exoplanets – Page 14

It’s an alien blue world – but nothing like Earth

July 13, 2013 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist’s conception of exoplanet HD 189733b—a “deep blue dot” reminiscent of Earth from a distance. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / M. Kornmesser — Artist’s conception of exoplanet HD 189733b – a “deep blue dot” reminiscent of Earth from a distance. Credit: NASA / ESA / M. Kornmesser

The planets and moons in our Solar System come in a wide variety of colours, and the natural beauty can be breathtaking. Now, the true colour of a much more distant planet has been seen for the first time – and it’s blue!

Can Kepler be saved? Engineering team to attempt recovery of ailing space telescope

July 8, 2013 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist's illustration of Kepler in orbit. Credit: NASA / Kepler mission / Wendy Stenzel — Artist’s illustration of Kepler in orbit. Credit: NASA / Kepler mission / Wendy Stenzel

The Kepler space telescope has been nothing short of incredible, revolutionizing our understanding of exoplanets and showing just how common and diverse they really are (as the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction). Recently, however, additional mechanical problems have started plaguing the mission, threatening to cut it short. The news during the past few weeks has been pessimistic, declaring that Kepler’s planet-hunting days are all but over. But there is still hope, as announced by the mission’s engineering team, that further testing later this month can help to resolve the situation.

Three ‘super-Earth’ planets discovered orbiting in habitable zone of nearby star

June 25, 2013 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist's conception of the view from one of three super-Earth planets orbiting the star Gliese 667C, showing all three stars of the Gliese 667 system. — Artist’s conception of the view from one of three super-Earth planets orbiting the star Gliese 667C, showing all three stars of the Gliese 667 system. Credit: ESO

There is some exciting news today regarding exoplanets – for the first time, multiple planets have been found orbiting within the habitable zone of their star, the region where temperatures can allow liquid water to exist on planets with rocky surfaces, like Earth. The news release was published this morning by the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

New evidence from Hubble Space Telescope for exoplanet that ‘shouldn’t be there’

June 18, 2013 by Paul Scott Anderson

Hubble image and illustration showing the gap in the planetary disk surrounding TW Hydrae. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), G. Schneider (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory), and A. Feild (STScI/AURA) — Hubble image and illustration showing the gap in the planetary disk surrounding TW Hydrae.
Click for larger version. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Debes (STScI), H. Jang-Condell (University of Wyoming), A. Weinberger (Carnegie Institution of Washington), A. Roberge (Goddard Space Flight Center), G. Schneider (University of Arizona/Steward Observatory), A. Feild (STScI/AURA)

So far, thousands of exoplanets and exoplanet candidates have been found orbiting other stars. As well, astronomers have seen some exoplanets still in the process of formation, providing clues as to how our own solar system came to be. One of these recent “planet-under-construction” findings however is challenging current theories on planetary formation – it’s a planet which “shouldn’t be there” according to conventional wisdom.

Three new possibly habitable ‘super-Earth’ planets discovered

April 18, 2013 by Paul Scott Anderson

Artist conceptions of the habitable zone planets found so far by Kepler, compared to Earth on the far right. From left to right: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Earth. Credit: NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech — Artist conceptions of the habitable zone planets found so far by Kepler, compared to Earth on the far right. From left to right: Kepler-22b, Kepler-69c, Kepler-62e, Kepler-62f and Earth.
Credit: NASA Ames / JPL-Caltech

There is some more exciting news from the Kepler space telescope mission – as announced in a NASA press briefing this morning, three more planets have been detected orbiting in their stars’ habitable zones. Larger planets have been found already in this zone around various stars, but what makes this newest discovery so compelling is that these new planets are the smallest found so far in this zone, so-called “super-Earths.” Two of them may even be covered by oceans!

+ More