An international team of scientists discovers two potentially habitable planets orbiting a red dwarf star 137 light-years away. Continue reading Discovery of an Earth-size, potentially habitable planet
Astrophysicists have discovered a bizarre planet with clouds of sand over 200 light years away. Continue reading Welcome to the planet with clouds made of sand
Astronomers recently observed a planet being eaten by its star. In billions of years, the Earth will experience the same fate. Continue reading Astronomers Witness the End of a World
How do you introduce yourself, scientifically? I generally say that I’m an astronomer. More specifically, I’m an exoplanet astronomer, meaning I study planets that exist around other stars. In our solar system, all the planets orbit the Sun. I’m looking at planets in other stellar systems, orbiting stars much further away than the Sun. What are the implications or broader impacts of your work? This is … Continue reading What Does an Astronomer Do?
The recent discovery of Earth-like planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system has been a major headline for the past few weeks. A team led by Michael Gillon found three planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system in 2016, and recently reported at least 4 more which may contain the appropriate elements for life. One of the strongest indicators that a planet could harbor life is if a planet’s … Continue reading TRAPPIST-1 and Earth’s distant cousins