We often hear the term “habitable” next to the word exoplanets. Which exoplanets are habitable; that is, which are capable of supporting life? But how do scientists determine that? Are there different kinds of habitability? Rice University announced on September 17, 2018 that – to …
Of all the exoplanets being discovered these days, some of the most exciting – if not the most – are those that might be Earth-like. Astronomers are finding a growing number of rocky worlds, about the size of Earth or a bit larger. Some orbit …
Read MoreRoss 128 b and the search for Earth-like exoplanets
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) in Washington, D.C., just released a new congressionally mandated report that aims to guide scientists’ study of exoplanets in the years to come. Among other things, the report urges NASA to lead a comprehensive direct imaging mission …
Read MoreReport calls for direct images of Earth-like exoplanets
As more and more exoplanets are discovered, with 3,779 confirmed so far plus 2,737 additional candidates, the focus is shifting from merely finding exoplanets to understanding them. To that end, planetary astrophysicist Natalie Hinkel of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in San Antonio, Texas, has developed a …
Back in 2005, the first asteroid sample-return mission – Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft – reached its target, the asteroid Itokawa. In 2010, Hayabusa (Japanese for “peregrine falcon”) arrived back at Earth with its precious cargo of dust samples from the asteroid. In the years since, scientists have …
Saturn’s north pole is an incredibly active place, data from NASA’s Cassini mission and the Hubble Space Telescope have shown, with its massive hexagonal weather system and powerful auroras. Now, a new study, published Sept. 3 in Nature Communications, has shown that not only is there the …
Read More‘Towering hexagon’ and auroras: Saturn’s north polar wonders
Jupiter is sometimes called the king of the planets in our Solar System, due to its enormous size. It has some 300 times Earth’s mass. Jupiter is thought to have become the largest planet early in our Solar System’s history. Still, questions remained about how …