Super-Earths as a research area encompasses the observational, theoretical, and modeling investigations of exoplanets with masses and radii larger than Earth’s but smaller than those of ice giants like Neptune. Work in this field focuses on internal structure and composition (rocky, water-rich, or volatile-dominated), atmospheric retention and chemistry under varying irradiation regimes, and formation and migration pathways in protoplanetary disks. It integrates high-precision radial-velocity and transit surveys, atmospheric spectroscopy, planetary interior modeling, and population statistics to constrain mass–radius relationships, habitability potential, and comparative planetology frameworks for understanding planetary diversity.
Preliminary results of a study presented at the recent European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna indicate that hellish Venus-type planets may be about twice as common as habitable planets that form with oceans.
Planetary Sciences
11 hours ago
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The search for Earth 2.0 has begun in earnest. But there's a huge variety of exoplanets out there, so narrowing down the search to focus valuable telescope time on only the best candidates is critical. One variable of a planet ...
Planetary Sciences
May 11, 2026
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Using MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) Ph.D. student Sebastian Zieba (Center ...
Astronomy
May 4, 2026
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Exoplanet science and the search for life beyond Earth continue to advance at break-neck speeds, with the number of confirmed exoplanets by NASA rapidly approaching 6,300, with 223 of those exoplanets being designated as ...
Space Exploration
May 2, 2026
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Astronomers now estimate there is at least one planet for every star in our galaxy. These worlds, called exoplanets, are planets that orbit stars outside our solar system. But new research from McMaster University reveals ...
Astronomy
Apr 29, 2026
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Astronomers at The University of New Mexico have published new research confirming three bodies orbiting the dynamic exoplanet system TOI-201. They include a super-Earth (TOI-201 d), a warm Jupiter (TOI-201 b), and a brown ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2026
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133
Patches of the sun's surface often show strong magnetic fields. These fields can emerge within a matter of hours, and can decay slowly or quickly, sometimes over days, weeks, or even months. Thanks to a new study about these ...
Astronomy
Mar 16, 2026
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A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a new type of planet beyond our solar system—one that stores large amounts of sulfur deep within a permanent ocean of magma. The findings have been published in Nature ...
Astronomy
Mar 16, 2026
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Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered a new super-Earth exoplanet orbiting a star located about 83 light years away. The newfound alien world is slightly larger than Earth and ...
Up until now, exoplanet surveys have mostly focused on nearby, bright stars that are sun-like or are red dwarfs, which are known to frequently host planets. While astronomers have discovered thousands of planets this way, ...
