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What we thought were three confirmed exoplanets have just been knocked off their perch – and a fourth one is under serious doubt. According to a new analysis using revised characteristics, the objects Kepler-854b, Kepler-840b, and Kepler-699b seem to be too big to be exoplanets after all. That means they must be stars. The fourth … Read more
Just over four light-years away, our Solar System’s closest neighboring stars can be found. There’s red dwarf Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 4.2 light-years; and, just a little farther, at 4.37 light-years, a binary system of Sun-like stars – Alpha Centauri AB. We don’t yet know if there are any Earth-like worlds orbiting … Read more
Not all planetary systems are alike. Out there in the big, wide galaxy, a number of different configurations have been spotted, some vastly different from our home system. These include extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, that orbit not one, but two stars, like the fictional Star Wars world of Tatooine. Now, for the first time, astronomers … Read more
A star system just 4.2 light years away called Proxima Centauri is already known to contain two exoplanets, and now astronomers have spotted a third Space 10 February 2022 By Chen Ly An artist’s impression of Proxima d ESO/L. Calada Source: European Southern Observatory A third planet has been detected orbiting the closest star to … Read more
Astronomers have found 65 evenly spaced rocks orbiting a white dwarf star in its habitable zone, hinting that a planet’s gravity may be holding them there Space 11 February 2022 By Leah Crane Illustration of the white dwarf star WD 1054-226 orbited by clouds of planetary debris and a major planet in the habitable zone … Read more
The sun’s nearest neighbor may actually host three planets, a new study reports. Astronomers have found evidence of a third planet circling Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star that lies a mere 4.2 light-years from our solar system. The candidate world, known as Proxima d, is estimated to be just 25% as massive as Earth, … Read more
What appears to be a teeny tiny alien world has just been found orbiting the Solar System’s closest stellar neighbor. The exoplanet candidate, named Proxima d, orbits a star named Proxima Centauri: a small, dim red dwarf star just 4.2 light-years from the Sun. Amazingly, the exoplanet is just a quarter of the mass … Read more
Exoplanets, planets that orbit stars other than the sun, are found at distances very far from Earth. For example, the closest exoplanet to us, Proxima Centauri b, is 4.2 light-years away, or 265,000 times the distance between the Earth and the sun. To the naked eye, the planets in the solar system appear as bright spots. … Read more
Astronomers have just peered into the atmosphere of one of the most extreme exoplanets ever discovered. Although it’s absolutely not habitable (at least as we understand it), the exoplanet WASP-189b is the first in which scientists have been able to probe distinct atmospheric layers, each with their own chemical compositions and characteristics. “In the … Read more
Inside All About Space magazine issue 126, on sale now, read our ultimate guide to exoplanets and see how our knowledge of worlds beyond the solar system has exploded in the last three decades. For this cover feature, All About Space spoke with Nikku Madhusudham, a professor of astrophysics and exoplanetary science at the Institute … Read more