Sun-like star Archives

Projected separation of α Centauri A and B over time

Searching For Habitable Exoplanets With Relative Astrometry (SHERA). I. The Case For Searching For Planets In Binary Star Systems

by Keith CowingAugust 7, 2026August 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Discovering Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars was identified as a priority science goal of the Astronomy 2020 Decadal Survey.

The logarithmic Instellation (normalized to Earth) vs. Escape Velocity of 564 cataloged exoplanets.

Stellar Cartography

TESS Photometry and Radial Velocity Analysis of the sub-Neptune Exoplanet π Mensae c and the Wider π Mensae Planetary System

by Keith CowingJuly 21, 2026July 21, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Exoplanet characterization relies on precise measurements of planetary orbital and physical parameters. This is particularly important for planetary dynamics and atmospheric evolution, as orbital parameters help constrain system evolution, […]

The figure illustrates the four main phases of low-mass star formation: from the gravitational collapse of the natal core of gas and dust (Prestellar Core), to the main accretion phase (Class 0/I protostar, age ∼104 -105 yr), followed by the protostar and its surrounding protoplanetary disk (Class I/II, age ∼105 -106 yr), and finally the revealed planetary system after the disk has dispersed (Class III, age ∼107 yr). Typical spatial and timescales are indicated for each stage. Generated with Google Gemini 3 Flash and modified. -- [astro-ph.SR]

Habitable Zones

Cradle Of Life: From The Formation Of Stars To Habitable Worlds With The SKAO

by Keith CowingJuly 17, 2026July 17, 2026

[astro-ph.SR] This chapter provides an overview of the different science cases covered by the “Cradle of Life” working group, which aims to leverage the capabilities of the Square Kilometre Array […]

Kiel diagram for 290 stars with 5000 K ≤ Teff ≤ 6500 K and log g ≥ 4.0 dex analyzed in this work. The dashed black lines present the solar values obtained for the Ceres 2009-02-08 solar spectrum, Teff = 5759±18 K, log g = 4.43±0.05 dex and [Fe/H] = 0.00±0.01 dex. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry

Chemical Abundances of the Bioessential Elements C, O and S, and the Refractory Elements

by Keith CowingJuly 3, 2026July 3, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] We determined atmospheric and evolutionary parameters, along with chemical abundances of C, O, S, Fe, and Ni for 290 solar-type exoplanet hosting stars using high-resolution HARPS-North and HARPS-South spectra, […]

This illustration depicts the Sun-like star TOI-791 and two giant planets that NASA's TESS space telescope discovered in its orbit. These planets, designated TOI-791 b and TOI-791 c, are roughly the size of Jupiter but a tiny fraction of its mass, meaning they have an extraordinarily low density. NASA / Daniel Rutter

Uncategorized

TESS Reveals The Puffiest Exoplanets Ever Found

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2026June 26, 2026

Data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has revealed two new “super-puff” planets, giant worlds so light that their density is comparable to cotton candy. Scientists calculate that […]

An artist’s conception of a star engulfing a planet. The blue lines traces the path of the planet as it spirals toward the star and ultimately collides with it (the planet is partially as it crashes into the left-hand side of the star). Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography

A Sunlike Star Ate A Planet

by Keith CowingJune 16, 2026June 16, 2026

A team of astronomers, led by Brooke Kotten of the University of Michigan, has shown that TOI-5882—a sun-like star located some 1,300 light-years away—has likely eaten one of its planets.

Overview of the simulation pipeline components used in this work. The modeling begins with hwo pol, a Poke front-end we constructed tailored to modeling the EACs. The ray trace file and coating data are fed to Poke which computes the Jones pupils and saves them as a FITS file. These data are loaded into hwo sim and applied on top of the phase and amplitude errors encountered by propagating through the OTA and tertiary collimator assembly (TCA, mirrors 3-5). The now polarization aberrated field is propagated through a scalar diffraction model, subject to jacobianfree wavefront control with perfect knowledge of the electric field. Using this control simulation, we can save a series of intensity images into a Yield Input Package, which is sent to the FRIDAY AYO calculator to close the loop to exoEarth yields. -- astro-ph.EP

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

Connecting Polarization To Exoplanet Yield Calculations For Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)

by Keith CowingJune 13, 2026June 13, 2026

The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to enable the detection and characterization of Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars to search for possible signs of life elsewhere in our universe.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Exploring Exoplanets with Interferometry

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

(Extract from the Executive Summary) Humanity stands at the threshold of answering one of its most profound questions: Does life exist beyond Earth?

Upper: Transit depths of V1298 Tau e as a function of wavelength, reduced with Eureka!. The blue and red curves show the best-fit transmission spectra from our free re- trieval with and without CS2, respectively. Including CS2 yields a decisive improvement in the Bayesian evidence (∆ ln Z = 33.2), corresponding to an 8.4σpreference. Lower: Absorption cross sections of the nine dominant molecular species included in our free retrieval and forward model. While a wider range of additional species were explored using POSEIDON opacity database, CS2 uniquely reproduces both the∼4.6–4.7 µm feature and the sharpened peak near ∼4.3 µm that cannot be explained by CO2 or CO alone. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Photochemical CS2 Gas Detected On A 20-Myr-old Exoplanet

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2026June 3, 2026

Probing the atmospheres of young exoplanets offers a powerful window into how planetary systems evolve and the physical and chemical processes that drive those early evolutions.