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.
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
0
47
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
0
2224
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
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1400
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
815
New observational data from the James Webb Space Telescope and simulation models have confirmed a new type of planet unlike anything found in the solar system. This provides another piece of the puzzle describing how planets ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 15, 2025
5
106
Emily Simpson has loved space since she was a 10-year-old kid celebrating her birthday at a planetarium. Now a recent Florida Tech graduate, she leaves with not only a dual degree in planetary science and astronomy and astrophysics ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 13, 2025
0
260
Currently, 5,788 exoplanets have been confirmed in 4,326 star systems, while thousands more candidates await confirmation. So far, the vast majority of these planets have been gas giants (3,826) or Super-Earths (1,735), while ...
Astrobiology
Dec 12, 2024
0
40
An international team led by researchers in Japan and Europe has discovered a new multi-planet system around a sun-like star, including an ultra-short period planet with one of the highest densities ever measured. The findings, ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 15, 2024
0
254
