To date astronomers have discovered over 4,000 planets orbiting other stars. Statistically, there should be over 100 billion planets in our Milky Way galaxy. They come in a wide range of sizes and characteristics, largely ...
Astronomy
Jan 9, 2020
2
1050
Contrary to previous thought, a gigantic planet in wild orbit does not preclude the presence of an Earth-like planet in the same solar system—or life on that planet.
Astronomy
Nov 5, 2019
2
892
An exoplanet may seem like the perfect spot to set up housekeeping, but before you go there, take a closer look at its star.
Astronomy
Oct 31, 2019
14
305
K2-18b, which is eight times the mass of Earth, is now the only planet orbiting a star outside the Solar System, or 'exoplanet', known to have both water and temperatures that could support life.
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2019
51
3541
In The Little Prince, the classic novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the titular prince lives on a house-sized asteroid so small that he can watch the sunset any time of day by moving his chair a few steps.
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2019
7
441
A new study provides the most accurate estimate of the frequency that planets that are similar to Earth in size and in distance from their host star occur around stars similar to our Sun. Knowing the rate that these potentially ...
Astronomy
Aug 14, 2019
8
1570
NASA's newest planet-hunting satellite has discovered a type of planet missing from our own solar system.
Astronomy
Jul 29, 2019
4
701
People have long dreamed of re-shaping the Martian climate to make it livable for humans. Carl Sagan was the first outside of the realm of science fiction to propose terraforming. In a 1971 paper, Sagan suggested that vaporizing ...
Space Exploration
Jul 15, 2019
13
2540
Scientists may need to rethink their estimates for how many planets outside our solar system could host a rich diversity of life.
Astronomy
Jun 10, 2019
30
3815
Since its discovery in 2016, planetary scientists have been excited about TRAPPIST-1, a system where seven Earth-sized rocky planets orbit a cool star. Three of the planets are in the habitable zone, the region of space where ...
Astronomy
Apr 17, 2019
1
415
