We use the sample of known stars and brown dwarfs within 5 pc of the Sun, supplemented with AFGK stars within 10 pc, to determine which stellar spectral types provide […]
exoplanet
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The NASA Exoplanet Archive: Data and Tools for Exoplanet Research
We describe the contents and functionality of the NASA Exoplanet Archive, a database and tool set funded by NASA to support astronomers in the exoplanet community. The current content of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Red Dwarf Stars Could Strip Away Planetary Protection
Red dwarf stars are the commonest type of stars, making up about 75% of the stars in our galaxy. They are much smaller and much less massive than our Sun […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Cloud Behavior Expands Habitable Zone of Alien Planets
A new study that calculates the influence of cloud behavior on climate doubles the number of potentially habitable planets orbiting red dwarfs, the most common type of stars in the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
The First Search for an Exomoon around a Habitable-Zone Planet
Kepler-22b is the first transiting planet to have been detected in the habitable-zone of its host star. At 2.4 Earth radii, Kepler-22b is too large to be considered an Earth-analog, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut
Astronomers Gear Up to Discover Earth-like Planets
As part of an international team of exoplanets hunters, astronomers at the University of Arizona are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds around other stars, many of which […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Kepler Provides Insights into Unusual Dwarf Star
Astronomer John Gizis of the University of Delaware, working with data obtained by the Kepler mission, is studying a highly unusual dwarf star and its powerful flares that may hold […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
New Kepler Mission Data Delivered
On May 28, 2013, NASA’s Kepler mission delivered new data to the NASA Exoplanet Archive. We sat down with Michael Haas, Kepler science office director at NASA Ames Research Center, […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Kepler's Dozen" 13 Stories About Distant Worlds That Really Exist
For centuries, humans have pondered what life on other planets beyond our solar system might be like. With the launch of the Kepler spacecraft in 2009 we now have evidence […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Kepler Mission Manager Update
Following the apparent failure of reaction wheel 4 on May 11, 2013, engineers were successful at transitioning the spacecraft from a Thruster-Controlled Safe Mode to Point Rest State at approximately […]