When astronomers search for planets that could host liquid water on their surface, they start by looking at a star's habitable zone. Water is a key ingredient for life, and on a planet too close to ...

Since then, over 6,000 confirmed exoplanets —or planets orbiting other stars—have been found, leading astronomers to conclude ...

Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists. This planet orbits the star within the "Goldilocks zone"—a ...

Astronomers observed giant helium clouds escaping exoplanet WASP-107b, revealing atmospheric loss and offering key insight ...

A nearby binary star system is bereft of giant planets, but scientists think it may still be a decent place to look for life.

For decades, the search for alien life has revolved around a narrow ring around stars where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. That “habitable zone” remains important, but astronomers are ...

Our search for exoplanets is focused on Milky Way stars. It's been successful, with more than 6,000 detected so far. Scientists are even beginning to move beyond mere detections, and working on ...

Researchers have pinpointed a super-Earth in the habitable zone of a nearby M-dwarf star only 18 light-years away.

Morgan Underwood receives funding from NASA-funded CLEVER Planets (Cycles of Life-Essential Volatile Elements in Rocky Planets) research project. When astronomers search for planets that could host ...

Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists, because it ...

See imaginative exoplanet worlds by St. Ann’s fifth graders at Blakemore Planetarium, Museum of the Southwest, on view ...