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Exoplanet Research
JWST just found its first transiting exoplanet, and it's 99% the size of Earth. But with no atmosphere seen, perhaps air is truly rare.
Red dwarf stars were supposed to be inhospitable. But TOI-700, now with at least two potentially habitable worlds, is quite the exception.
Astronomers have been looking for radio waves sent by a distant civilization for more than 60 years.
All across the Universe, planets come in a wide variety of sizes, masses, compositions, and temperatures. And most have rain and snow.
Most exoplanets have been found around single stars via the transit method. But binary star systems might contain even more of them.
NASA is creating a planet habitability index, and Earth may not be at the top. With our current data, ranking habitability is guesswork.
As recently as 1990, we didn't know of any planets beyond our Solar System. Today, with 5000+, we're deep into the weeds of how they form.
One book will gather all topics on the search for life in the Cosmos.
No planet enters retrograde more frequently than Mercury, which does so 3-4 times each year. Here’s the scientific explanation for why.
Remembering Frank Drake, who transformed the search for alien life & extraterrestrial intelligence into a full-fledged scientific endeavor.
Should we be searching for life on other planets, or technology?
Do aliens dream about meeting us, too?
Unless you have a critical mass of heavy elements when your star first forms, planets, including rocky ones, are practically impossible.
There's an extremely good chance that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. But is it native to Mars, or did it originate from Earth?
With a telescope at just the right distance from the Sun, we could use its gravity to enhance and magnify a potentially inhabited planet.
Astronomy's roots rest in the very origins of humanity. We have always looked to the skies for answers. We are starting to get them.
The James Webb Space Telescope has chosen 5 targets for its first science release. Here's what we know on the eve of JWST's big reveal!
On Earth, carbon can form millions of compounds, while silicon is largely stuck inside rocks. But elsewhere, silicon could form the basis of life.
There are billions of potentially inhabited planets in the Milky Way alone. Here's how NASA will at last discover and measure them.
On July 12, 2022, JWST will release its first science images. Here are 5 ways the telescope's findings could change science forever.
Some astrobiologists believe life is rare, while others believe it is common in the Universe. How can we find out which view is correct?
If there are human-sized creatures walking around on other planets, would we be able to view them directly?
There are pros and cons to sending interstellar messages to aliens that may or may not exist.
The story of how Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were made isn't a universal one. Some gas giants were built different.
The closest star system to Earth, just over 4 light-years away, has three stars and at least one Earth-sized planet. Is it time to go there?
In 1990, we only knew of the planets in our own Solar System. Today, the exoplanet count is more than 5000. Here's what we've learned.
There's a limit to how large planets can be, and it's only about double the radius of Jupiter. At least, so far.
Once science operations begin for James Webb, we'll never look at the Universe the same way again. Here's what everyone should know.
There really might be extraterrestrials out there, attempting to make contact. Here's how science, not fiction, is attempting to find them.