Exoplanets
Latest about Exoplanets
![A pale blue planet, partly shrouded in shadow, against the backdrop of space.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ngcqNj2ZB3eNczBQr264Bk-320-80.png)
Scorching Neptune-size world is way too massive for astronomers to explain
By Charles Q. Choi published
Astronomers have unexpectedly discovered the heaviest Neptune-like planet yet — one four times more massive than our solar system's Neptune.
![illustration of an orange jupiter-like planet with a bright yellow-white star in the distance](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZNa4ERE3eujiuc7rejLXcU-320-80.png)
Bizarre super-puffy exoplanet hosts rare 'thermometer molecule'
By Robert Lea published
A rare temperature-sensitive molecule usually found in stars has been discovered in the atmosphere of an exoplanet for the first time, a marshmallow-like hot Jupiter called WASP-31b.
![Seven Earth-like planets orbit the Trappist-1 star.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3BwAtQkq2w9mkbijNkU52C-320-80.jpg)
Exoplanets in the Trappist-1 system more likely to be habitable than scientists once thought, study suggests
By Tereza Pultarova published
Exoplanets in the habitable zone of the Trappist-1 star, some 40 light-years away from Earth, are more likely to have liquid water than researchers previously thought, according to a new study.
![An illustration shows Beta Pictoris b orbiting its parent star.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/xaqvfSyMz58bokDTvtxuw5-320-80.png)
Stunning time-lapse video captures 17-year journey of exoplanet around its star
By Robert Lea published
An incredible time-lapse video tracks the 17-year journey of a distant and massive exoplanet, Beta Pictoris b, around its parent star between 2003 and 2020.
![An illustration shows a suprisingly large gas giant planet orbiting a relatively tiny star.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/h7GCiSRLtHrxYCTKDakFrn-320-80.png)
A Jupiter-size exoplanet formed around a tiny star. Astronomers aren't sure how
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers are surprised by a metal-rich, massive planet orbiting a tiny star because gas giants aren't supposed to be able to form around such diminutive red dwarf stars.
![An illustration of an ice covered rogue planet.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cfJ2Wdw5YUCjYL5RXfvQGd-320-80.png)
400 Earth-size rogue planets could be wandering the Milky Way
By Robert Lea published
When NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Telescope comes online, it could be capable of spotting as many as 400 Earth-size rogue planets, and that might merely be the tip of the iceberg.
![glowing orange rings, which indicate a young planetary system, against the blackness of space](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4ubdgzQzzQHv3w3KTc2cAN-320-80.png)
1st evidence found for 'Trojan planet' worlds occupying same orbit
By Robert Lea published
Astronomers have found the first evidence of a so-called 'Trojan planet,' in the form of a young Jupiter-like world that's being tailed by a cloud of dust twice as massive as Earth's moon.
![Two images showing how a giant exoplanet is carving spiral arms round its parent star.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rGC69WGnXjAtej2oa2MBHU-320-80.png)
Elusive exoplanet is 'cosmic sculptor' that carved spiral arms of its star
By Robert Lea published
An exoplanet orbiting a young star is carving out spiral arms in the gas and dust that is birthing its planetary system.
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