First light milestone: Pandora’s initial engineering images confirm its dual detectors are functioning in orbit, a key step toward studying alien atmospheres. Unique observation method: The mission ...

The radius gap between super-Earths and sub-Neptunes Mass measurements using transit timing variations (TTVs) N-body simulations to model orbital dynamics and stability Atmospheric loss via ...

In the constellation Virgo, 700 light years away from Earth, the planet WASP-39b orbits the star WASP-39. The gas giant, which takes little more than four days to complete one orbit, is one of the ...

Europe's next big space mission -- a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system -- is on course to launch at the end of 2026. PLATO, or PLAnetary Transits and ...

A star's magnetic field must be considered in order to correctly determine the characteristics of exoplanets from observations by space telescopes such as Kepler, James Webb, or PLATO. Researchers ...

Astronomers have detected over 5,800 confirmed exoplanets. One extreme class is ultra-hot Jupiters, of particular interest because they can provide a unique window into planetary atmospheric dynamics.

New observations provide the most detailed evidence yet of atmospheric escape on a distant world. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Exoplanets—planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system—have transformed our understanding of the universe. Since the first confirmed discovery in the 1990s, more than 5,000 have been identified, ...

First images received: Pandora has returned its first engineering images, confirming its visible and infrared instruments are functioning in orbit. Unique observation method: The mission uses ...