Exoplanet Atmosphere

News & Articles

Illustration of a planet, zoomed in on the planet’s dayside/nightside boundary. The planet encompasses takes up the full image. At the bottom left, the image is dark, depicting the nightside covering the planet in a dark shadow. In the right side of the image, the planet has a fuzzy orange-pink atmosphere with hints of latitudinal wispy cloud bands. The right upper corner is bright, where the star (not illustrated) shines.

NASA’s Webb Investigates Eternal Sunrises, Sunsets on Distant World

6 min read

Near-infrared spectral analysis of terminator confirms differences in morning and evening atmosphere Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have…

Article4 months ago
Space scene of a thin atmosphere version of Gliese 12 b

NASA’s TESS Finds Intriguing World Sized Between Earth, Venus

5 min read

Using observations by NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and many other facilities, two international teams of astronomers have discovered…

Article6 months ago
Illustration of a rocky exoplanet and its star. The star is in the background at the lower left and appears somewhat, but not significantly, smaller in the sky than the planet. It has a bright orange-red glow, and appears to have an active surface. The planet is in the foreground to the upper right of the star. The left quarter of the planet (the side facing the star) is lit, while the rest is in shadow. The planet has hints of a rocky, partly molten surface beneath the haze of a thin atmosphere. The boundary between the day and night sides of the planet is fuzzy.

NASA’s Webb Hints at Possible Atmosphere Surrounding Rocky Exoplanet

7 min read

Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope may have detected atmospheric gases surrounding 55 Cancri e, a hot rocky exoplanet…

Article6 months ago
Illustration showing a hazy blue planet against the black background of space. The planet is in the left side of the frame. The axis is tilted roughly 20 degrees counter-clockwise from vertical. The eastern side (right half) is lit by a star out of view and the western side (left half) is in shadow. The terminator (the boundary between the day and night sides) is fuzzy. There are white patchy clouds visible on the dayside, near the terminator, along the equator, that appear to be originating from the nightside.

NASA’s Webb Maps Weather on Planet 280 Light-Years Away

6 min read

An international team of researchers has successfully used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to map the weather on the hot…

Article7 months ago

NASA Astronomer Sees Power in Community, Works to Build More

4 min read

Science is often portrayed as a solitary affair, where discoveries are made by lone geniuses toiling in isolation. But Dr.…

Article9 months ago

Webb Detects Tiny Quartz Crystals in the Clouds of a Hot Gas Giant

6 min read

Image: WASP-17 b Illustration Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected evidence for quartz nanocrystals in the high-altitude…

Article1 year ago