Extremely Large Telescope Archives - Astrobiology

A diagram depicting habitable zone boundaries across star type with rocky exoplanets from Bohl et al. (2026). The boundaries of the habitable zone shift based on star colour, since different wavelengths of light will heat a planet's atmosphere differently. Credit Gillis Lowry / Pablo Carlos Budassi Licence type Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Gaia Mission, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1

Where To Find Other Earths? New List Narrows Down The Targets

by Keith CowingMarch 20, 2026March 20, 2026

New Cornell research – co-authored by an undergraduate and two recent alumni – will help exoplanet scientists pinpoint the most likely places to look for life in the universe out […]

Artist concept highlighting the novel approach proposed by the 2025 NIAC awarded selection of Inflatable Starshade for Earthlike Exoplanets concept. -- NASA/John Mather -- NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC)

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The Observation Of Earth-like Exoplanets With Ground-based Telescopes And A Shared Orbiting Starshade

by Keith CowingMarch 6, 2026March 6, 2026

Imaging Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars from the ground is challenging and requires substantial advances in techniques. This Perspective presents and provides the predicted performance of a hybrid space–ground approach […]

A possible architecture for HWO under study by the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office. This design has an 8-meter inscribed diameter filled by 37 hexagonal segments — larger than JWST. Unlike JWST, this telescope is an off-axis format with a secondary mirror on a single strut structure at top and a multilayer deployable barrel for micrometeorite protection and thermal stability. -- STSCI

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

The Next Frontier In Exoplanet Science: Imaging Our Neighbouring Planetary Systems

by Keith CowingDecember 19, 2025December 19, 2025

Transmission and eclipse spectroscopy have been invaluable tools for the characterisation of extrasolar planet atmospheres. While they will continue to provide many new insights and discoveries in the decade(s) to […]

Exoplanet HD 20794 d -- University of Oxford

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Existence Of Exoplanet HD 20794 d In A Habitable Zone Confirmed

by Keith CowingJanuary 28, 2025January 28, 2025

An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby Sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago by Oxford […]

All known exoplanets shown in terms of their host star’s temperature and the incident stellar flux they receive. Transiting rocky exoplanets are shown as circles, planets where only minimum mass is known as diamonds. Exoplanets in the HZ are shown in blue, with exoplanets ≤ 2 𝑅⊕ and ≤ 5 𝑀⊕ shown as smaller symbols in solid colors. Empirical HZ limits and the 3D inner HZ limit are shown as dashed lines. A light gray line indicates similar irradiation to modern Earth for different stellar temperatures. -- astro-ph.SR

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Probing The Limits of Habitability: A Catalog Of Rocky Exoplanets In The Habitable Zone

by Keith CowingJanuary 27, 2025January 27, 2025

Several ground- and space-based searches have increased the number of known exoplanets to nearly 6000. While most are highly unlike our planet, the first rocky worlds in the Habitable Zone […]