Category Archives: Exoplanets

OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb or The Iceball Planet

Posted on April 27, 2017 by mchastr2110

(ScienceDaily) Yesterday, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced the discover of a new planet orbiting the star much fainter than our sun, but, it is of similar size to earth and a similar distance to earth. In fact, this is actually the smallest planet ever discovered using a technique called microlensing (ScienceDaily). Microlensing utilizes the … Continue reading OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb or The Iceball Planet Continue reading →

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A Universe Produced Home Birth Video

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Ashley Garcia

About 4.5 billion years ago, our solar system was “born”, out of a spinning disk of gas and dust, that somehow became a bunch of planets, moons, and the other miscellaneous space objects that we know and love today. While our solar system is definitely unique in a variety of ways, it is not the… Continue reading A Universe Produced Home Birth Video Continue reading →

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First Super-Earth Exoplanet with Atmosphere Discovered

Posted on April 27, 2017 by njelinek425

Earlier this month, scientists discovered the existence of an atmosphere on an exoplanet much like Earth, making this the first Earth-like exoplanet with atmosphere to have been detected aside from earth itself. The planet is named GJ 1132b, located in the constellation Vela as a planet of the low-mass star GJ 1132. The planet is […] Continue reading →

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Exoplanets 🌌

Posted on April 27, 2017 by mariabulanova

What is an exoplanet? “An extrasolar planet, or exoplanet, is any planet that orbits a star other than the Sun”, – Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Over the years we have discovered many exoplanets of any size, temperature, surface, etc. But how to astronomers do this? How do you find an exoplanet? These planets are very small and […] Continue reading →

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Earth(s) 2.0

Posted on April 26, 2017 by ritam216

The idea of life in other star systems has long intrigued mankind. However, it is likely that before life can be identified we must discover the planets upon which this life would spawn. Within the star system TRAPPIST-1, seven Earth-sized planets have been discovered, three of which are within the star’s habitable zone. The star […] Continue reading →

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Kepler Mission

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Akrimi Fauzi

Kepler Kepler was launched by NASA in March 2009 and the main mission is to find habitable planets like earth orbiting other stars in our Milky Way besides searching for exoplanets is this galaxy. Earth like planets must be a terrestrial planet, the size must not differ much from the earth’s, and it must be … Continue reading Kepler Mission Continue reading →

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Blog 6 – Is the Solar System Unique?

Posted on April 4, 2017 by johnjohnb4

Among the most asked questions regarding space are ‘is there intelligent life outside of Earth’ and ‘is our solar system unique’?  So far, science has not found a planetary system quite like our own.  This makes one wonder if our existence is rare or even unique, or if not enough data been found to make […] Continue reading →

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The Hunt For Exoplanets

Posted on April 4, 2017 by ksun1

Space is huge. Really, really huge. And empty. Occasionally, here and there, you’ll stumble across an asteroid, or planet, or perhaps even a star. But all in all, space is exactly what its name states: empty space. It’s difficult to fully appreciate just how gargantuan the universe is, and, beyond that, just how spacey it is. This interactive […] Continue reading →

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TRAPPIST-1

Posted on April 4, 2017 by adamz6300

NASA’s Spitzer telescope has recently discovered multiple Earth size planets orbiting a single star. 7 planets to be exact. The system was named TRAPPIST after the Belgian operated telescope in Chile that discovered the first two planets. These planets are relatively close to us as well. 40 lightyears may seem like a lot, but in astronomical […] Continue reading →

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Some Planets Are Just So Extra… (Extrasolar, That Is)

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Ashley Garcia

An extrasolar planet, or an exoplanet, is one which orbits a star other than our Sun. These planets provide interest and opportunities for research, because under the correct conditions, such as those upon Earth, there is a possibility that life could exist and/or be discovered upon these planets. By observing exoplanets, and specifically searching various… Continue reading Some Planets Are Just So Extra… (Extrasolar, That Is) Continue reading →

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