Tag: exoplanets
-
New exoplanet is smaller and hotter than Mercury
We often focus on the search for Earth-like planets (whatever that means) when we talk about exoplanets: planets orbiting other stars. However, another important goal is to categorize as many planetary systems as possible, determining what kind of planets orbit what sort of stars. That catalog is gradually revealing the way planets form, and how…
-
Maybe you could be the one to discover the next Earth
The orbiting Kepler observatory has been a remarkably successful project since its inception. By watching one small patch of the sky continuously, Kepler has enabled astronomers to discover upward of 2300 possible exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars. While many of those candidates likely are not actually planets, follow-up observations have confirmed 854 exoplanets as of December…
-
Bad news for some planets in binary star systems?
How quickly things can change in science: just a few years ago, we were barely able to talk about the diversity of planetary systems. Now, we are able to distinguish between planets orbiting in tight binary systems from those in wide binaries. Additionally, exoplanets in tight binaries can orbit either both stars together (circumbinary, or Tatooine-like…
-
On single-parent planethood and those hot, hot Jupiters
Many star systems seem to resemble our own Solar System: the planets orbit their host star in the same direction that the star spins. Admittedly, the data is still sparse: it’s not always possible to get that measurement. The brief version: you need the planet to transit or briefly eclipse its host star, and you…
-
Alpha Centauri harbors an Earth-mass planet
Every exoplanet discovery seems to bring us closer to understanding the variety of planetary systems out there in our galaxy. The latest find is particularly exciting: an Earth-mass planet orbiting around Alpha Centauri B, one of three stars in the closest system to the Solar System. The planet isn’t very Earthlike in most respects, but…
Bowler Hat Science 