Transmission spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing growing chemical complexity in giant exoplanet atmospheres. Of particular interest is sulfur, which had essentially no observational constraints before […]
gas giant
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Webb Redefines The Dividing Line Between Planets And Stars
Planets, like those in our Solar System, form in a bottom-up process where small bits of rock and ice clump together and grow larger over time. But the heftier the […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Determining the Host Stars of Planets in Binary Star Systems with Asterodensity Profiling: Investigating the Canonical Radius Gap
Over the past 30 years, thousands of exoplanets have been discovered, revealing detailed demographics of planets outside the Solar System.
![Artist’s impression of the simulations conducted in this research. Jupiter (lower left) has a strong magnetic field which creates a cavity in its circumplanetary disk. Saturn (upper right) lacks a strong magnetic field so its circumplanetary disk evolves without a cavity. Credit: Yuri I. Fujii/L-INSIGHT [Kyoto University], Illustrator: Shinichiro Kinoshita](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/How-Jupiter-Cultivated.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Rhea, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Jupiter Cultivated More Large Moons Than Saturn
The two largest planets in our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, also have the largest satellite systems, or the most moons. At present, Jupiter’s reported moon count stands at more […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Giant Planet TOI-5205 b Orbits A Small Red Star
Massive exoplanet reveals new insights into the formation of planets and their relationship to a host star.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gas Giants, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release
Lightning Bolts On Jupiter Pack More Than 100 Times The Power Of Earth’s Flashes
Jupiter, the most massive planet in our solar system, has correspondingly humongous storms, some of which last for centuries. Some of these storms also generate terrific bolts of lightning, according […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Gemini South Confirms Long-Suspected Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars
Almost 320 light-years away in the Libra constellation lies WASP-189b, an exoplanet known as an ultra-hot Jupiter (UHJ). UHJs have temperatures high enough to vaporize rock-forming elements like magnesium (Mg), […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report
Deep Radiative Zones Affect The Planetary Cooling And Internal Structure: Implications For Exoplanet Characterisation
The thermal evolution and interior structure of giant exoplanets are sensitive to the treatment of radiative opacity. At temperatures of ~2000 K, depletion of alkali metals can create a window […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Second Visit To Eps Ind Ab With JWST: New Photometry Confirms Ammonia And Suggests Thick Clouds In The Exoplanet Atmosphere Of The Closest Super-Jupiter
With JWST, we are directly imaging cold (~200-300K), solar-age giant exoplanets for the first time.
Posted inBrown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
A Universal Brown Dwarf Desert Formed Between Planets And Star
Giant planets and brown dwarfs play a crucial role in star and planet formation, as they are situated at the boundary between planets and stars with uncertain formation mechanisms.