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A dramatic twist in cosmic storytelling: A Jupiter-sized planet didn’t get swallowed by an expanding red giant, as astronomers once believed. Instead, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope uncovered that the planet spiraled inward over time, ultimately plunging into its star in a fiery cosmic demise. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) ********************************************************************** Lingering Brightness Provides Evidence for How the Planet Met Its Demise Each year, scientists from around the world compete for a chance to use NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Proposals go through a rigorous review process, and approved projects are added to Webb’s observation schedule, which is...

The natal disk of PDS 70 with new planet PDS 70b (bright spot on the right). By studying this system, researchers uncovered a mismatched composition of gases in the planet’s atmosphere compared to gases within the disk. Credit: ESO, VLT, André B. Müller ======================================================================================= A new study challenges traditional views of planet formation by showing discrepancies in the composition of gases between a developing exoplanet and its surrounding disk. The research, based on analysis of the PDS 70 system, suggests that planets might not simply accrete gas from their natal disks but may also significantly incorporate solid materials. New Findings...

The same observations also indicate LHS 1140b is a world of mostly solids and liquids, not an undersized gas giant. Artist's impression of LHS 1140b in the likely scenario where one side is all ice, while the side tidally locked to its star has a region of liquid ocean and cloud, which unfortunately looks like an eyeball (Earth for size comparison). Image Credit: B. Gougeon/Universite de Montreal Observations by the JWST have revealed exciting hints of an Earth-like atmosphere on a planet orbiting a relatively nearby star. The planet is likely to be cooler than Earth, but still warmer than...

Gliese 12 b is a newly discovered rocky exoplanet, between Earth and Venus in size. It orbits a red dwarf star 40 light-years away..."Transiting" means this world passes in front of its star from our earthly perspective. That fact makes it possible to observe with TESS, whose full name is the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite...The uncertainties about Gliese 12 b center on its possible atmopshere. If it doesn't have an atmosphere, computer models indicate its average surface temperature are slightly warmer than Earthlike, with an average temperature of only around 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). That's in contrast to...

Around a star in our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have discovered an extremely low-density planet that is as light as cotton candy. The new planet, named WASP-193b, appears to dwarf Jupiter in size, yet it is a fraction of its density. CREDIT: K. Ivanov ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A team of astronomers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have discovered a distant planet that they can’t explain with current planet evolutionary theories. The newly discovered WASP-193b is a gas giant 50 percent larger than Jupiter, the largest gas giant in our solar system. However, it is only one-tenth as dense,...

Since the landmark discovery in 1992 of two planets orbiting a star outside of our Solar System, thousands of new worlds have been added to a rapidly growing list of 'exoplanets' in the Milky Way galaxy. We've learnt many things from this vast catalogue of alien worlds orbiting alien stars. But one small detail stands out like a sore thumb. We've found nothing else out there like our own Solar System. This has led some to conclude that our home star and its brood could be outliers in some way – perhaps the only planetary system of its kind. By...

This artist’s concept shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light-years from Earth. A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and carbon dioxide. The abundance of methane and carbon dioxide, and shortage of ammonia, support the hypothesis that there may be a water ocean underneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in K2-18 b. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI),...

Astronomers have discovered a unique Jupiter-sized planet, named TOI-4860 b, orbiting a low-mass star in the Corvus constellation. This planet, enriched with heavy elements, defies traditional planet formation models. The discovery provides a chance to study the atmospheric properties of ‘Warm Jupiters’ and offers insights into the planet formation process, possibly catalyzed by an abundance of heavy elements. Scientists have identified a Jupiter-sized planet, TOI-4860 b, around a low-mass star, challenging conventional planet formation theories. An international team of researchers has discovered an unusual Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a low-mass star called TOI-4860, located in the Corvus constellation. The newly discovered...

an illustration of a planet covered in active volcanoes Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Chris Smith / KRBwyle Astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet they suspect is covered in volcanoes — making it a promising lead in the hunt for extraterrestrial life. Volcano planet: An international team of astronomers spotted the exoplanet, dubbed “LP 791-18 d,” using data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and ground-based observatories. Based on their analysis, it has a radius 1.03 times that of Earth’s and a mass .9 times that of our home planet. It’s now...

The discovery could challenge our theories of how gas giants like Jupiter form. A dark planet passes in front of a bright red star. Artist's conception of a large gas giant planet orbiting a small red dwarf star called TOI-5205. (Image credit: Katherine Cain, courtesy of the Carnegie Institution for Science) Astronomers have discovered an unusual planetary system consisting of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a tiny star that is only four times the size of the solar system gas giant. This "forbidden" configuration of a massive planet orbiting a relatively tiny star could challenge theories of how gas giant planets...

Schematic diagram of the newly discovered Ross 508 planetary system. The green region represents the habitable zone where liquid water can exist on the planetary surface. The planetary orbit is shown as a blue line. A Planet has Been Found That Shifts In and Out of the Habitable Zone A super-Earth planet has been found orbiting a red dwarf star, only 37 light-years from the Earth. Named Ross 508 b, the newly found world has an unusual elliptical orbit that causes it to shift in and out of the habitable zone. Therefore, part of the time conditions would be...

An artist’s impression of the Saturn-size exoplanet WASP-39b, 700 light-years away - NASA; ESA; CSA; JOSEPH Astronomers have found carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere of a Saturn-size planet 700 light-years away—the first unambiguous detection of the gas in a planet beyond the Solar System. The discovery, made by the James Webb Space Telescope, provides clues to how the planet formed. The result also shows just how quickly Webb may identify a spate of other gases, such as methane and ammonia, which could hint at a planet’s potential habitability for life. Webb is “ushering in this new era of the...

VIDEO at link............... Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A team of researchers have discovered an exoplanet about 100 light years away from Earth in the Draco constellation, and they say the world appears to be covered in a deep ocean. The exoplanet -- called TOI-1452b -- is slightly larger than the Earth and is located in a "Goldilocks zone," where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist. Therefore, astronomers think TOI-1452b could be covered in an ocean. The exoplanet orbits "a nearby visual-binary M dwarf" star. University of Montreal researcher Dr. Charles Cadieux led the...

TRAPPIST-1e TRAPPIST-1e is a rocky exoplanet in the habitable zone of a star 39 light-years from Earth and may have water and clouds, as depicted in this artist’s impression. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST-1e ************************************************************************ To search for alien life, astronomers will search for clues in the atmospheres of distant planets – and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just proved it’s possible to do so. The ingredients necessary for life are spread throughout the universe. While Earth is the only known place with life in the universe, detecting life beyond our planet is a major goal of modern astronomy and planetary science....

Illustration of the two newly discovered exoplanets. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Two new worlds of probable rocky mineral goodness have just been found orbiting a star close to our own cosmic neighborhood. The two newly discovered exoplanets are what are known as super-Earths – bigger than Earth, but smaller than an ice giant – orbiting a cool red dwarf star called HD 260655, which is just 33 light-years away. While the worlds are unlikely to be habitable, given our current understanding of life, the star and its exoplanets are among the closest multi-world systems to Earth. This makes it an excellent target for...

WASP-12b is one of the more interesting exoplanets we know of. Orbiting a yellow dwarf star a little bigger than the Sun 1,410 light-years away, the ultra-black planet is what's known as a "hot Jupiter" - a gas giant exoplanet with similar mass and size to Jupiter, but so close to the star that it's scorching hot. WASP-12b has never exactly been in the most secure position. With an orbital period of just over a day, the gas giant exoplanet is so close to its star that a constant stream of material is being siphoned away from its atmosphere. But...

Posted on August 12, 2020 by David Dickinson Hubble Examines Earth’s Reflection as an ‘Exoplanet’ During a Lunar Eclipse What would we look for in a distant exoplanet in the hunt for Earth-like worlds, and perhaps life? A recent observation carried out by the Hubble Space Telescope found tell-tale signatures from our home planet by looking at a familiar source under extraordinary circumstances: Earth’s Moon, during a total lunar eclipse.The experiment was carried out by the Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990 and now in its 30th year of operation. Orbiting the Earth once every 96 minutes, Hubble is...

The first planet to be discovered outside our solar system isn't a planet at all, and may be a giant dust cloud created by the collision of two icy asteroids, a study finds. Twelve years ago, astronomers spotted what they thought was a Saturn-like planet in the Fomalhaut star system 25 light years from Earth, and called it Fomalhaut b. But now researchers from the University of Arizona claim the visible and infrared images of the 'planet' captured by the Hubble Space Telescope were actually of a cosmic collision. The team studied the images in more detail and found they...

Scientists analyzing data gathered by Kepler, which NASA retired in November 2018, just found a hidden gem: an Earth-size world that may be capable of supporting life as we know it. The exoplanet, Kepler-1649c, circles a red dwarf star that lies 300 light-years from Earth, a new study reports. Kepler-1649c completes one orbit every 19.5 Earth days, putting the alien planet in its host star's "habitable zone," the just-right range of distances where liquid water could exist on a world's surface. (Because red dwarfs are so dim, their habitable zones lie quite close.) "This intriguing, distant world gives us even...

By watching for a special kind of flare, astronomers have identified the fingerprints of an Earth-size planet orbiting a distant star.The planet orbits its host star, a dim “M dwarf,” just at the edge of the habitable zone — the region where liquid water could exist. Jupiter’s moon Io — the solar system’s most volcanic world — has inspired a new way to find distant exoplanets. As the moon orbits Jupiter, it tugs on the planet’s magnetic field, generating bright auroras in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Even if we couldn’t see Io itself, the enormous auroras, pulsing to the beat of...