Exoplanet systems as a research area investigate the formation, architecture, dynamics, and physical properties of planetary systems orbiting stars other than the Sun, integrating observational, theoretical, and computational approaches. The field encompasses detection techniques (e.g., transits, radial velocities, direct imaging, microlensing), characterization of planetary masses, radii, atmospheres, and orbits, and statistical studies of population demographics as functions of stellar type, metallicity, and environment. It also addresses disk–planet interactions, migration processes, multi-planet dynamics, and stability, with implications for planet formation theories, comparative planetology, and the occurrence and potential habitability of terrestrial and giant planets in diverse stellar contexts.
Exoplanets aren't the only objects floating around other stars—they likely have comets and asteroids as well. Even some of the exoplanets themselves will have "exomoons," at least according to our current understanding of ...
Astronomy
Sep 24, 2025
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Florida Tech astrophysicist Howard Chen is offering new insights to help aid NASA's search for life beyond Earth. His latest theoretical work investigates the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, one of the most widely studied exoplanetary ...
Astrobiology
Sep 18, 2025
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An exoplanet orbiting a dwarf star 124 light-years from Earth made headlines around the world in April 2025. Researchers at the University of Cambridge reported that planet K2-18b could be a marine world with a deep, global ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 18, 2025
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The official number of exoplanets—planets outside our solar system—tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. Confirmed planets are added to the count on a rolling basis by scientists from around the world, so no single planet is ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 17, 2025
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An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE), including scientists from the National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS, the University of Warwick, and the Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 16, 2025
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In the search for habitable exoplanets, atmospheric conditions play a key role in determining if a planet can sustain liquid water. Suitable candidates often sit in the "Goldilocks zone," a distance that is neither too close ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 14, 2025
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When the JWST finally began its long-awaited science operations in July 2022, there was a long list of targets awaiting its attention. Scientists compete for observing time by submitting proposals, and for every nine submitted ...
Astronomy
Sep 14, 2025
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TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star located about 40 light years away that hosts seven Earth-sized rocky planets, with at least three orbiting in the habitable zone where liquid water could potentially exist. This makes it one ...
Astrobiology
Sep 11, 2025
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The earliest images of 3I/ATLAS, newly uncovered by Michigan State University, reveal how the interstellar object evolved as it traveled through our solar system—and how other distant solar systems might be different from ...
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2025
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As atmospheric observations of exoplanets become increasingly precise, it is more important than ever to correctly account for the effect of starspots on host stars. An ideal opportunity to study starspots arises when a transiting ...
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2025
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