The two prevailing planet formation scenarios, core-accretion and disk instability, predict distinct planetary mass-metallicity relations. Yet, the detection of this trend remains challenging due to inadequate data on planet atmosphere […]
mini-Neptunes
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
TESS and ESPRESSO Discover A Super-Earth And A Mini-Neptune Orbiting The K-dwarf TOI-238
The number of super-Earth and mini-Neptune planet discoveries has increased significantly in the last two decades thanks to transit and radial velocity surveys. When it is possible to apply both […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Distinguishing Oceans Of Water From Magma On Mini-Neptune K2-18b
Mildly rradiated mini-Neptunes have densities potentially consistent with them hosting substantial liquid water oceans (`Hycean’ planets).
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Mass and Radius Constraints On The LHS 1140 Planets — LHS 1140 b Is Either A Temperate Mini-Neptune Or A Water World
LHS 1140 b and c are two small temperate exoplanets transiting a nearby M4.5 dwarf. The planetary system was observed with multiple facilities since its discovery in 2017, including MEarth, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Neptune, Press Release
Cheops Explores Mysterious Warm Mini-Neptunes
ESA’s exoplanet mission Cheops confirmed the existence of four warm exoplanets orbiting four stars in our Milky Way. These exoplanets have sizes between Earth and Neptune and orbit their stars […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Reveals Details About Exoplanet GJ 1214 b, A Mini-Neptune
After almost 15 years of futile efforts, an international team of researchers involving the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy has determined some of the atmosphere’s properties of the exoplanet GJ […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Neptune, Status Report
A Super-Earth And A Mini-Neptune Near The 2:1 MMR Straddling The Radius Valley Around The Nearby Mid-M Dwarf TOI-2096
Several planetary formation models have been proposed to explain the observed abundance and variety of compositions of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Puffy Planets Can Lose Their Atmospheres And Become Super-Earths
If our solar system were a hobbyist kit, it would come boxed up with four rocky terrestrial planets, like Earth; and four gas giant planets like Jupiter.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Formation of Close in Super-Earths and Mini-Neptunes
Recent observations by the Kepler space telescope have led to the discovery of more than 4000 exoplanet candidates consisting of many systems with Earth- to Neptune-sized objects that reside well […]