Category Archives: exoplanets

Three new possibly habitable ‘super-Earth’ planets discovered

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Artist conceptions of the habitable zone planets found so far by Kepler, compared to Earth on the far right. From left to right: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Earth. Credit: NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech

Artist conceptions of the habitable zone planets found so far by Kepler, compared to Earth on the far right. From left to right: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Earth.
Credit: NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech

There is some more exciting news from the Kepler space telescope mission – as announced in a NASA press briefing this morning, three more planets have been detected orbiting in their stars’ habitable zones. Larger planets have been found already in this zone around various stars, but what makes this newest discovery so compelling is that these new planets are the smallest found so far in this zone, so-called “super-Earths.” Two of them may even be covered by oceans!

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New space telescope will continue search for Earth-like worlds

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Artist's conception of TESS. Credit: Chet Beals / MIT Lincoln Lab

Artist’s conception of TESS. Credit: Chet Beals / MIT Lincoln Lab

The Kepler space telescope has already found thousands of exoplanets orbiting other stars, and now the next space telescope to join the search has been announced.

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Are alien oceans common?

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Oceans may be common early in the formation of rocky planets. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Oceans may be common early in the formation of rocky planets. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

One of the unique characteristics of Earth which sets it apart from other known planets is its oceans. Such large bodies of surface water have not yet been found elsewhere, although a number of moons, including Europa, Enceladus and Titan and possibly others, are thought to have subsurface oceans and or seas.

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Gemini Planet Imager: new telescope will photograph distant worlds

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Simulation of planets imaged by the Keck Telescope (left) compared to GPI (right). Credit: Christian Marois / Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics and Marshall Perrin/Space Telescope Science Institute

Simulation of planets imaged by the Keck Telescope (left) compared to GPI (right).
Credit: Christian Marois / Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics and Marshall Perrin/Space Telescope Science Institute

For those who wonder about alien worlds out there, this is an exciting time of discovery. The number of exoplanets found so far is now well into the thousands and rapidly growing. The one downside – if you can call it that – is that these planets, with just a few exceptions, have been discovered by methods other than direct imaging. So there are still precious few actual photos of any of these far-off worlds. But a new “extreme” telescope is set to start changing that.

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Is this the first photo of a planet being born?

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Near-infrared image from the Very Large Telescope showing the still-forming protoplanet, the bright blob, near its star (which has been blocked out by the telescope to reduce the star's bright light). Credit: ESO

Near-infrared image from the Very Large Telescope showing the still-forming protoplanet, the bright blob, near its star (which has been blocked out by the telescope to reduce the star’s bright light). Credit: ESO

Astronomers have taken the first photo of what is thought to be a giant planet still in the process of forming near its star.

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Kepler discovers tiny moon-sized exoplanet

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Artist's conception of Kepler-37b, which is smaller than Mercury and only slightly larger than our Moon. Credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech

Artist’s conception of Kepler-37b, which is smaller than Mercury and only slightly larger than our moon. Credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech

The Kepler space telescope has added another significant discovery to its growing list - the smallest exoplanet found so far (again) orbiting a sun-like star, it was announced on Wednesday.

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Colourful exoplanets may be first to show evidence of alien life

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Colourful alien life may be the easiest to find. Credit: Don Johnston / Getty Images

Colourful alien life may be the easiest to find. Credit: Don Johnston / Getty Images

Exoplanets are now being discovered on a regular basis, including ones that may be potentially habitable. But when even the nearest ones are so far away compared to the planets in our own solar system, how could they be studied for possible signs of life? Is that even possible?

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Astronomers estimate 4.5 billion ‘Earth-like’ planets in our galaxy

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There are now estimated to be about 4.5 billion "Earth-like" planets orbiting red dwarf stars in our galaxy. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)

There are now estimated to be about 4.5 billion “Earth-like” planets orbiting red dwarf stars in our galaxy. Credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)

There was more exciting exoplanet-related news this morning – a team of astronomers announced a new study today which estimates that there are likely about 4.5 billion “Earth-like” planets in our galaxy!

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Astronomers redefine the habitable zone for exoplanets

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The new definition of a star's habitable zone will affect how we search for habitable exoplanets. Credit: PHL@UPR Arecibo / Rogelio Bernal Andreo

The new definition of a star’s habitable zone will affect how we search for habitable exoplanets.
Credit: PHL@UPR Arecibo / Rogelio Bernal Andreo

When searching for potentially habitable exoplanets, one of the key factors to take into consideration is the habitable zone, the region around a star where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist on the surface of any rocky planets that may orbit them.

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Billions of planets in our galaxy

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Astronomers now estimate that there are billions of planets in our galaxy alone.Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Astronomers now estimate that there are billions of planets in our galaxy alone.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

The new year has barely begun, and already it has been a good one for exoplanets. In a previous update, it was reported that the Kepler space telescope has added hundreds of exoplanet candidates to its rapidly growing list. That is exciting enough, but another new study now, similar to other ones, estimates that there are billions of other planets in our galaxy alone.

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