exoplanets – Astronomy Now

TESS finds its first Earth-size planet in host sun’s habitable zone

7 January 2020 Astronomy Now

NASA exoplanet-hunting TESS satellite has found its first habitable-zone Earth-size planet and another orbiting an eclipsing binary system.

Cotton-candy worlds may be steps on planetary evolution ladder

26 December 2019 Astronomy Now

The three lowest-density exoplanets yet discovered may be steps on the planetary evolution ladder, shrinking to resemble more commonplace worlds over time.

CHEOPS launched on follow-up exoplanet research mission

24 December 2019 Stephen Clark

The European Space Agency’s CHEOPs satellite is now in space for an ambitious mission to study already-discovered exoplanets in more detail.

Water vapor common among exoplanets, but less than expected

12 December 2019 Astronomy Now

A five-year study shows water is a relatively common component of exoplanet atmospheres, but the observed abundances are less than expected, researchers say.

In a first, astronomers find traces of a planet orbiting a white dwarf

7 December 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have found evidence of a Neptune-class ice giant orbiting a white dwarf, its atmosphere stripped away by intense ultraviolet radiation.

Scientists conclude planets possible around supermassive black holes

2 December 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers theorize supermassive black holes at the hearts of many if not all large galaxies could host thousands of large planets out to distances up to 10 light years.

TESS mosaic hints at data-rich southern sky survey

7 November 2019 Astronomy Now

The TESS exoplanet hunter has completed its initial survey of the southern sky, allowing researchers to produce a spectacular mosaic.

HST finds water vapor in atmosphere of habitable zone exoplanet

11 September 2019 Astronomy Now

For the first time, astronomers have detected the signature of water vapour in the atmosphere of an exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its host star.

Exoplanet traced to home star in binary system

5 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Using a technique known as speckle imaging, astronomers have pinned down the orbit of an exoplanet in a binary star system.

Evidence found for volcanic ‘extreme Io’ exomoon

3 September 2019 Astronomy Now

Sodium gas detected near a giant exoplant 550 light years away may indicated the presence of a volcanically active exomoon.