exoplanets

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miscellanymiscellany
+5+5
A planet is bigger, and too close, to its host star
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A planet is bigger, and too close, to its host star

WD1856b is a gas giant orbiting uncomfortably close to a white dwarf. How did it get there? Bonus: Bayeux Tapestry astronomy

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+3+3
A third planet for the nearby star Beta Pictoris!

A third planet for the nearby star Beta Pictoris!

The gas giant has been hiding in plain sight for over a decade

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+5+5
Aphelion day! And a subscription sale!

Aphelion day! And a subscription sale!

Earth is as far from the sun as it gets all year. Plus, a planet found by relativity.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+4+4
Sometimes, stars eat their planets
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Sometimes, stars eat their planets

Astronomers trace lithium to find some red dwarfs that dined on some rocky worlds

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+2+2
Dinky stars don’t make giant planets, or even middle-sized giants
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Dinky stars don’t make giant planets, or even middle-sized giants

Low-mass red dwarfs show a paucity of mini-Neptunes. It’s not clear why.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+6+6
A new mini-moon for Earth next year, two moon-sized exoworlds collided
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A new mini-moon for Earth next year, two moon-sized exoworlds collided

We get a second moon, kinda, for a week in 2027. Also, a cosmic train wreck around another star

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
Astronomers find over ten thousand potential new exoplanets

Astronomers find over ten thousand potential new exoplanets

If confirmed, this will more than double the number known

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+3+3
Hey, is that a failed star or a super-successful planet?

Hey, is that a failed star or a super-successful planet?

Astronomers find lightweight brown dwarfs can form like planets

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+6+6
How big are the liquid methane waves on Titan? And another Voyager 1 instrument turned off

How big are the liquid methane waves on Titan? And another Voyager 1 instrument turned off

Very cool research shows just how gnarly surfing is on other worlds, and a venerable spacecraft is losing power rapidly

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+3+3
Mini-Neptunes may be hot and solid. Also, a star blew out a LOT of stuff before exploding.
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Mini-Neptunes may be hot and solid. Also, a star blew out a LOT of stuff before exploding.

Exoplanets keep getting weirder, and a pre-supernova star expelled truly vast amounts of helium

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+3+3
Looking for planets? On average, you’ll find one around every red dwarf
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Looking for planets? On average, you’ll find one around every red dwarf

Also: Jupiter lightning is ridiculously powerful

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+7+7
Our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has a hiccuppy past

Our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has a hiccuppy past

It may erupt every few centuries, but don’t panic!

Philip Plait
Philip Plait