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    Astronomers find Surprising Ice World in the Habitable Zone with JWST data

    July 10, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b may be a world completely covered in ice (left) similar to Jupiter’s moon Europa or be an ice world with a liquid substellar ocean and a cloudy atmosphere (centre). LHS 1140 b is 1.7 times the size of our planet Earth (right) and is the most promising habitable zone exoplanet yet in our search for liquid water beyond the Solar System. Image credit: B. Gougeon/Université de Montréal

    A team of astronomers has identified a temperate exoplanet as a promising super-Earth ice or water world.

    The findings, led by Université de Montréal, show that the habitable zone exoplanet, LHS 1140 b, is not likely a mini-Neptune, a small so-called gas giant—large planets composed mostly of gas—with a thick hydrogen-rich atmosphere...

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    TOI-1685 b is a Hot and Rocky Super-Earth Exoplanet, Observations find

    June 4, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    TOI-1685 b is a hot and rocky super-Earth exoplanet, observations find
    Best fit SED for TOI-1685 from VOSA. Colored points are photometric magnitudes from the Gaia, 2Mass, and WISE surveys, and magnitudes synthesized from spectrophotometrically calibrated Gaia DR3 Bp/Rp spectra into the photometric system of the OAJ JPAS and JPLUS surveys. Gray line depicts the model flux measurements. Credit: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2405.14895

    An international team of astronomers has performed follow-up observations of a nearby alien world known as TOI-1685 b. Results of the observations, published May 21 on the pre-print server arXiv, indicate that TOI-1685 b is a hot and rocky alien world with an Earth-like density.

    The so-called “super-Earths” are planets more massive than Earth but not exceeding the mass of Neptune...

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    Citizen Scientists help Discover Record-Breaking Exoplanet in Binary Star System

    May 1, 2024, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Citizen scientists help discover record-breaking exoplanet in binary star system
    An artist’s interpretation of TOI 4633 c, a Neptune-like exoplanet found orbiting the habitable zone of a sunlike star. The system contains a second star (right) and may also host another exoplanet (left). Credit: Ed Bell for the Simons Foundation

    A team of astronomers and citizen scientists has discovered a planet in the habitable zone of an unusual star system, including two stars and potentially another exoplanet.

    The planet hunters spotted the Neptune-like planet as it crossed in front of its host star, temporarily dimming the star’s light in a way akin to a solar eclipse on Earth...

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    Discovery of Two Planetary Systems around Sun-like Stars

    December 18, 2023, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Discovery of two planetary systems around sun-like stars
    Figure 1: The small panel on the top left shows an illustration of NASA’s TESS space telescope, responsible for the first identification of the exoplanets TOI-2141b and TOI-1736b. The background image is a photo of the OHP observatory with the dome of the 1.93 m telescope, where the SOPHIE instrument is installed, responsible for the detection and characterization of the exoplanets TOI-2141b, TOI-1736b, and TOI-1736c. Credit: Eder Martioli.

    A study published today (Dec. 15) in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics reveals the discovery of two new planetary systems orbiting stars similar to our sun, also known as solar analogs.

    The study was led by Dr...

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