Planet

In 2016, astronomers discovered a potentially habitable Earth-sized exoplanet just four light-years away – and new observations suggest it isn’t alone. A second planet may be orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun.

New evidence suggests that snow may be falling within the broiling hot core of planet Earth. Of course, this isn’t your everyday surface snow – these flakes would be made of iron, settling onto the solid inner core through the more fluid outer core.

ESA has successfully launched its Cheops telescope on a mission to make detailed follow-up studies of distant exoplanets discovered by earlier space-faring telescopes, such as Kepler and TESS.

Scientists have discovered a massive planet evaporating as it orbits the remains of a Sun-like star. This is the first time evidence of a huge planet orbiting a white dwarf has been observed, and it could help reveal the fate of our own solar system.

Every planet we know of orbits a star – but that might not be a universal rule. According to calculations by researchers at NAOJ, planets could technically form around supermassive black holes, creating vast planetary systems of thousands of worlds.

An unexpected discovery is challenging our accepted understanding of how planets form. Astronomers have spotted a gigantic gas planet orbiting a small red dwarf star, which shouldn’t be possible according to current models.

Astronomers from Columbia University have a new theory about what's dimming Tabby's Star – and no, it’s not an alien megastructure.

Hubble has captured a new portrait of the ringed planet Saturn while the gas giant was at its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

Water is crucial to life as we know it, so it’s one of the key things astronomers look out for on exoplanets. And now, water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a potentially habitable exoplanet for the first time.

Analysis of Saturn’s interior describes jet streams that continue deep below the surface and thick liquid that “flows like honey”.

If it was in our solar system, the orbit of exoplanet HR 5183 b would swing from the asteroid belt to way out beyond Neptune.

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.