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.
The discovery of a possible "super-Earth" less than 20 light-years from our own planet is offering scientists new hope in the hunt for other worlds that could harbor life, according to an international team including researchers ...
Astrobiology
Oct 23, 2025
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177
Using radial velocity measurements, an international team of astronomers has identified a second planet orbiting a nearby M-dwarf star known as Gliese 536. The newfound alien world turns out to be at least a few times more ...
Using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new super-Earth exoplanet that orbits a nearby M dwarf star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-1846 b, ...
"Are we alone?" This ancient question has occupied humanity's mind for a long time. In 1995, the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star opened the door to exploring this profound mystery.
Astrobiology
Jun 3, 2025
0
184
A team of researchers has recently claimed they have discovered a gas called dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the atmosphere of K2-18b, a planet orbiting a distant star.
Astrobiology
May 15, 2025
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46
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of two new exoplanets, a few times more massive than Earth, orbiting a sun-like star known as HD 35843. The finding was reported in a research paper published May ...
An international team including astronomers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) has announced the discovery of a planet about twice the size of Earth orbiting its star farther out than Saturn is ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 24, 2025
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2222
A new study by Rice University researchers Sho Shibata and Andre Izidoro presents a compelling new model for the formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes—planets that are 1 to 4 times the size of Earth and among the most ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 11, 2025
0
88
An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago by Oxford University scientist Dr. Michael Cretignier. ...
Astronomy
Feb 8, 2025
0
1399
Thirty years after the discovery of the first exoplanet, astronomers have detected more than 7,000 of them in our galaxy. But there are still billions more to be discovered. At the same time, exoplanetologists have begun ...
Astrobiology
Jan 28, 2025
2
813
