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Discovery Alert: A Possible Perpendicular Planet
3 min read

The Discovery A newly discovered planetary system, informally known as 2M1510, is among the strangest ever found. An apparent planet traces out an orbit that carries it far over the poles of two brown dwarfs. This pair of mysterious objects…

May 21, 2025
Article
NASA’s Webb Lifts Veil on Common but Mysterious Type of Exoplanet
6 min read

Though they don’t orbit around our Sun, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, that have been observed in our galaxy. These small, gassy planets are shrouded in mystery…and often, a lot of…

May 5, 2025
Article
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Capturing Entire Sky
6 min read

After weeks of preparation, the space observatory has begun its science mission, taking about 3,600 unique images per day to create a map of the cosmos like no other. Launched on March 11, NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory has spent the…

May 1, 2025
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NASA’s Roman Mission Shares Detailed Plans to Scour Skies
6 min read

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team shared Thursday the designs for the three core surveys the mission will conduct after launch. These observation programs are designed to investigate some of the most profound mysteries in astrophysics while enabling expansive…

Apr 24, 2025
Article
NASA Webb’s Autopsy of Planet Swallowed by Star Yields Surprise
6 min read

Observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have provided a surprising twist in the narrative surrounding what is believed to be the first star observed in the act of swallowing a planet. The new findings suggest that the star actually…

Apr 10, 2025
Article
Discovery Alert: Four Little Planets, One Big Step
3 min read

The Discovery Four rocky planets much smaller than Earth orbit Barnard’s Star, the next closest to ours after the three-star Alpha Centauri system. Barnard’s is the nearest single star. Key Facts Barnard’s Star, six light-years away, is notorious among astronomers…

Mar 31, 2025
Article
NASA’s Webb Images Young, Giant Exoplanets, Detects Carbon Dioxide
5 min read

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured direct images of multiple gas giant planets within an iconic planetary system. HR 8799, a young system 130 light-years away, has long been a key target for planet formation studies. The observations indicate…

Mar 17, 2025
Article
Discovery Alert: ‘Super-Earth’ Swings from Super-Heated to Super-Chill
4 min read

The Discovery A possible “super-Earth” orbits a relatively close, Sun-like star, and could be a habitable world – but one of extreme temperature swings, from scorching heat to deep freeze. Key Facts The newly confirmed planet is the outermost of…

Mar 11, 2025
Article
Cosmic Mapmaker: NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Ready to Launch
6 min read

Editor’s note: This story was updated March 11, 2025, to reflect a new target launch date and time. NASA’s latest space observatory is targeting a March 11 liftoff, and the agency’s PUNCH heliophysics mission is sharing a ride. Here’s what…

Mar 7, 2025
Article
NASA’s Webb Exposes Complex Atmosphere of Starless Super-Jupiter
6 min read

An international team of researchers has discovered that previously observed variations in brightness of a free-floating planetary-mass object known as SIMP 0136 must be the result of a complex combination of atmospheric factors, and cannot be explained by clouds alone.…

Mar 3, 2025
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