Collaborate Disseminate
Given just how incomprehensibly, unfathomably big the universe is, chances are tiny that Earth is the only planet with life on it. But how would we find others? A new NASA grant has been awarded to aid the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI… Continue reading NASA funds SETI study to scan exoplanets for alien “technosignatures”
A team of international researchers has confirmed the existence of an Earth-like exoplanet only 4.2 light-years from the Sun. Using the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations (ESPRESSO), the scientists found tha… Continue reading Closest exoplanet more Earth-like than previously thought
Mankind will always wonder whether we’re alone in the universe. What is out there? Sure, these past weeks we’ve been increasingly wondering the same about our own, direct proximity, but that’s a different story. Up until two years ago, we had the Kepler space telescope aiding us in our quest …read more
An international team of astronomers led by Anthony Boccaletti of the Observatoire de Paris has found what may be the first images of a planet being born. Based on observations by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT), im… Continue reading Images with a “twist” could be first showing birth of an exoplanet
NASA has officially named its next planet hunter. Previously known as the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), the project has now been named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – or simply, the Roman Space Telescope – after NASA’s first ch… Continue reading Meet NASA’s Roman Space Telescope, named after the “Mother of Hubble”
Using polarized light, astronomers have detected signs of cloud bands in the atmosphere of a brown dwarf far beyond the solar system. It turns out that these gassy giants have a similar appearance to Jupiter, and the same kind of wild weather.Continue … Continue reading “Astronomers’ sunglasses” spot stripy clouds in brown dwarf atmosphere
No matter how tough we think life is, it continually outdoes expectations. Now a new study from MIT has found that E. coli and yeast can survive in an atmosphere made up of 100 percent hydrogen. And that could have fascinating implications for life on … Continue reading Surprising study finds microbes can survive in all-hydrogen atmosphere
An international team of researchers has found that an exoplanet 456 light-years from Earth is so hot its atmosphere contains vaporized metals. Orbiting the blue star KELT-20 every 3.5 days in the constellation of Cygnus, MASCARA-2 b is a “hot Jupiter”… Continue reading An exoplanet so hot its atmosphere contains vaporized metals
Exoplanet discoveries are a dime a dozen – but we don’t see many being de-discovered. Now, an exoplanet that was observed by Hubble for 10 years has apparently vanished without a trace, leading astronomers to suggest it may never have been a planet at … Continue reading Astronomers watch as “exoplanet” vanishes before Hubble’s eyes
A review of early data returned by NASA’s Kepler mission has revealed one of the most Earth-like exoplanets discovered so far. Located 300 light-years away, the new planet is slightly larger than our own, is estimated to have a similar temperature, and… Continue reading Kepler data reveals most Earth-like exoplanet in size and temperature yet