Exoplanet News - SciTechDaily

Backward and Beyond: Unraveling the Mystery of Eccentric Exoplanet Orbits

Penn State — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 15:01:04 +0000

An exoplanet’s strange elongated, backward orbit holds clues to the formation history and future trajectories of hot Jupiters. Astronomers have identified an exoplanet with the most eccentric orbit known, characterized by its cucumber-like shape and backward motion around its star. This discovery offers insights into the formation and evolution of hot Jupiters. Key instruments such [...]

$50,000 Ariel Space Challenge: Exploring Exoplanet Atmospheres With AI

University College London — Sun, 11 Aug 2024 07:42:54 +0000

The Ariel Data Challenge 2024, hosted by UCL, invites data scientists and AI enthusiasts to analyze exoplanet atmospheres using data from the European Space Agency’s Ariel mission. With a $50,000 prize pool, the competition aims to refine techniques for interpreting faint signals in noisy telescope data. Supported by a consortium including national space agencies and [...]

Could These Nearby Stars Harbor Another Earth?

Chandra X-ray Observatory — Sat, 10 Aug 2024 07:27:16 +0000

Through a 3D star map, researchers analyze how nearby stars might impact their planets’ atmospheres with X-rays, helping guide the search for habitable exoplanets by future telescopes. X-ray observations of nearby stars are helping astronomers identify the best targets to search for exoplanets with conditions suitable for life. Such planets could be directly imaged in [...]

When Stars Attack: High-Energy UV From Stellar Flares Could Threaten Life

University of Hawaii at Manoa — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 17:13:09 +0000

Red dwarf stars can produce stellar flares with far-ultraviolet radiation levels far exceeding previous expectations, potentially affecting the habitability of surrounding planets. A groundbreaking study has revealed that red dwarf stars can produce stellar flares that carry far-ultraviolet (far-UV) radiation levels much higher than previously believed. This discovery suggests that the intense UV radiation from [...]

Astronomers Uncover Vast Array of Strange Alien Worlds

University of Hawaii at Manoa — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 18:35:53 +0000

A collaborative international effort has produced a catalog detailing 126 (120 confirmed, 6 candidates) exoplanets using TESS and Keck Observatory data, broadening knowledge of their diverse types and potential for hosting life. An international team of scientists, including significant contributions from astronomers at the University of Hawaiʻi’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA), has released a new [...]

Unlocking the Habitable Universe: How X-Rays Reveal Safe Havens for Life

Chandra X-ray Center — Sun, 04 Aug 2024 13:58:42 +0000

Astronomers are using Chandra and XMM-Newton to evaluate whether nearby stars emit radiation levels compatible with habitable exoplanets. This research aims to help prioritize stars for detailed imaging with future telescopes, focusing on those whose radiation levels may support planetary atmospheres conducive to life. Exploring Exoplanet Habitability With Advanced Telescopes Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory [...]

Breaking the Rules: Rare Exoplanet’s Extremely Strange Orbit Stuns Astronomers

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) — Sat, 03 Aug 2024 09:42:22 +0000

An exoplanet’s elongated, backwards orbit holds clues to the formation history and future trajectories of high-mass gas giants. Astronomers have observed an exoplanet with a highly eccentric and retrograde orbit using the WIYN telescope. This exoplanet, named TIC 241249530 b, could significantly advance our understanding of the formation and migration of hot Jupiters, which are [...]

International Planet Hunters Discover Dozens of Strange New Worlds

University of California - Riverside — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 03:10:16 +0000

The NASA TESS-Keck Survey provides details on the mass and density of 126 planets. Although thousands of planets have been discovered orbiting other stars, our understanding of them remains limited. A NASA catalog featuring 126 newly discovered exotic worlds provides detailed measurements, enabling comparisons with our own solar system. The catalog details a fascinating mix [...]

Jupiter’s Twin? Webb Telescope Unveils a Frosty Look-Alike Just 12 Light-Years Away

Space Telescope Science Institute — Sat, 27 Jul 2024 13:06:03 +0000

Epsilon Indi Ab is colder than any other imaged planet beyond our solar system. If alien astronomers in a nearby star system had a telescope like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and they pointed it toward our solar system, then Jupiter might look very much like this new Webb image of the exoplanet Epsilon Indi [...]

New Habitable Zone Planet Found in Unusual Star System

Simons Foundation — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:16:26 +0000

The newly discovered planet, identified by volunteer planet hunters and confirmed by scientists at the Flatiron Institute and their colleagues, has an exceptionally long orbit. This discovery provides valuable insights into planetary formation and stability within multi-star systems. Astronomers and citizen scientists have identified a planet within the habitable zone of a unique star system [...]

Webb Space Telescope Unveils the Strange Split Personality of WASP-39b

Simon Levey, Hayley Dunning, and Corinne Farrell, Imperial College London — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 01:18:42 +0000

The James Webb Space Telescope has provided a detailed analysis of WASP-39b, a tidally locked exoplanet exhibiting differing atmospheric conditions on its morning and evening sides, with a cloudier and cooler morning compared to a hotter evening. The different atmospheric conditions of the ‘morning’ and ‘evening’ sides of a distant planet have been revealed by [...]

Webb’s Super-Jupiter Breakthrough: Oldest and Coldest Exoplanet Ever Imaged

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:00:32 +0000

Researchers using the JWST have captured a new image of Eps Ind Ab, a super-Jupiter with an orbital distance significantly greater than previously estimated. This discovery, highlighting a colder exoplanet than typically observed, prompts a reevaluation of its mass and orbit while also offering a new method for studying distant cold gas giants through direct [...]

Astronomers Solve Mystery of Decaying Planetary Orbits

Durham University — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:01:58 +0000

A study from Durham University reveals that stellar magnetic fields could be key to understanding the orbital decay of ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets, providing new insights into their eventual consumption by their parent stars. A recent study led by researchers at Durham University has discovered a novel mechanism that may solve the long-standing mystery of decaying [...]

Remarkable Webb Telescope Find: Mysterious Dust Clouds on an Alien World

New York University — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:29:43 +0000

Scientists used the James Webb Telescope to study WASP-43b, finding high-altitude clouds and large temperature differences between its day and night sides. Their findings provide insights into the planet’s extreme climate and atmospheric dynamics. Jasmina Blecic, a Research Scientist at NYU Abu Dhabi, along with Associate Professor Ian Dobbs-Dixon from the Center for Astrophysics and [...]

Eternal Day and Night: Webb’s Journey To Understand a Distant World’s Bizarre Atmosphere

Space Telescope Science Institute — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 20:46:00 +0000

Near-infrared spectral analysis of terminator confirms differences in morning and evening atmosphere. Since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, thousands of planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have been confirmed through a myriad of different methods, including direct imaging, gravitational microlensing, measuring transits, and astrometry. Over the years, techniques have evolved to [...]

Redefining Planets Across the Universe

Holly Ober, University of California - Los Angeles — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 22:01:44 +0000

A new proposal seeks to change the scientific definition of a planet, which currently requires orbiting our sun. The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as a celestial body that orbits the sun, is massive enough that gravity has forced it into a spherical shape, and has cleared away other objects near its orbit around [...]

Life Beyond Earth? Webb Space Telescope Investigates a Surprising Nearby Ice Planet

University of Michigan — Sun, 14 Jul 2024 00:19:06 +0000

Researchers used data from multiple space telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), to study the exoplanet LHS 1140 b, located 48 light-years away in the constellation Cetus. This exoplanet, orbiting a red dwarf star, is in the habitable zone and shows signs of potentially having a nitrogen-rich atmosphere and a water-rich composition, which [...]

Webb’s Super-Earth Discovery: Potentially Habitable World Just 48 Light-Years Away

University of Montreal — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 02:41:47 +0000

A team of astronomers has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising “super-Earth” covered in ice or water. LHS 1140 b, once thought to be a mini-Neptune, is now considered a possible super-Earth with a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, as suggested by James Webb Space Telescope data. Located [...]

Rotten Egg Revelations: Discovering Hidden Cosmic Chemistry on a Nearby Exoplanet

Johns Hopkins University — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 15:00:17 +0000

Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered that the exoplanet HD 189733 b, known for its extreme weather, also contains hydrogen sulfide in its atmosphere, suggesting a sulfurous smell akin to rotten eggs. This finding provides new insights into the role of sulfur in the formation and atmospheric composition of gas giants beyond [...]

Geoscientists Unlock the Mystery: Why We Haven’t Met Aliens Yet

Amanda Siegfried, University of Texas at Dallas — Mon, 08 Jul 2024 02:03:31 +0000

Researchers suggest that the scarcity of oceans, continents, and long-term plate tectonics on exoplanets likely explains the rarity of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations, challenging the estimates provided by the Drake equation and addressing the Fermi paradox. New research by University of Texas at Dallas geoscientist Dr. Robert Stern and a colleague suggests a geological explanation for [...]

Searching for Signs of Advanced Civilizations: Interstellar Detectives Trace Alien Terraforming

Jules Bernstein, University of California - Riverside — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 02:27:53 +0000

In the quest to uncover extraterrestrial life, researchers have identified telltale greenhouse gases that could indicate advanced alien civilizations are actively terraforming distant planets. The study focuses on unusual, potent gases like fluorinated methane and ethane, which, if detected, could serve as technosignatures of sophisticated interstellar engineering. Working as detectives on the hunt for intelligent [...]

Eccentric Oddities: Surprise Discovery of Mysterious Mini-Neptune Exoplanets

National Institutes of Natural Sciences — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 01:15:42 +0000

Researchers discovered four mini-Neptunes with volatile-rich compositions around red dwarfs, using both space and ground-based telescopes. Researchers discovered mini-Neptunes[1] around four red dwarfs[2], which are named TOI-782, TOI-1448, TOI-2120, and TOI-2406, using observations from a global network of ground-based telescopes with MuSCATs and the TESS space telescope.[3] These four mini-Neptunes are close to their parent [...]

Scientists Uncover First Building Block in Super-Earth Formation

Johns Hopkins University — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 21:51:10 +0000

A new study reveals that magnesium oxide, a key mineral in planet formation, might be the first to solidify in developing “super-Earth” exoplanets, with its behavior under extreme conditions significantly influencing planetary development. Scientists have for the first time observed how atoms in magnesium oxide morph and melt under ultra-harsh conditions, providing new insights into [...]

Unexpected Find: Webb Discovers Mystery Sulfur on Distant Planet

Chris Barncard, University of Wisconsin-Madison — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:57:32 +0000

GJ 3470 b is a gas dwarf with unexpected sulfur dioxide in its atmosphere. This discovery provides insights into planet formation and chemical reactions. A surprising yellow haze of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere of a gas “dwarf” exoplanet about 96 light years away from our own solar system makes the planet a prime target [...]