Scientists searching for life in the universe now have a new target: the once-icy worlds orbiting red giants.
exoplanets
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Largest Haul of Newly Verified Exoplanets Announced
About 550 of the planets could be rocky like the Earth, and nine of the planets orbit within their star's habitable zone.
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Space Telescope Findings Suggest Molten Planetary Surface
Researchers studying the super-Earth 55 Cancri e spotted some puzzling features that provide a new vision of the orb's surface.
Posted inScience Updates
Comparing Planetary Climates to Investigate Climate Systems
Comparative Climates of Terrestrial Planets II (CCTP2 ): Understanding How Climate Systems Work; Moffett Field, California, 8–11 September 2015
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New Step Toward Finding Earth 2.0
Researchers unveil a way to tease out the wobble of a star caused by unseen planets despite the confounding effects of star spots, which are the sunspots of distant stars.
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Atmospheres Can Collapse on the Dark Sides of Planets
Planets that orbit close to their stars might lose their atmospheres along with any chance of life, but new models show a way in which these planets may retain their atmospheres and habitability.
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Exoplanets: First Baby Pictures Unveiled
New observations of stars hundreds of light-years from Earth reveal evidence of planets still surrounded by disks of the primordial materials they grow from.
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3-D Models Put Scientists, Students in Touch with Planets
Three-dimensional printing gives planetary scientists new ways to explore distant worlds and engage students.
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Kepler: A Giant Leap for Exoplanet Studies
NASA's low-cost space telescope opened up a universe of possibilities for scientists who scour space in search of planets—and possibly life.
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Scientists Find "Close Cousin" of Earth
The Kepler space telescope spots a planet in a solar system 1400 light years away that closely resembles Earth in its size, distance from its star, and the type of star it orbits.