Exoplanet

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has provided new insights into a rocky exoplanet that may be very similar to the planet Mercury or Earth's Moon.

Just how common are potentially habitable Earth-like planets? Researchers on a new study claim to have come up with the most accurate estimate yet – and they’re more common than you might think.

Scientists at Cornell University say that life-bearing exoplanets may be detectable by their soft glow. Based on laboratory studies, the team believes that a mechanism that protects organisms from hard ultraviolet radiation could make worlds beyond the solar system radiate a soft, detectable light.

In about five billion years’ time, the Sun will grow into a red giant, destroy the Earth and become a white dwarf star. But according to a new study, any aliens out there might still be able to pick up radio waves from Earth's planetary core – for up to a billion years.

While we have some idea about what kinds of signs of life to look for on other planets, many of these can also be created under natural processes. Now NASA is about to launch a new mission that can help root out these false positives by studying the interactions between stars and their planets.

New Hubble observations show that WASP-121b is a planet that’s so intensely hot it’s vaporizing heavy metals and venting them into space. As if that wasn’t enough, the poor planet is also being stretched into a football shape thanks to the strong gravity of its host star.

NASA’s TESS mission has been very busy lately, making many exoplanet discoveries. Now, the productive little satellite has made another important discovery – the closest super-Earth that’s potentially habitable.

A new study has used simulations to show that even Earth-like planets completely encased in ice could still have areas warm enough for life, muddying up the already-murky definition of habitable worlds.

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered three worlds orbiting a star located a mere 73 light-years from Earth. The exoplanets are a tempting target for scientists hoping to understand how planets form, and may even be a future hunting ground for E.T.

NASA's TESS probe is halfway through its two-year primary mission and has completed its survey of the southern sky in its search for extrasolar planets. According to the space agency, the unmanned telescope has discovered 21 confirmed exoplanets and 850 candidates for further study.

Hurricanes and water go hand in hand. But researchers from Purdue University and MIT have now made a surprising discovery by tweaking a hurricane simulation – the storms can occur under much colder and drier conditions than previously thought, which may be common on other planets.

Weird, hypothetical objects called "ploonets" may start life as a moon circling a giant planet, but models show they can be exiled and essentially turn into planets themselves. If true, this theory could explain away some astronomical mysteries.