Habitable zone

A newly-published NASA and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) study is asserting that roughly 92 percent of habitable worlds have yet to be created. The research draws on data collected by NASA's Hubble and Kepler space telescopes.

Astronomers looking for exoplanets are using a fine-toothed comb – a fine-toothed astro-comb, to be precise. And just to make sure it works, the first planet they’ll be looking for is Venus.

Those packing their bags for a trip to the two potentially habitable exoplanets previously claimed to be orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581 had better rethink their travel plans. Astronomers at Pennsylvania State University say the planets, Gliese 581 d and Gliese 581 g, don't actually exist.

The search for extraterrestrial life zeroed in a bit today as NASA announced that its unmanned Kepler Space Telescope detected the most Earth-like planet yet found beyond the Solar System.

It’s been five years since NASA’s $600 million Kepler Space Telescope was launched to look for planets beyond our Solar System and while the quest to find a twin for Earth has so far been fruitless, Kepler’s observations have revealed our galaxy to be full of worlds potentially able to support life.

Scientists René Heller and John Armstrong contend that there might be a planet even more suitable for life than Earth 4.3 light years away orbiting the star Alpha Centauri B.

NASA has announced that the Kepler space probe has discovered two planetary systems that include three “super-Earths” in the "habitable zones” in two star systems that include an exoplanet that is the closest in size to Earth yet found.

Researchers at Penn state have developed a new method for calculating the habitable zone around exoplanets.

A recent analysis of the data gathered from the Kepler telescope has revealed that Earth-sized planets across our Milky Way are much more common than previously thought.

Five exoplanets, two of which reside in the habitable zone, have been found orbiting the Sun-like star Tau Ceti.