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), […]
Stellar Cartography
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Citizen Science / Open Science, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Three Thousand Motion-Confirmed L and T Dwarf Candidates From The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project
The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 citizen science project uses data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer to detect infrared objects with significant motion.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES). V. Planetary Parameters Derived from Angular Separation Variations
The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) aims to achieve microarcsecond-level astrometry of about one hundred nearby FGK-type stars within 10 parsecs to detect Earth-like planets.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Spectral Map Making With SPHEREx
We present map-making methodologies and preliminary spectral data cubes for SPHEREx, a NASA Explorer mission that launched in March 2025 and has been performing an all-sky near-infrared spectral survey.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
A Planetary Illusion’s Funeral: Non-detection of a Gaia DR3 Exoplanet Candidate, and the Role of Intermediate-precision Radial Velocities in Gaia Exoplanet Follow-up
The detection of exoplanets using astrometry has long been an area of interest, but is fraught with challenges. The Gaia mission is fundamentally reshaping this field thanks to its unprecedentedly […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Automatic Search For Transiting Planets In TESS-SPOC FFIs With RAVEN: Over 100 Newly Validated Planets And Over 2000 Vetted Candidates
Space-based missions such as TESS are identifying a wealth of short-period (≲30 d) transiting planets. Despite the growing number of confirmed and candidate planets, the sample is still incomplete and […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Insights Into The Exoplanet Radius Valley From Host-Star Ages, Activity, Chemistry, And Birth Radius
The radius valley, a bimodal feature in the size distribution of close-in small exoplanets, is widely interpreted as a signature of atmospheric loss and therefore provides a key constraint on […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Century of Radial Velocity and Astrometric Monitoring of 70 Oph AB: New PFS Data and Constraints on Planetary Companions
At a distance of 5.1 pc, the 70 Oph AB binary star system is one of the most favorable targets for future direct imaging and astrometry missions surveying mature, terrestrial […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Gaia Mission, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Our Sun Escaped Together With Stellar Twins From Galaxy Center
Researchers have uncovered evidence for our Sun joining a mass migration of similar “twins” leaving the core regions of our galaxy, 4 to 6 billion years ago. The team created […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Solar Twins In Gaia DR3 GSP-Spec II. Age Distribution And Its Implications For The Sun’s Migration
Solar twins are among the most powerful tracers of Galactic disk evolution owing to their unique property of sharing nearly solar metallicities ([Fe/H] ~ 0) while spanning a wide range […]