The discovery of exoplanets has both focused and expanded the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The consideration of Earth as an exoplanet, the knowledge of the orbital parameters of individual exoplanets, […]
exoplanet
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Searching for Exoplanets Using Artificial Intelligence
In the last decade, over a million stars were monitored to detect transiting planets. Manual interpretation of potential exoplanet candidates is labor intensive and subject to human error, the results […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut, Press Release, tau Ceti
ALMA Observations of the Debris Disk of Solar Analogue Tau Ceti
We present 1.3 mm observations of the Sun-like star τ Ceti with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) that probe angular scales of ∼1” (4 AU). This first interferometric image […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Analytical Models of Exoplanetary Atmospheres: Gaseous C-H-O-N Chemistry with 9 Molecules
We present novel, analytical, equilibrium-chemistry formulae for the abundances of molecules in hot exoplanetary atmospheres that include the carbon, oxygen and nitrogen networks. Our hydrogen-dominated solutions involve acetylene (C2H2), ammonia […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Panspermia, Press Release
Statistical Signatures of Panspermia in Exoplanet Surveys
A fundamental astrobiological question is whether life arose spontaneously on earth or was transported here from an extrasolar system. We propose a new strategy to answer this question based on […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Variability in the Super-Earth 55 Cnc e
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in observations of atmospheric signatures of giant exoplanets, but processes in rocky exoplanets remain largely unknown due to major challenges in observing […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Calculations Show Planets in the Habitable Zone Around Most Stars
Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets in our galaxy, the Milky Way, using the Kepler satellite and many of them have multiple planets orbiting the host star. By analysing these […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Formation of Close in Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes
Recent observations by the Kepler space telescope have led to the discovery of more than 4000 exoplanet candidates consisting of many systems with Earth- to Neptune-sized objects that reside well […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Clear Skies and Water Vapor on an Exoplanet
Astronomers using data from three of NASA’s space telescopes — Hubble, Spitzer and Kepler — have discovered clear skies and steamy water vapor on a gaseous planet outside our solar […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Instrumentation for the Detection and Characterization of Exoplanets
In no other field of astrophysics has the impact of new instrumentation been as substantial as in the domain of exoplanets. Before 1995 our knowledge about exoplanets was mainly based […]