from Earth, with seven Earth-sized planets, including three in the habitable zone, has been discovered by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

• Review: Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System

  Jason RhianFebruary 12th, 2017

  A new book is set for release – "Exoplanets: Diamond Worlds, Super Earths, Pulsar Planets, and the New Search for Life Beyond Our Solar System" by Michael Summers and James Trefil. There are, at present, 3,700 exoplanets (that we're aware of) and counting, which makes this a welcomed addition to a space enthusiast's library.