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Science history: Astronomers spot first known planet around a sunlike star, raising hopes for extraterrestrial life — Nov. 1, 1995About 50 light-years from Earth, a gas giant about half the mass of Jupiter orbits a sunlike star. The discovery of Pegasi 51 b ushered in a new era of exoplanet research.
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It's official: Humans have found 6,000 planets beyond our solar systemJust two decades after astronomers discovered the first exoplanet, NASA has confirmed the existence of 6,000 alien worlds. The total will rise even quicker as next-generation telescopes take flight.
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JWST finds planet with all-carbon atmosphere orbiting 'black widow' starScientists using the James Webb telescope have spotted an exoplanet orbiting a 'black widow' pulsar in surprising new observations.
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A real-life Pandora? Newfound 'disappearing' planet in our neighboring star system could have a habitable moon, just like the Avatar moviesThe recent discovery of a potential gas giant circling the nearby star Alpha Centauri A has led to speculation that it may be orbited in turn by a habitable moon that could support life, just like in the "Avatar" movies.
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Stunning 'sun dogs' could sparkle in alien skies, James Webb Space Telescope suggestsHigh-speed winds on exoplanet WASP-17b may align quartz crystals in its atmosphere and create dazzling light effects like "sun dogs."
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5th planet found orbiting nearby star may lie in habitable zoneA super-Earth exoplanet has been detected within the habitable zone of a nearby red dwarf star, where liquid water might exist on its surface under the right atmospheric conditions.
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A doomed exoplanet is caught in a 'death spiral' around its star. Can it survive?A massive doomed exoplanet on a death spiral toward its parent star has three possible catastrophic fates.
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Bad news for alien life? Earth-size planets may be less common than we thoughtUp to 200 worlds investigated by NASA's exoplanet-hunting TESS satellite could be bigger than predicted, a finding that could impact our search for alien life.
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'A completely new phenomenon': Astronomers spot a planet causing its star to constantly explodeAstronomers have spotted an alien planet orbiting so closely to its home star, the planet's magnetic field is triggering massive solar flares to erupt. This is the first time a planet has been seen influencing its host star.
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