Planets orbiting binary stars are in a tough situation: They have to contend with the gravitational pull of two separate stars. Planetary formation around a single star like our sun is relatively straightforward compared ...
Astronomy
Feb 2, 2023
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NASA will contribute an instrument to a European space mission that will explore the atmospheres of hundreds of planets orbiting stars beyond our Sun, or exoplanets, for the first time.
Space Exploration
Nov 8, 2019
0
56
They say there's more than one way to skin an interstellar cat, and in astronomy there's more than one way to find alien exoplanets orbiting a distant star. With the recent shut-down of NASA's prolific Kepler mission and ...
Astronomy
Nov 21, 2018
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12
After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicate our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets—more planets even than stars—NASA's Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science ...
Astronomy
Oct 31, 2018
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13
Ever since scientists discovered the first planet outside of our solar system, 51 Pegasi b, the astronomical field of exoplanets has exploded, thanks in large part to the Kepler Space Telescope. Now, with the successful launch ...
Astronomy
May 4, 2018
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31
Are we alone? NASA's new planet-hunting mission, poised to launch Monday, aims to advance the search for extraterrestrial life by scanning the skies for nearby, Earth-like planets.
Astronomy
Apr 16, 2018
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40
The ASTERIA satellite, which was deployed into low-Earth orbit in November, is only slightly larger than a box of cereal, but it could be used to help astrophysicists study planets orbiting other stars.
Space Exploration
Apr 13, 2018
0
22
For centuries, human beings have wondered about the possibility of other Earths orbiting distant stars. Perhaps some of these alien worlds would harbor strange forms of life or have unique and telling histories or futures. ...
Astronomy
Apr 9, 2018
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69
Astronomer Ed Shaya was in his office looking at data from NASA's Kepler space telescope in 2012 when he noticed something unusual: The light from a galaxy had quickly brightened by 10 percent. The sudden bump in light got ...
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2018
0
30
Round 5 a.m. on a Tuesday this past May, Tabetha "Tabby" Boyajian sat staring at a laptop, cross-legged on her couch in the living room of her Baton Rouge, La., home. The coffee table was cluttered with the artifacts of an ...
Astronomy
Oct 3, 2017
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