An artist’s impression of the exoplanet WASP-76b, which is hot enough to vaporize metals.
(European Southern Observatory/M. Kornmesser)
On the ultra-hot exoplanet WASP-76b, metal is vaporized in the heat. Studying the atmosphere of extreme planets will reveal more wild and weird weather.
CSIRO
Astronomers hunting extraterrestrials were excited to discover an intriguing signal, but closer inspection has revealed it wasn’t aliens.
Artist’s rendition of the Jupiter-like planet and its white dwarf star.
W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
In 5 billion years the Sun will collapse. A new discovery suggest some planets may still survive afterwards.
Scientists have spotted a Jupiter-like planet surviving the death of its star.
Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
For the first time ever, astronomers have astrophysical evidence that Jupiter and many other planets will survive the death of the Sun.
Astronomers have found a way to estimate the number of stars in the universe.
Comstock Images via Getty Images
Scientists have a good estimate on the staggering number of stars in the universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the biggest orbital telescope ever built and is scheduled to be launched into space on Dec. 18, 2021.
NASA/Desiree Stover
The largest orbital telescope ever made will allow astronomers to study the atmospheres of alien planets, learn about how stars form in the Milky Way and peer into the farthest reaches of the universe.
NASA / Tim Pyle
By studying the chemical makeup of binary stars, astronomers found many planetary systems are far less peaceful than ours.
ESO
Can the Galileo Project find alien technology?
Artist illustration of an exoplanet.
dottedhippo/iStock via Getty Images
Billions of galaxies are in the universe, with billions of stars in every galaxy. Could billions of planets be out there too?
ESO/Frederik Peeters
Weather on other planets and moons can be much more extreme than on Earth.
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the solar system and is home to a potentially habitable planet.
Hubble/European Space Agency/WikimediaCommons
Astronomers just measured the largest flare ever from Proxima Centauri, humanity’s closest neighboring star. These flares could be bad news for life trying to develop on a planet orbiting the star.
A planet in a triple-star system has been discovered.
(Shutterstock)
Publicly available data and collaborations between scientists have led to the discovery of a planet in a triple-star system.
Artist impression of KELT-9 b, the orange blob orbiting a blue star.
Léa Changeat
The hottest exoplanet known so far has metals in its atmosphere – something scientists thought would be impossible.
Triff / shutterstock
This discovery will shape the hunt for life on exoplanets.
In the future, robots we’ve programmed may evolve and multiply on distant planets.
SquareMotion/Shutterstock
The robots are ‘born’ via 3D printer, and recycle themselves upon their ‘death’.
xtock / shutterstock
I simulated the climate on 100,000 exoplanets to find out.
NASA’s James Webb telescope mirror undergoing cryogenic testing.
Ball Aerospace/Flickr
India may land on the Moon this coming year, while Nasa will launch its new, powerful rocket farther into space than any other human rated spacecraft.
Artist’s depiction of a flare-coronal mass ejection event on Proxima Centauri.
Mark Myers, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav)
We observed a powerful flare and a huge burst of radio waves from our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, indicating violent space weather around the star.
Many people who say they have seen UFOs are either dog walkers or smokers.
Aaron Foster/THeImage Bank/Getty Images
Scientists are not convinced by the current evidence of UFOs. That doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. But have Americans’ belief in UFOs gone from science to a new religion?
Artist’s impression of CHEOPS in orbit above Earth. In this view the satellite’s telescope cover is closed.
ESA / ATG medialab
The primary objective of CHEOPS is to better understand the planets that we’ve already found. And its mission is now in full swing.