View larger. | Artist’s visualization of stars near the center of the Milky Way. The longer the trail of each star, the faster it is moving. Scientists have discovered what might be the speediest exoplanet system yet. It’s depicted with a long bright trail at center. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC). Stars move … Read more
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s super Neptune! But this Superman-mimicking planet is not blasting through space on its own. It is being dragged along by its parent star. NASA scientists have discovered what they suspect is the hypervelocity star racing through space with a Neptune-like planet in tow. The system … Read more
Hypervelocity stars have been seen before but NASA scientists have just identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system. They found a hypervelocity star that has a super-Neptune exoplanet in orbit around it. This discovery could reshape our understanding of planetary and orbital mechanics. Understanding more about these fascinating high velocity stars challenges current models of stellar … Read more
We have the transit method to thank for the large majority of the exoplanets we’ve discovered. When an exoplanet transits its star, the dip in starlight tells astronomers that a planet is present. Analyzing the light can tell them about the planet’s size and atmospheric properties. However, a star’s surface isn’t always uniformly heated. There … Read more
Astronomers may have inadvertently complicated the mystery of how strange “roasting marshmallow” planets form. Using the Gemini South telescope, researchers found that the “hot and puffy” ultra-hot Jupiter planet WASP-121b may have formed closer to its star than previously believed, challenging what we know about how planets form. Since the discovery of the first planet … Read more
View larger. | Artist’s illustration of TRAPPIST-1 b as it is about to pass behind its red dwarf star. A new study suggested that TRAPPIST-1 b is either airless but very geologically active, or has a hazy carbon dioxide atmosphere. Image via Thomas Müller (HdA/ MPIA/ Max Planck Society). TRAPPIST-1 b is the innermost rocky … Read more
Planets can differ from the swirling envelopes of gas and dust from which they are born, astronomers have found. The revelation seems to indicate that the planet formation model favored by scientists may be overly simple. A team led by researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois made this discovery while observing a still-forming planet and … Read more