Exoplanets

116 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it. Page 2 of 2.

61. NASA's Kepler mission identifies the first rocky planet orbiting a Sun-like starResearchers using NASA's Kepler Mission discovered Kepler-10b, the first rocky exoplanet found by the telescope. By analyzing transit photometry—the slight dimming of a star as a …
62. Most multi-planet systems detected by Kepler are stable and lack orbital resonancesResearchers analyzing data from the Kepler space telescope found that about one-third of the initial transiting planet candidates belong to multi-planet systems. By examining 115 …
63. Host star mass influences the size gap between rocky and gas planetsResearchers analyzing a catalog of approximately 1,000 planets found that the size distribution of small planets depends on the mass of their host stars. By using high-precision d…
64. Astronomers detect a young planet forming within a gap in a distant diskAstronomers observing the young star PDS 70 found a point source located within a large gap in its surrounding transition disk. The discovery suggests the presence of a bound comp…
65. NASA's Kepler mission has identified 833 new candidate planetsAt the Kepler Science Conference, researchers revealed a massive surge in potential worlds. Among the 833 newly discovered candidate planets, scientists are particularly focused o…
66. Is the universe's silence a clue or just a lack of evidence?With trillions of planets potentially orbiting stars in our galaxy, the cosmos should be teeming with life. Yet, we have found nothing but silence. As we hunt for signs of habitab…
67. A nearby rocky world offers a gold mine of scientific dataLocated just 21 light-years away, HD 219134b is a rocky exoplanet that is practically our next-door neighbor. While it orbits too close to its star to support life, its rare trans…
68. How astronomers search for signs of life on distant exoplanetsThis Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum program explores the growing number of confirmed and potential worlds beyond our solar system. Learn how experts use atmospheric ana…
69. The mysterious dimming of Tabby’s Star was not caused by aliensFor years, astronomers puzzled over KIC 8462852, a star whose brightness fluctuated with bizarre, irregular dips. While the media speculated about massive, energy-collecting alien…
70. Is there a rocky world orbiting our nearest stellar neighbor?Astronomers have found evidence of a terrestrial planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun. This video explores the discovery of this potentially habitable sup…
71. Seven rocky worlds orbit a tiny star just 40 light-years awayLocated in the constellation Aquarius, the TRAPPIST-1 system contains seven Earth-sized planets. Several of these planets occupy the star's habitable zone; by orbiting at suitable…
72. Astronomers detect one of the youngest fully formed exoplanets ever foundUsing the Kepler Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory, researchers have identified a newborn planet orbiting a distant star. This discovery offers a rare glimpse into th…
73. A nearby star holds planets in the potential for liquid waterLocated just 12.5 light-years away, Teegarden's Star is an astronomical oddity that may host a pair of Earth-like worlds. This video explores recent observations of these planets …
74. How astronomers decode the chemical makeup of distant alien worldsSince the early 1990s, scientists have known about exoplanets orbiting distant stars. This video explains how astronomers study their atmospheres without ever seeing them directly…
75. How a star's dimming reveals the secrets of distant worldsThis video explains transit photometry, the method used to find planets by watching for mini-eclipses. By observing how a star's brightness dips at regular intervals, astronomers …
76. How a single telescope could reveal the chemical signatures of distant worldsNASA is developing the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, a mission with a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble. By masking the blinding glare of distant stars, this obse…
77. Are Neptune-mass worlds the most common planets in the cold, outer reaches of space?A statistical study using gravitational microlensing reveals that Neptune-sized planets are likely the most abundant worlds in the icy outer regions of planetary systems. This fin…
78. NASA's upcoming space telescope will capture the universe with unprecedented breadth and detailScheduled for the mid-2020s, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope will function as a wide-eyed cousin to Hubble. Its 300-megapixel instrument images a sky area 100 times large…
79. Can Earth's climate models reveal if distant, alien worlds are actually habitable?NASA scientists are repurposing the Discover supercomputer, originally built to forecast Earth's future, to simulate the climates of distant exoplanets. By modeling these alien en…
80. Substellar objects appear much bluer than expected due to complex atmospheric absorptionResearchers using new nongray calculations found that extrasolar giant planets and brown dwarfs exhibit much bluer infrared colors than scientists previously believed. By modeling…
81. Methane and carbon dioxide detected in a potential ocean-covered exoplanet atmosphereAstronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope observed the atmosphere of K2-18 b, a candidate Hycean world. These planets are characterized by temperate oceans covered by hydro…
82. How engineers simulate the launch of a planetary hunting telescopeBefore the CHEOPS mission launches, scientists and engineers must meticulously simulate every stage of its journey, from the initial launch to its early orbit phase.
83. Astronomers observe a gas giant passing in front of a Sun-like starResearchers observing the star HD 209458 have detected two separate transit events where a planetary-mass companion passed across the stellar disk. This observation confirms that …
84. New mathematical formulas improve the accuracy of detecting planets orbiting distant starsAstronomers observing a star with the Hubble Space Telescope used new analytic formulae to more precisely measure the size of an orbiting planet. By creating exact equations for h…
85. Astronomers detect carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a distant gas giantUsing the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers identified carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of WASP-39b, a hot gas giant exoplanet. By analyzing light passing through the planet…
86. New atmospheric models help characterize the transition from stars to planetsResearchers who developed an atmosphere model for hot Jupiters have updated their code to better understand objects between stars and planets. By incorporating revised oxygen leve…
87. Astronomers detect sodium in the atmosphere of an exoplanetResearchers observing the transit of a planet named HD 209458b across its host star found evidence of an atmosphere. By measuring how much light from the star was blocked during t…
88. How Cheops is decoding the secrets of distant worldsThis film explores the complexities of exoplanet discovery and the mission of the Cheops satellite, which aims to uncover the composition and life-sustaining potential of planets …
89. Water-rich Hycean worlds may offer a much wider habitable zoneResearchers investigating a new class of planets called Hycean worlds found they could be significantly larger than previously considered habitable planets. These worlds, characte…
90. JWST reveals water and high metallicity in the atmosphere of WASP-39bResearchers using the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRCam observed the transiting exoplanet WASP-39b and found clear evidence of gaseous water in its atmosphere. The study also id…
91. Evaporating pebbles may explain giant planets' unusual chemical makeupResearchers simulating how giant planets form found that vapor released by icy, carbon-rich pebbles drifting inward through a young star's disk can dominate the chemistry of a pla…
92. Astronomers capture direct images of three massive planets orbiting a distant starUsing the Keck and Gemini telescopes, researchers observed the star HR 8799 and identified three planets orbiting it. These distant worlds were found at separations of 24, 38, and…
93. Kepler's first weeks of observation reveal five puffy new exoplanetsDuring Kepler's first six weeks of observations, researchers monitored 156,000 stars and discovered five previously unknown exoplanets, ranging from 0.37 to 1.6 times Jupiter's ra…
94. A space telescope concept could spot hundreds of small, nearby exoplanetsResearchers simulating a space-based infrared interferometer found it could directly detect hundreds of small, nearby exoplanets by sensing the heat they give off. Computer models…
95. Small planets are remarkably abundant around low-mass M dwarf starsResearchers using the CARMENES survey found that low-mass M dwarf stars host a high frequency of small planets. By analyzing 71 stars with extensive observations, the team discove…
96. ESA's PLATO mission will hunt for Earth-like planets around bright starsESA's upcoming PLATO mission is designed to find small planets, including Earth-sized worlds in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars, by watching bright stars for tiny dips in br…
97. Six planets orbit a distant star in a complex rhythmic danceAstronomers observing the TOI-178 system using multiple telescopes have identified at least six planets ranging from super-Earth to mini-Neptune in size. Most of these planets are…
98. Kepler mission data reveals a high frequency of small planetary candidatesResearchers analyzing the first four months of Kepler mission data found 1,235 planetary candidates associated with 997 host stars. The study observed that over 74% of these candi…
99. A rocky exoplanet likely lacks a thick carbon dioxide atmosphereAstronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope observed the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c to determine its atmospheric composition. By measuring thermal emissions from the planet…
100. Smaller planets tend to orbit further from their host starsResearchers analyzing data from the Kepler mission found that the orbital distances of planets are closely linked to their physical sizes. By studying 1,235 planet candidates orbi…
101. Simulations reveal how many Kepler planet candidates are actually false alarmsResearchers using numerical simulations of the Kepler mission found that roughly 9.4% of detected planet candidates are actually false positives, such as eclipsing binary stars. B…
102. New models help scientists understand the atmospheres of cool brown dwarfs and planetsResearchers have developed a new generation of atmospheric and evolution models to study L-, T-, and Y-type brown dwarfs, as well as self-luminous extrasolar planets. By simulatin…
103. How icy snowlines shape the chemical makeup of giant planetsResearchers studying protoplanetary disks found that the location of chemical snowlines can significantly alter the carbon-to-oxygen ratios in planetary atmospheres. By examining …
104. Giant planets are most common in a specific orbital zone around starsResearchers analyzing radial velocity measurements of FGKM stars found that giant planets are significantly more frequent at orbital distances between 1 and 10 au. This study obse…
105. Kepler spacecraft data reveals over one thousand new potential planetsBy analyzing 16 months of data from the Kepler spacecraft, researchers identified 1,108 new viable planet candidates. After vetting nearly 5,000 periodic signals against instrumen…
106. Can physics help you beat a mining corporation to a habitable exoplanet?To reach a distant, habitable world before an evil corporation strips it, you must master the physics of long-distance space travel. This video explores the Lorentz Transformation…
107. How a 1990 space mission proved Earth is teeming with lifeIn 1990, the Galileo spacecraft performed a unique experiment designed by Carl Sagan to identify signs of life from space. By analyzing our own planet, researchers successfully co…
108. Are we alone in the universe, or is another Earth waiting to be found?Twenty years ago, the discovery of 51 Pegasi b shattered our understanding of the cosmos and ignited a global hunt for alien worlds. Today, astronomers are moving beyond simple de…
109. Can we use the Sun as a giant lens to map distant alien worlds?Astrophysicists are proposing a mission that uses the Sun's gravity as a massive telescope lens. By positioning a train of spacecraft at a specific point in space, we could potent…
110. Can we find life-sustaining stars by launching rockets from the Australian outback?NASA teams travel to Australia to launch rockets aimed at Alpha Centauri A and B. This mission investigates how stars influence the habitability of their orbiting planets, marking…
111. Can we find life by studying the stars closest to our own solar system?NASA teams launch rockets from Australia to investigate Alpha Centauri A and B. This episode explores the technical challenge of building a launch range from scratch and incorpora…
112. Can we determine if a star is capable of supporting life on its planets?NASA rocket teams travel to Australia to study Alpha Centauri A and B. This episode follows their final preparations for a mission to capture stellar light, aiming to understand h…
113. What happens when NASA launches rockets into the Australian outback to study distant stars?In the final episode of this series, two NASA rocket teams track their fallen equipment across the remote Northern Territory of Australia. This mission aims to uncover how stars i…
114. How a single spectrograph became the world's leading exoplanet hunterAt a 2009 international conference, researchers revealed the discovery of over 30 new planets. This video explores the significant findings from the HARPS instrument and its role …
115. The hunt for a second Earth: discovering the lightest exoplanet yetResearchers have identified Gliese 581 e, a planet with only about twice the mass of Earth. This video explores how advanced technology detects tiny stellar wobbles to find worlds…
116. The first sign of alien life will likely be a sunsetWe often imagine first contact through radio signals or visiting distant stars. However, the most probable discovery lies in the subtle, shifting colors of alien sunsets, captured…

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