Wild supersonic winds whip around this extreme exoplanet
Planets outside our solar system can be wild, weird places. Astronomers have discovered exoplanets shaped like a rugby ball, or where it rains gems, or which have one hemisphere covered…
First indications of a rare, rainbow ‘glory effect’ on hellish exoplanet
Just from looking at our own solar system, we can see that planets come in a wide variety of colors — from the dusty red of Mars to the bright…
Astronomers spot rare star system with six planets in geometric formation
Astronomers have discovered a rare star system in which six planets orbit around one star in an elaborate geometrical pattern due to a phenomenon called orbital resonance. Using both NASA’s…
Here’s why scientists think life may have thrived on the ‘hell planet’ Venus
When you look at Venus today, it doesn’t seem like a very welcoming place. With surface temperatures hotter than an oven, atmospheric pressure equivalent to being 3,000 feet deep in…
Astronomers spot an exoplanet creating spiral arms around its star
When you imagine a galaxy like our Milky Way, you’re probably picturing a swirl shape with arms reaching out from a central point. These spiral arms are a classic feature…
Exoplanet is over 2,000-degrees Celsiu, has vaporized metal in its atmosphere
Astronomers have studied a strange, puffy, scorching-hot planet located 600 light-years away, and have seen elements that would normally form rocks, but are so hot that they have vaporized into…
Astronomers discover three exoplanets in final data from Kepler Space Telescope
The Kepler Space Telescope was retired in 2018 after a nine-year mission that saw it discover an incredible 2,600 confirmed exoplanets, kicking off the modern era of exoplanet research. But…
Webb Telescope Reveals Nearby Exoplanet Has No Atmosphere
TRAPPIST-1b is a superhot rocky world just 40 light-years away. Astronomers recently trained the Webb Space Telescope this exoplanet, a world in the TRAPPIST-1 star system, and found that it’s…
Webb Telescope Spots a Planet With ‘Gritty’ Clouds Just 40 Light-Years Away
The Webb Space Telescope just turned its infrared gaze at an exoplanet and found dense clouds swirling in the atmosphere of this quirky world. CC Off English The planet—VHS 1256b—has…
Tidally locked exoplanets could be habitable in the ‘terminator zone’
Exoplanets can have all sorts of strange environments, and one feature which is relatively common to find among exoplanets but doesn’t exist among planets in our solar system is tidal…