Starshade-based methods, both for in-space observatories like the Habitable Worlds Observer or ground-based observatories, have the potential to increase our observational capability without launching ...

NASA has officially tracked 6,000 confirmed exoplanets—planets outside our solar system—a milestone that reflects decades of cumulative discoveries and ongoing research efforts. This achievement, ...

A recently published report describes a “starshade” currently being developed that would resemble a giant sunflower floating in space. As Liz Kruesi reports, the instrument could allow astronomers to ...

Exoplanets are planets outside Earth's solar system. In 1995, a gas giant named 51 Pegasi b, which orbits a star similar to Earth's sun, etched its name in history as the first exoplanet ever ...

A new study shows that stars with low magnetic activity are likely to support exoplanetary systems, making the hunt for these ...

The agency has announced it's bringing together experts from a variety of scientific fields in a new coalition to search for alien life on planets outside our solar system. Share on Facebook (opens in ...

On Aug. 24, 2023, more than three decades after the first confirmation of planets beyond our own solar system, scientists announced the discovery of six new exoplanets, stretching that number to 5,502 ...

A team of scientists has confirmed that the nearby star GJ 887 hosts at least four planets, one of which could be a habitable ...

It is a major goal of astronomical research to find planets other than Earth that might be suitable for sustaining life. There are a number of factors which many scientists agree are essential to a ...