Studying the physics of planetary atmospheres is challenging, not least because we only have a handful of examples to work from in our own solar system. So it’s exciting that Keep reading
Tag: exoplanets
An Exoplanet’s Supersonic Jet Stream
WASP-127b is a hot Jupiter-type exoplanet located about 520 light-years from us. A new study of the planet’s atmosphere reveals a supersonic jet stream whipping around its equatorial region at Keep reading
An Exoplanet With Earth-Like Temperatures
Although researchers have identified thousands of exoplanets in the last 25 years, most of them are far larger and far hotter than Earth. But a team recently announced the discovery Keep reading
Rocky Exoplanet With an Atmosphere
In the past few decades, the number of exoplanets we’ve found has ballooned to over 5,000, but most of these worlds are gas giants closer to Jupiter than our rocky Keep reading
Exoplanet Heating
WASP-96B is a tidally-locked exoplanet between the size of Saturn and Jupiter. This hot, massive planet lies close to its star, orbiting in less than three-and-a-half Earth days. A recent Keep reading
Extreme Weather
Many of the exoplanets we’ve observed so far are extreme environments. WASP-121b is known as a hot Jupiter, a gas giant so close to its star that it orbits in Keep reading
Inside a Super-Earth
When studying exoplanets, scientists often judge habitability by the possibility of liquid water on the planet’s surface. But there is more to Earth’s habitability than water. The liquid iron dynamo Keep reading
Reader Question: Exoplanetary Life
Reader orbiculator asks: I’ve been having this thought regarding biological adaptations to viscous mediums. In a hypothetical exoplanet where the ocean is this thick, aqueous gel – could we assume that Keep reading
A Real Tatooine
Since at least the release of “Star Wars”, we have wondered what life would be like on a circumbinary planet – a planet orbiting two stars. In the past few Keep reading