Extrasolar Planets
Space Technology for Directly Imaging and Characterizing Exo-Earths 
The detection of Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone of their stars, and their spectroscopic characterization in a search for biosignatures, requires starlight suppression that exceeds the current best ground-based performance by orders of magnitude.
Photosynthesis Under Light Conditions Different from Earth's
M-dwarfs or red dwarfs are small (0.5-0.1 solar-mass) and cool ( ~3,000 kelvin) stars and are abundant in the universe.
X-Rays Reveal Temperament of Possible Planet-Hosting Stars
A new X-ray study has revealed that stars like the Sun and their less massive cousins calm down surprisingly quickly after a turbulent youth.
Using Polarimetry to Retrieve the Cloud Coverage of Earth-like Exoplanets
Context. Clouds have already been detected in exoplanetary atmospheres. They play crucial roles in a planet's atmosphere and climate and can also create ambiguities in the determination of atmospheric parameters such as trace gas mixing ratios.
Future Astrometric Space Missions for Exoplanet Science
High-precision astrometry at the sub-microarcsecond level opens up a window to study Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars, and to determine their masses.
A Glimpse of Habitability When The Ozone Layer first Formed on Earth
Kepler-96 is an active solar-type star harbouring a Super-Earth planet in close orbit. Its age of 2.3 Gyr is the same as the Sun when there was a considerable increase of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere due to micro-organisms living under the sea.
Rotational Spectral Unmixing of Exoplanets: Degeneracies between Surface Colors and Geography
Unmixing the disk-integrated spectra of exoplanets provides a clue to heterogeneous surfaces that we cannot directly resolve in the foreseeable future.
Astrophysicists Predict Earth-like Planet in Star System 16 Light Years Away
Astrophysicists at the University of Texas at Arlington have predicted that an Earth-like planet may be lurking in a star system just 16 light years away.
Four Earth-sized Planets Detected Orbiting tau Ceti
A new study by an international team of astronomers reveals that four Earth-sized planets orbit the nearest sun-like star, tau Ceti, which is about 12 light years away and visible to the naked eye.
TRAPPIST-1 is Older Than Our Solar System
If we want to know more about whether life could survive on a planet outside our solar system, it's important to know the age of its star.
Two Possible Planets In Tau Ceti's Habitable Zone
The removal of noise typically correlated in time and wavelength is one of the main challenges for using the radial velocity method to detect Earth analogues.
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Passes Critical Review 
NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has moved one step closer to launch after successfully passing its Systems Integration Review (SIR), an independent review from independent technical and scientific experts who have deemed the mission ready to begin installation of its scientific instrument onto the spacecraft.
EPIC 228813918 b: An Earth-sized Planet in a 4.3-hour Orbit Around An M-dwarf
We report the discovery from K2 of a transiting terrestrial planet in an ultra-short-period orbit around an M3-dwarf.
Characterization Of The K2-18 Multi-planetary System With HARPS
The bright M dwarf K2-18 at 34 pc is known to host a transiting super-Earth-sized planet orbiting within the star's habitable zone; K2-18b.
Migrating Jupiter Up To The Habitable Zone: Earth-like Planet Formation and Water Delivery
Several observational works have shown the existence of Jupiter-mass planets covering a wide range of semi-major axes around Sun-like stars.
Extrasolar Planets and Their Host Stars
In order to understand the exoplanet, you need to understand its parent star. Astrophysical parameters of extrasolar planets are directly and indirectly dependent on the properties of their respective host stars.
Climate diversity on cool planets around cool stars with a versatile 3-D Global Climate Model: the case of TRAPPIST-1 planets
TRAPPIST-1 planets are invaluable for the study of comparative planetary science outside our Solar System and possibly habitability.
Implications of Tides for Life on Exoplanets
As evident from the nearby examples of Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1, Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of low-mass stars are common. Here, we focus on such planetary systems and argue that their (oceanic) tides could be more prominent due to stronger tidal forces.
A New Search for Extrasolar Planets Around Barnard's Star
The National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory and the Planetary Habitability Laboratory of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo joined the Red Dots project in the search for new planets around our nearest stars.
Exoplanet Transits as the Foundation of an Interstellar Communications Network
Two fundamental problems for extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) attempting to establish interstellar communication are timing and energy consumption.
Top stories from September.
Calendar
- 25 Sep: Planet Formation and Evolution 2017
- 25 Sep: NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium
- 28 Sep: Astrobiology, Synthetic Biology, and the Future of Life
- 28 Sep: Hearing: The Great American Eclipse: To Totality and Beyond
- 1 Oct: International MoonBase Summit
- 2 Oct: Satellite Innovation Symposium
- 2 Oct: NASA Earth Science Advisory Committee Meeting
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