New research shows that the destructive merging of a star and a planet expels huge amounts of gas, as shown in this artist’s impression.
K. Miller/R. Hurt (Caltech/IPAC)
Stars begin to expand when they run out of fuel and can become thousands of times larger, consuming any planets in the way. For the first time, astronomers have witnessed one such event.
With more than 5,000 known exoplanets, astronomers are shifting their focus from discovering additional distant worlds to identifying which are good candidates for further study.
The new study analysed data gathered at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia.
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The technology of an advanced alien civilization is likely to produce many signs that could be detected across the vastness of space. Two astronomers explain the search for technosignatures.
Astronomers think the most likely place to find life in the galaxy is on super-Earths, like Kepler-69c, seen in this artist’s rendering.
NASA Ames/JPL-CalTech
Newly discovered super-Earths add to the list of planets around other stars that offer the best chance of finding life. An astronomer explains what makes these super-Earths such excellent candidates.
There could be a planetary heist going on in the star-forming region NGC 3324 in the Carina Nebula.
NASA/James Webb Telescope
Research on exoplanets over the next couple of decades could help us more accurately estimate how many intelligent alien civilisations there are in our galaxy.
NASA/ESA/CSA, A Carter (UCSC), the ERS 1386 team, and A. Pagan (STScI)
The James Webb Space Telescope just released its first-ever exoplanet image. Here’s what’s so exciting about it, and what we can stand to learn.
TRAPPIST-1e is a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of a star 40 light-years from Earth and may have water and clouds, as depicted in this artist’s impression.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Wikimedia Commons
Life on Earth has dramatically changed the chemistry of the planet. Astronomers will measure light that bounces off distant planets to look for similar clues that they host life.
The mirror on the James Webb Space Telescope is fully aligned and producing incredibly sharp images, like this test image of a star.
NASA/STScI via Flickr
It has taken eight months to test and calibrate all of the instruments and modes of the James Webb Space Telescope. A scientist on the team explains what it took to get Webb up and running.
Artist’s impression of a giant planet forming.
NASA, ESA, STScI, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)
The astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey for the 2020s lays out plans to search for life on distant planets, understand the formation of galaxies and solve deep mysteries of physics.
An artist’s impression of the dark side of ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b.
Credit: Patricia Klein / MPIA
Clouds, hellish temperatures, endless nights? Characterizing the atmosphere of exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the sun, is a formidable task.
James Webb Space Telescope mirrors undergoing cryogenic testing.
Ball Aerospace/Shutterstock