exoplanet tagged posts

University of Bristol astrophysicists are helping shed new light on an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away where liquid water in the form of a global ocean or icy expanse might exist on its surf...

An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago by Oxford University scientist Dr. Michael Cretignier. This result, drawing on more than two decades of observations, opens a window to future studies of Earth-like exoplanets that may have conditions suitable for life.

The new planet, named HD 20794 d, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a star similar to our sun, located just 20 light years away. Its orbit places it within the habitable zone of the system, meaning it is at the right distance from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, a key ingredient for life as we know it. The paper is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Thirty years after the discovery of the first exoplanet, astronomers have detected more than 7,000 of them in our galaxy. But there are still billions more to be discovered. At the same time, exoplanetologists have begun to take an interest in their characteristics, with the aim of finding life elsewhere in the universe. This is the background to the discovery of super-Earth HD 20794 d by an international team including the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the NCCR PlanetS.

The new planet lies in an eccentric orbit, so that it oscillates in and out of its star’s habitable zone. This discovery is the fruit of 20 years of observations using the best telescopes in the world. The results are published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

‘”Are we alone i...

Astronomers have discovered extremely powerful winds pummeling the equator of WASP-127b, a giant exoplanet. Reaching speeds up to 33,000 km/h, the winds make up the fastest jet stream of its kind ever measured on a planet...