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.
A team of astronomers announced on April 16, 2025, that in the process of studying a planet around another star, they had found evidence for an unexpected atmospheric gas. On Earth, that gas—called dimethyl sulfide—is mostly ...
Astrobiology
Apr 21, 2025
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Researchers have developed a new coronagraph—an optical device that blocks out light from a bright source—that could make it possible to see distant exoplanets obscured by light from their parent stars. The new device could ...
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2025
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What do you think of when it comes to extraterrestrial life? Most popular sci-fi books and TV shows suggest humanoid beings could live on other planets. But when astronomers are searching for extraterrestrial life, it is ...
Astronomy
Apr 17, 2025
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Astronomers raised hopes that humanity might not be alone in the universe by announcing on Thursday they have detected the most promising hints yet of life on a distant planet.
Astrobiology
Apr 17, 2025
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The dream of finding life on an alien Earth-like world is hampered by a number of technical challenges. Not the least of which is that the Earth is dwarfed by the size and brightness of the sun. We might be able to discover ...
Astronomy
Apr 17, 2025
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Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious.
Astrobiology
Apr 17, 2025
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Scientists are currently planning two major space missions to search for life in space: NASA's Project HWO and Project LIFE, led by ETH Zurich. If one of these missions were to discover life on an exoplanet, i.e., a planet ...
Astrobiology
Apr 17, 2025
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Astronomers have discovered a planet that orbits at a 90-degree angle around a rare pair of strange stars—a real-life 'twist' on the fictional twin suns of Star Wars hero Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine.
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2025
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A Southwest Research Institute-led study modeled the chemistry of TOI-270 d, an exoplanet between Earth and Neptune in size, finding evidence that it could be a giant rocky planet shrouded in a thick, hot atmosphere. TOI-270 ...
Astrobiology
Apr 15, 2025
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Using the radial velocity method, an international team of astronomers has discovered a new extrasolar planet orbiting a nearby star known as GI 410. The newfound alien world was classified as a sub-Neptune exoplanet with ...
