The atmospheres of water worlds

There are currently about fifty known exoplanets with diameters that range from Mars-sized to several times the Earth's and that also reside within their stars' habitable zone – the orbital range within which their surface ...

Are we being watched? Tens of other worlds could spot the Earth

A group of scientists from Queen's University Belfast and the Max Planck Institute for solar system Research in Germany have turned exoplanet-hunting on its head, in a study that instead looks at how an alien observer might ...

Ultraviolet light may be ultra important in search for life

In everyday life, ultraviolet, or UV, light earns a bad reputation for being responsible for sunburns and other harmful effects on humans. However, research suggests that UV light may have played a critical role in the emergence ...

More to life than the habitable zone

Two separate teams of scientists have identified major challenges for the development of life in what has recently become one of the most famous exoplanet systems, TRAPPIST-1.

Hidden stars may make planets appear smaller

In the search for planets similar to our own, an important point of comparison is the planet's density. A low density tells scientists a planet is more likely to be gaseous like Jupiter, and a high density is associated with ...

Kepler has taught us that rocky planets are common

Rocky planets are probably a whole lot more common in our galaxy than astronomers previously believed—according to the latest release of Kepler Space Telescope data last week—a scenario that enhances the prospects for ...

Europe okays project to seek alien life

Europe has approved the launch of a deep-space observatory to sniff out habitable planets in other star systems, along with any life forms they may host.

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