Kepler-452b is currently the best example of an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of a sun-like star, a type of planet whose number of detections is expected to increase […]
extrasolar
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1
Spin States of Habitable Zone Exoplanets Around M Dwarfs: The Effect of a Near-Resonant Companion
One longstanding problem for the potential habitability of planets within M dwarf systems is their likelihood to be tidally locked in a synchronously rotating spin state. This problem thus far […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Formation of Solar System Analogs
Population synthesis models of planetary systems developed during the last ∼15 years could reproduce several of the observables of the exoplanet population, and also allowed to constrain planetary formation models. […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
An Observational Diagnostic for Distinguishing Between Clouds and Haze in Hot Exoplanet Atmospheres
The nature of aerosols in hot exoplanet atmospheres is one of the primary vexing questions facing the exoplanet field. he complex chemistry, multiple formation pathways, and lack of easily identifiable […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Habitability of Exoplanetary Systems
The aim of my dissertation is to investigate habitability in extra-Solar Systems. Most of the time, only planets are considered as possible places where extraterrestrial life can emerge and evolve, […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Conferences and Meetings, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures
Breakthrough Discuss Conference Closes with Full Day Dedicated to Newly Discovered Exoplanets and SETI
Day Two of Breakthrough Discuss opened with Michaël Gillon describing the discovery of TRAPPIST-1, which has seven temperate planets, including three in the habitable zone. The planets were discovered using […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
NIR-Driven Moist Upper Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets
H2O is a key molecule in characterizing atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets, and observations of transmission spectra are expected to play a primary role in detecting its signatures in the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Earth-Sized 'Tatooine' Planets Could Be Habitable
With two suns in its sky, Luke Skywalker’s home planet Tatooine in “Star Wars” looks like a parched, sandy desert world. In real life, thanks to observatories such as NASA’s […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Venus
Kepler-1649b: An Exo-Venus in the Solar Neighborhood
The Kepler mission has revealed that Earth-sized planets are common, and dozens have been discovered to orbit in or near their host star’s habitable zone. A major focus in astronomy […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
The stability of tightly-packed, evenly-spaced systems of Earth-mass planets orbiting a Sun-like star
Many of the multi-planet systems discovered to date have been notable for their compactness, with neighbouring planets closer together than any in the Solar System. Interestingly, planet-hosting stars have a […]