planets outside the solar system

Simulation of the planet GJ 436 b and the magnetic field linking it to its host star

Strongest evidence yet for a magnetic field on a planet outside the solar system

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An analysis of about 18 years of observations has revealed cyclical changes in the activity of the star GJ 436, which appear at times related to the orbit of the planet GJ 436 b and the star's magnetic cycle. The researchers interpret this as an interaction
An artist's impression of the exoplanet K2-18b, a world larger than Earth orbiting a red dwarf and being studied in search of possible signs of life or technological signatures.

K2-18b Scanned for Alien Signals – But No Technological Signature Found

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SETI researchers used the VLA and MeerKAT telescope to search for narrow radio signals from the intriguing exoplanet. None survived the noise filters, but the method will be used in future searches
An artist's impression of a supermassive black hole orbiting the center of an active galactic nucleus. New research suggests that winds and radiation from its surroundings could damage the atmospheres of planets even from great distances. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Supermassive black holes could harm the chances of life even at great distances

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New research examines how active supermassive black holes affect planets. According to models, the winds they create could heat atmospheres, erode them, and damage the ozone layer. So a planet in the area
An image of Venus taken by NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft, alongside an illustration of three possible atmospheres for the planet Gliese 12b. The new study examines how much water a rocky planet needs to maintain conditions suitable for life. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Study: Planets that are too dry may be less suitable for life than previously thought

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Researchers at the University of Washington have found that a rocky planet similar in size to Earth would need at least 20% to 50% of the water in Earth's oceans to sustain a carbon cycle over time.
New research suggests identifying extraterrestrial life through patterns among groups of planets, rather than just gases or biological signatures on a single planet. Illustration: Avi Blizovsky via DALEE

A new way to search for extraterrestrial life: Not a single biological signature, but patterns between planets

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New research suggests detecting extraterrestrial life using unusual similarities between groups of nearby planets, rather than relying solely on atmospheric gases or traditional biological signatures
An artist's illustration of a short-period exoplanet, orbiting its host star at a tiny distance and completing a revolution in just a few hours. This type of research was the focus of the new RAVEN system. Credit: NASA/Tim Pyle

Artificial intelligence revealed hidden signals and discovered dozens of new planets outside the solar system

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A system called RAVEN scanned data collected from TESS's first four years of operation and examined more than 2.2 million stars in search of planets that complete an orbit in less than 16 days.
This artist's illustration shows the red dwarf star system TRAPPIST-1, which is home to seven Earth-sized planets, some of them within the star's habitable zone. Credit: Benoît Gougeon, Université de Montréal

"Project Hail Mary." New study maps 45 rocky planets that could be suitable for life

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Cornell researchers have built a new catalog of habitable zone worlds from more than 6,000 known exoplanets to focus the search for atmospheres and possible signs of life.
These images, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), show a planetary system forming around the young star WISPIT 2. The star is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust – the raw material from which planets form and grow. In 2025, a team of astronomers detected a young planet, WISPIT 2b, carving a gap in the disk around the star. Now, the same team has confirmed the existence of a second planet, WISPIT 2c, orbiting the star more closely, as shown in the enlarged image. Both planets are gas giants, similar to Jupiter. WISPIT 2b is almost five times more massive than Jupiter and orbits the star at a distance that is sixty times greater than the distance between Earth and the Sun. WISPIT 2c is twice as massive as WISPIT 2b and orbits the star at a distance that is four times smaller. The images were obtained with the SPHERE instrument on the VLT. The instrument corrects for the blurring caused by atmospheric turbulence, and also blocks the light from the central star, revealing the disk and its surrounding planets in great detail. Another instrument, GRAVITY+ on the VLT interferometer, was also used in the discovery and helped confirm that the observed object is indeed a planet. Credit: ESO / C. Lawlor, RF van Capelleveen et al.

A solar system in the making? Two planets observed forming in a disk around a young star

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Observations by the European Southern Observatory have revealed two gas giants within a disk of dust and gas around a young star, in a system that may resemble the early solar system.
The golden zone (habitable zone) in a general solar system. Only Earth is at the center, Mars and Venus at the edges. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Prof. Amri Wendel: The habitable zone of planets is wider than we thought

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In an interview with the Al-Hadayan website, the astrobiologist from the Hebrew University, who recently published two articles, explains that liquid water may also exist outside the classic habitable zone – the golden zone – on the dark side of planets.
Artist impression of the planetary system around the star LHS 1903. Illustration: ESA

Cheops discovers “inside-out” planetary system that challenges formation theories

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New observations point to four planets in an unusual order, including a rocky outer planet that appears to have formed late, when the system was already gas-poor.
A four-legged robot learned to change its movement style to traverse a forest and jump over obstacles

What is the maximum size of a planet? After discovering huge gas giants, it's hard to know

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Artist's impression of HD 137010b. credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/Keith Miller (Caltech/IPAC).)

A candidate for an Earth-sized exoplanet with a year's orbit – but a frozen world

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A possible rocky planet, about 6% larger than Earth, appears to complete an orbit in about 355 days and receives only about 29% of the star's radiation that Earth receives - putting it on the verge of the "habitable zone"
The Pandora Space Telescope. (NASA Scientific Visualization Studio)

NASA launches tiny space telescope Pandora to study atmospheres of 20 exoplanets

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The telescope will simultaneously measure visible and infrared light to separate “noise” from the host star from the signature of the atmosphere, and will help improve observations by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Lazuli Space Telescope visualization — “A new private space telescope with a mirror approximately 3 meters in diameter, designed for observations in visible light and near infrared.” Credit: Schmidt Sciences.

Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO) will fund a private space telescope larger than Hubble and 3 more ground-based observatories

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The “Schmidt Observatory System” includes the Lazuli Space Telescope and three ground-based facilities, with a target of operation by the end of the decade and an emphasis on open data to the community
A planet outside the solar system. Illustration: depositphotos.com

For the first time: A wandering planet is “weighed” and measured thanks to observations from the ground and space

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Microlensing event observed in both ground-based and Gaia surveys allows parallax measurement, breaking the mass-distance confusion, and estimating a mass on the order of Saturn
A large planet close to its sun (hot Jupiter). Illustration: depositphotos.com

New method reveals: Some hot Jupiter-type planets migrated “quietly” into the disk

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Calculation of orbital rotation times for more than 500 planets indicates a group that could not have reached its current orbit in chaotic migration – and suggests an ordered disk migration
The telescope was built in Hawaii. Credit: Hideaki Fujiwara, NAOJ

A planet 18 times the size of Jupiter was discovered 271 light-years away using the Subaru Telescope and the OASIS program

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Using a powerful combination of space-based measurements and advanced imaging from the Sovreux Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered two rare companions, one of which provides an important test of the Roman Space Telescope.
Illustrative photo of WASP-107b. The planet's low density and intense radiation from its parent star allow helium to escape from the planet and create an asymmetric, extensive, and sparse shell around it. Infrared observations with the James Webb Space Telescope allow this phenomenon to be seen. Credit: University of Geneva/NCCR PlanetS/Thibaut Roger

James Webb Space Telescope reveals 'super-bloated' planet losing its helium atmosphere

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An international team has discovered vast helium clouds migrating away from the exoplanet WASP-107b.
The illustration shows the Earth-sized exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e (bottom right) as it passes in front of its exploding host star in the TRAPPIST-1 system. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI)

James Webb Space Telescope Detects Methane on Planet TRAPPIST-1e – Scientists Warn Against Jumping to Conclusions

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Hints of methane on an Earth-like planet in TRAPPIST-1's habitable zone raise hope for signs of life, but new analysis suggests the signal may be "noise" from the host star – and more observations are needed to confirm.
Artist's impression of an Earth-like exoplanet, shrouded in clouds with colorful yucca. Credit: Adam B. Langeveld / Carl Sagan Institute Adapted from NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech

Astronomers discover potentially habitable "super-Earth" just 18 light-years away

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The planet, four times larger than Earth, is in an orbit that allows for the existence of liquid water, which is the basis of life.
A rendering that is part of an animation of a Black Widow pulsar burning up its companion. Credit: NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center / Cruz deWilde

Webb found a planet that shouldn't exist – and it's made almost entirely of carbon

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Webb finds planet with carbon atmosphere orbiting pulsar, challenging current models of planet formation
An artist's impression of the planet K2-18b orbiting a red dwarf star 124 light-years away. The planet is thought to have a thick gas envelope and no global ocean. Credit: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

Earth may not be so special – new study challenges previous assumptions about water on distant planets

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earth-not-so-special-water-exoplanets
It's been 30 years since the first planet was discovered around a star like our Sun. With each new discovery, scientists are getting closer to answering whether there are other planets like Earth that could host life as we know it. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

We've crossed the 6,000-plus exoplanet mark — and some of them are stranger than science fiction planets

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NASA has so far verified 6,000 exoplanets - a vast collection of alien worlds, from fiery giants and oceans of lava to stars with "gemstone" clouds or a density similar to Styrofoam.
Artist's impression of the exoplanet GJ 1132 b and its host M dwarf. Credit: Dana Berry, Skyworks Digital, CfA

Webb solves mystery: Earth-like planet GJ 1132b has no atmosphere

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New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope indicate that GJ 1132 b, a rocky planet close to an M-type red dwarf, is unable to maintain an atmosphere—a finding that undermines hopes
Artist's impression of energetic impacts on a Venus-like planet - Researchers suggest that late impacts can shape the interior structure, prolong volcanic activity and influence the habitability of rocky planets. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

The key to alien habitation may lie in planetary collisions

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New research suggests that cosmic collisions may play a key role in creating the conditions necessary for life to develop on distant worlds.
Image credit: Conceptual design for a rectangular space telescope, based on the Diffractive Interfero Coronagraph Exoplanet Resolver (DICER) — an infrared space observatory — and the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Leif Svardi/Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Circle vs. Rectangle: Searching for 'Earth 2.0' may be easier with new telescope shape

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Engineers propose changing the way we observe planets outside our solar system to increase resolution in order to identify conditions on small planets, in particular to find Earth-like ones.
A Saturn-sized planet orbiting a tiny red dwarf is rewriting what scientists thought was possible in planetary systems. Credit: Avi Blizovsky, via DALEE

The small star that hosts a giant planet and stretches the laws of astronomy

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Astronomers have discovered TOI-6894b – a Saturn-sized planet orbiting a tiny red dwarf, a discovery that challenges conventional models of planetary system formation.
An artist's illustration of an ultrashort-period planet (USP) orbiting its host star. A newly discovered planet risks being torn apart by its host star—or being sucked into it and destroyed. Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Schaller (for STScI)

An Earth-sized planet is hurtling towards its own self-destruction.

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An ultra-short-period (USP) planet is spiraling toward destruction in about 31 million years. Its extreme heat and high density hint at a violent past.
Comparison of the size of the planet Uranus to that of the Earth. Illustration: depositphotos.com

Internal heat source discovered in Uranus – a possible solution to a 40-year-old mystery

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NASA researchers have discovered that Uranus emits more energy than it receives from the sun, indicating an internal heat source – and undermining previous theories about the formation of giant planets.
Artist's impression of the Kepler-725 system. The planet on the lower right is a recently discovered super-Earth in the habitable zone. Credit: Shenghong Gu

Has "Earth 2.0" been found? New discovery reveals super-Earth in the habitable zone around a sun-like star

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Scientists from China have used an innovative method - monitoring the effect of a planet's gravity not on the sun but on another planet in the system - to identify a planet that may contain conditions for life.
This artist's impression shows a binary pair of massive stars. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva (Spaceengine)/M. Zamani

This shouldn't exist: Astronomers discover planet orbiting "in the opposite direction"

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Astronomers have confirmed the existence of a rare planet that rotates in the opposite direction in a close binary star system.
Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect a planet of similar mass to Saturn around the young star TWA 7. In this image, which combines data from the VLT ground-based telescope and Webb's MIRI instrument, the star's light has been removed. The location of the star is marked by a circle with an asterisk in the center. The blue area indicates the disk around the star (SPHERE data), and the orange area indicates the MIRI data. The bright orange spot at the top right is TWA 7 b. The orange spot on the far left is an unrelated background star. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Anne-Marie Lagrange (CNRS, UGA), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Webb Telescope directly captures planet forming cosmic rings around young star for the first time

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Planet TWA 7 b, with a mass similar to Saturn, is exactly where theoretical models predicted • If confirmed, it would be the lightest planet ever directly observed
This artist's impression shows what the distant planet K2-18b, its host star, and another planet in this system might look like. A new analysis from the University of Chicago has cast doubt on a previous finding that concluded the data showed evidence of life on the planet. Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble Space Telescope, M. Kornmesser

Is this alien life – or just a ghost? Scientists reevaluate Webb telescope discovery

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Possible signs of life on a distant planet? Not so fast. New research suggests the signal may be ordinary molecules, not alien biology.
Artist's impression of the exoplanet Kepler-186f, which is the first known Earth-sized planet orbiting a star in the "habitable zone" – the range of distances from a star where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet. Credit: NASA/Ames/SETI Institute/JPL–Caltech

Empty skies, big answers: What zero results teach us about life in the universe

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Even if life is not found on other planets, clever survey designs and careful statistics can still reveal how rare, or common, life really is in the universe.
Illustration illustrating a planet orbiting two brown dwarfs at 90 degrees. Illustration: ESO

A planet has been discovered orbiting a pair of stars at a perfect 90-degree angle.

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Principal Investigator: “The findings prove that the extreme conditions in which planets formed in perpendicular orbits are indeed possible in nature.”
A fiery star and planet in space with a powerful solar flare in the background of twinkling stars.

Violent eruptions from Proxima Centauri could endanger life on nearby planets

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New research using the ALMA telescope reveals that frequent and extremely intense bursts of radiation from Proxima Centauri could destroy the atmospheres of nearby planets and make them uninhabitable.
For a century, astronomers have devoted their energies to studying Barnard's Star in the hope of finding planets around it. First discovered by EE Barnard at Yerkes Laboratory in 1916, this star is the closest single star system to Earth. Now, astronomers have discovered four sub-Earth-mass planets orbiting this star. One of the planets represents the discovery of the lowest-mass planet ever detected using the angular velocity technique, marking a turning point in the search for small planets in close proximity to stars. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

Four tiny planets revealed in neighboring solar system after a century of search

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The planets were discovered orbiting Barnard's Star, one of the closest stars to the Sun.
Illustration of the Kepler-51 system and its three inner planets, characterized by extremely low density. New observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope indicate that at least one more planet exists in the system. Credit: NASA, ESA L. Hustak, J. Olmsted, D. Player F. Summers (STScI).

Another planet from the "cotton ball" family was discovered in the Kepler-51 system

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Artistic interpretation of the system IRAS 04125+2902 (TIDYE-1). Young stars like this are covered in starspots - cooler regions of the surface of the star around them. The inner disk is emptied, leaving an intact outer disk that forms a donut-like structure around the host star. The outer disk is almost in front of the face, compared to the orbit of the planet around the star which is in front of the rim. This allows an unobstructed view of the system. If the disk was also in front of the rim, it would block the planet and host star, preventing the discovery. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt, K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC)

The discovery of the planet TIDYE-1, the youngest so far, shatters the theories about the formation of planets

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Researchers have discovered TIDYE-1, a young planet only three million years old, rapidly orbiting its star * An intact outer disk and unique orbit reveal the star and its planet thanks to
A planet with an atmosphere. The image was prepared using DALEE and is not a scientific image

Life beyond the earth? James Webb Space Telescope Probes Crucial Clues About Distant Planets

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New research suggests that rocky planets orbiting red dwarfs may have stable atmospheres suitable for life, with promising evidence from the James Webb Space Telescope
The planet WASP 107b. Credit: Rachel Amaro, University of Arizona

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Unique, Bloated, Asymmetric Extrasolar Planet

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NASA used the James Webb Space Telescope to detect an atmospheric asymmetry on the extrasolar planet WASP-107b. This unprecedented observation reveals differences in temperature and cloud properties between the planet's eastern and western sides,
Artist rendering of HD 149026 b. Credit: Astrobiology Center

Water vapor has been found in the atmosphere of a very hot Saturn-like extrasolar planet 250 light years away

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To discover atmospheric signatures from the planet, the team used a technique called transmission spectroscopy. When a planet passes in front of its host star relative to an observer on Earth, some of the star's light passes through its atmosphere.
This artistic concept shows what the extrasolar planet 55 Cancri e might look like. The star, also called Janssen, is a super-Earth, a rocky planet significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune, orbiting its star at a distance of only 1.4 million miles (0.015 AU), completing a full orbit in less than 18 hours. (The planet Mercury is 25 times farther from the Sun compared to 55 Cancri e from its star). The system, which also includes four large gaseous planets, is located about 41 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Cancer. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralph Crawford (STScI)

Super-Earth secrets: James Webb telescope reveals unexpected atmosphere of extrasolar planet

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The gases that cover 55 Cancri e bubble from its interior. The primordial atmosphere has long since disappeared due to the high temperature and intense radiation from the star
A collage of artist renderings highlighting the innovative approaches proposed by 2 NIAC Phase 2024 grantees for possible future missions. Credit: From left: Edward Balaban, Mary Knapp, Mahmooda Sultana, Brianna Clements, Ethan Schaler

Straight out of science fiction: NASA promotes six futuristic space technologies

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Each completed the first phase of NASA's accelerator program, in which it showed that its future ideas — such as a lunar rail system and liquid-based telescopes — might provide perspectives
Artist impression of the density of WASP-193b compared to cotton candy. Credit: University of Liege

Astronomers have discovered a strange "cosmic mystery" - a giant planet as airy as cotton candy

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WASP-193b, an unusually low-density giant planet orbiting a distant Sun-like star. It is about 1,200 light-years away from Earth and 50% larger than Jupiter, but seven times less massive
An artist's concept of WASP-107 b shows turbulent atmospheric mixing within the planet's gas mantle. Credit: Roberto Muller Candanosa/Johns Hopkins University NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

The Webb Space Telescope offers the first glimpse into the interior of an extrasolar planet

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Methane found in WASP-107 b reveals core mass and stormy sky
Artistic image of the planet Proxima Centauri b'. Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

New research investigates the effect of ozone on the climates of extrasolar planets

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A team of researchers led by Dr. Assaf Hochman from the Hebrew University revealed the role of ozone in shaping the atmospheric dynamics of Proxima Centauri b. Their findings, derived from advanced models of climate chemistry and advanced theories of
An artist's rendering of the planet SPECULOOS-3 b orbiting its sun. The planet is the size of Earth, while its sun is slightly larger than Jupiter, but much more massive. Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

Discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting the supercold dwarf star SPECULOOS-3

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The SPECULOOS project revealed the existence of an Earth-sized planet around SPECULOOS-3, a nearby star similar in size to Jupiter and twice as cold as our Sun
The five LIFE mission satellites are connected to form a large space telescope. Credit: ETH Zurich / LIFE initiative

Earth's Infrared Secrets: The Key to Finding Life on Distant Worlds

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The plan is to place five small satellites in space close to the Webb Space Telescope. Together these telescopes will act as a large telescope that will be used as an interferometer to receive infrared heat radiation from extrasolar planets. finding life
Prof. Zvi Maza, photo: Tel Aviv University

Professor Zvi Maza is the winner of the Israel Prize in the field of physics research for 2024 - an overview of his main discoveries

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Professor Maza studied planets outside the solar system and even developed a method for discovering planets that allows expanding the search circle
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