Tag Archives: exoplanets

WISPIT 2b: Giant Planet Growing in a Distant Gap

WISPIT 2 is a protostar, a very young star that’s still growing. At the moment, it’s roughly as massive as our Sun, and very roughly a third of the way to Kappa Aquila: a very bright, very hot, star that’s … Continue reading

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Vega, a Closer Look: Smooth Disc, No Planets, Starspots

A little over a week ago, scientist published a detailed analysis of Vega’s surprisingly planet-free debris disc. Vega, one of the brightest stars in Earth’s sky, may have planets: but the October 31 paper rules out any Saturn-size or larger … Continue reading

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Eyeball Planets, Lobster Oceans? Studying Exoplanet Climates

Headlines about an “eyeball planet” got my attention last month. Then I got distracted by what I thought were more time-sensitive topics — and remembered what two scientists learned when they simulated ocean currents and winds on a tidally-locked exoplanet. … Continue reading

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A Super-Earth With an Air About It: 55 Cancri e, Janssen

This month’s analysis of a piping hot super-Earth’s atmosphere is a big deal. But it’s not the “first” detection of a terrestrial exoplanet’s atmosphere, not by about eight years.1 I’ll be talking about how scientists sift through data, 55 Cancri … Continue reading

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Hearing the Universe, Touching the Stars

A musician who’s also a scientist found music in TRAPPIST-1 data. Meanwhile, 3D models help folks ‘see’ galaxies: and I found a Lenten connection in all that. Sonification and Switching Senses for Science I’d planned on geeking out over music, … Continue reading

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