Exoplanet news, features and articles
Latest about Exoplanets

Newly discovered super-Earth orbits in and out of its star's habitable zone. Could life survive its extreme climate?
By Keith Cooper published
The climate on such a world must be beyond bizarre.
'Supersonic jetstream' with winds 130 times faster than a Category 5 hurricane spotted in the Milky Way
By Harry Baker published
The record-breaking winds are circling the nearby "puffy" exoplanet WASP-127b, and are traveling six times faster than the alien world spins.

'Mathematically perfect' star system discovered 105 light-years from Earth may still be in its infancy. Could that change its prospects for life?
By Jenna Ahart published
Once thought to be 8 billion years old, the star HD 110067 — famous for its six synchronized exoplanets — may be only 2.5 billion years old, new research suggests.

Surprise discovery in alien planet's atmosphere could upend decades of planet formation theory
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The odd atmosphere of a fledgling exoplanet is causing astronomers to question leading theories of how planets form.

Nearby exoplanet has grown a tail 44 times longer than Earth — and it's acting like a giant 'stellar windsock'
By Harry Baker published
Researchers have detected a giant tail of gas leaking from an exoplanet near Earth. The giant structure, which is up to 350,000 miles long, is being blown away from the alien world by stellar gusts, allowing researchers to use it like a windsock.

'Baby' exoplanet, equivalent to 2-week-old infant, is the youngest alien world ever spotted — and it's orbiting a wonky star
By Harry Baker published
A new study has identified an exoplanet that is just 3 million years old — around 1,500 times younger than Earth — alongside a misaligned protoplanetary disk that researchers cannot explain.

'Unique and extreme': James Webb telescope detects possible alien world bubbling over with volcanoes
By Agnibha Banerjee published
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected possible signs of gases released by volcanic activity on a distant exoplanet.

NASA finds signs of hellish, lava-covered 'exomoon' circling an alien world — and it could meet a 'destructive end'
By Harry Baker published
A new analysis of a peculiar metallic cloud surrounding the exoplanet WASP-49 b provides further evidence that it may have been birthed by a volcanic satellite, which may become the first officially recognized "exomoon."
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