Some exoplanets have characteristics totally alien to our Solar System. Hot Jupiters are one such type. They can have orbital periods of less than 10 days and surface temperatures that can climb to well over 4,000 K (3,730 °C or 6,740 °F). Unlike any planets in our system, they’re usually tidally locked. Astronomers probed the … Read more
A new study has revealed that temperamental stars that brighten and dim over the course of just a few hours could be distorting astronomers’ views of thousands of planets beyond the solar system. The team behind this research reached this conclusion by studying 20 extrasolar planets or “exoplanets” as they crossed, or “transited,” the faces … 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