Eclipses aren’t just visual spectacles, they are at the heart of scientific efforts to understand distant planets

A type of eclipse is crucial for measuring what’s in the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars.

Oisin Creaner, Assistant Professor of Physical Sciences, Dublin City University • conversation
April 8, 2024 • ~6 min

Stellar murder: when stars destroy and eat their own planets

There are several ways in which stars can destroy and swallow their own planets.

Or Graur, Associate Professor of Astrophysics, University of Portsmouth • conversation
March 22, 2024 • ~6 min

Our survey of the sky is uncovering the secrets of how planets are born

Astronomers have spotted a surprisingly diverse set of planet-forming disks.

Christian Ginski, Lecturer of astronomy, University of Galway • conversation
March 12, 2024 • ~7 min

Dune: what the climate of Arrakis can tell us about the hunt for habitable exoplanets

Climate scientists have simulated Arrakis as a desert and with its long-lost oceans.

Sebastian Steinig, Research Associate in Paleoclimate Modelling, University of Bristol • conversation
March 8, 2024 • ~7 min

Newborn gas planets may be surprisingly flat – new research

The observation could fill in gaps in our knowledge about planet formation.

Dimitris Stamatellos, Associate Professor in Astrophysics, University of Central Lancashire • conversation
Feb. 12, 2024 • ~5 min

Lunar science is entering a new active phase, with commercial launches of landers that will study solar wind and peer into the universe’s dark ages

Projects under NASA’s CLPS program will probe unexplored questions about the universe’s formation.

Jack Burns, Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Feb. 5, 2024 • ~8 min

Orbital resonance − the striking gravitational dance done by planets with aligning orbits

Orbital resonance is kind of like musical harmony, but systems that display it are far more rare than songs with harmonic melodies.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
Feb. 2, 2024 • ~9 min

Earth isn't the only planet with seasons, but they can look wildly different on other worlds

You might hate winter, but at least you know what to expect every year. Other planets have wobbly axes that lead to wild, unpredictable seasons.

Gongjie Li, Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology • conversation
Jan. 10, 2024 • ~8 min

A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets, MIT study finds

A low carbon abundance in planetary atmospheres, which the James Webb Space Telescope can detect, could be a signature of habitability.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
Dec. 28, 2023 • ~8 min

Massive planet too big for its own sun pushes astronomers to rethink exoplanet formation

A newly discovered planet that should be too big to have formed around a tiny star is throwing into question what researchers know about planet formation.

Megan Delamer, Graduate Student, Department of Astronomy, Penn State • conversation
Nov. 30, 2023 • ~6 min

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