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.
Lately we've been reporting about a series of studies on the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), NASA's flagship telescope mission for the 2040s. These studies have looked at the type of data they need to collect, and what ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 27, 2026
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Scientists have discovered over 6,000 planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets. More than half of these planets were discovered thanks to data from NASA's retired Kepler mission and NASA's current ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 22, 2026
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Astronomers have long searched for life within a rather narrow ring around a star, the "habitable zone," where a planet should be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. A new study argues that this ring is too strict: ...
Astrobiology
Jan 22, 2026
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Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new extrasolar planet orbiting a sun-like star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-3862 b, turns out to ...
We recently discussed the different types of worlds that the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is expected to find that might have noticeable biosignatures. However, no matter how good the instrumentation on board the observatory ...
Astrobiology
Jan 20, 2026
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At the beginning of the exoplanet age, the goals were fairly simple. The first was to find as many of them as possible to flesh out our understanding of the exoplanet population. The second was to determine if any were in ...
Astrobiology
Jan 15, 2026
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In a blow to anyone dreaming that complex life may exist elsewhere in the universe, a new study suggests we're unlikely to find it around many of the most common stars in the galaxy.
We live in a very exciting time: answers to some of the oldest questions humanity has conceived are within our grasp. One of these is whether Earth is the only place that harbors life.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 12, 2026
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On Jan. 11, 2026, I watched anxiously at the tightly controlled Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as an awe-inspiring SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried NASA's new exoplanet telescope, Pandora, into orbit.
Astronomy
Jan 12, 2026
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Pandora, the latest in a long portfolio of University of Arizona's space science missions, has cleared its last major milestone on its journey into space. This week, Pandora—a satellite about the size of fridge—was mounted ...
Space Exploration
Jan 10, 2026
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