In the hunt for life on other worlds, astronomers scour over planets that are light-years away. They need ways to identify life from afar — but what counts as good […]
extrasolar
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Role of Planetary Obliquity in Regulating Atmospheric Escape: G-dwarf vs. M-dwarf Earth-like Exoplanets
We present a three-species multi-fluid MHD model (H+, O+ and e−), endowed with the requisite upper atmospheric chemistry, that is capable of accurately quantifying the magnitude of oxygen ion losses […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
The Need for Laboratory Measurements and Ab Initio Studies to Aid Understanding of Exoplanetary Atmospheres
We are now on a clear trajectory for improvements in exoplanet observations that will revolutionize our ability to characterize their atmospheric structure, composition, and circulation, from gas giants to rocky […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Unexpectedly Strong Effect of Supergranulation on the Detectability of Earth Twins Orbiting Sun-like Stars With Radial Velocities
Magnetic activity and surface flows at different scales pertub radial velocity measurements. This affects the detectability of low-mass exoplanets. In these flows, the effect of supergranulation is not as well […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Lightning And Charge Processes In Brown Dwarf and Exoplanet Atmospheres
The study of the composition of brown dwarf atmospheres helped to understand their formation and evolution. Similarly, the study of exoplanet atmospheres is expected to constrain their formation and evolutionary […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
The CARMENES Search For Exoplanets Around M Dwarfs
We use spectra from CARMENES, the Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs, to search for periods in chromospheric indices in 16 […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Citizen Science / Open Science, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Kepler Finds A New Planet In A Stellar Habitable Zone
Using data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope, citizen scientists have discovered a planet roughly twice the size of Earth located within its star’s habitable zone, the range of orbital distances […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Kepler-730: A Hot Jupiter System with a Close-in, Transiting, Earth-sized Planet
Kepler-730 is a planetary system hosting a statistically validated hot Jupiter in a 6.49-day orbit and an additional transiting candidate in a 2.85-day orbit. We use spectroscopic radial velocities from […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Observability of Hydrogen-rich Exospheres in Earth-like Exoplanets
Context. The existence of an extended neutral hydrogen exosphere around small planets can be used as an evidence for the presence of water in their lower atmosphere but, to date, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Warm super-Earths in twin orbits around the mid-type M dwarfs Ross 1020 (GJ 3779) and LP 819-052 (GJ 1265)
We announce the discovery of two planetary companions orbiting around the low mass stars Ross 1020 (GJ 3779, M4.0V) and LP 819-052 (GJ 1265, M4.5V). The discovery is based on […]