A signal originally detected by the Kepler spacecraft has been validated as an exoplanet using the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF), an astronomical spectrograph built by a Penn State team and recently installed on the 10m Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas. The HPF provides the highest precision measurements to date of infrared signals from nearby low-mass stars, and astronomers used it to validate the candidate planet by excluding all possibilities of contaminating signals to very high level of probability. The details of the findings appear in the Astronomical Journal.
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Sub-Neptune sized planet validated with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder
By Earl on 25 Feb 2020 No CommentsNew Exoplanet Search Strategy Claims First Discovery | Quanta Magazine
By watching for a special kind of flare, astronomers have identified the fingerprints of an Earth-size planet orbiting a distant star.
Source: www.quantamagazine.org/new-exoplanet-search-strategy-claims-first-discovery-20200218/
NASA launches a new planet-hunting telescope using a giant balloon
By Earl on 02 Oct 2019 No CommentsNASA launches a new planet-hunting telescope using a giant balloon – TechCrunch
A new telescope will seek out planets that resemble Earth from a height of around 125,000 feet, using special optical technology that will filter out light from the stars they orbit to provide a better view. The telescope is the product of UMass Lowell, and took off on Tuesday morning from Fort Sum…
Nasa’s chief scientist ‘worried’ world is not ready for discovery of life on Mars
By Earl on 30 Sep 2019 No Comments
Leading astronomer says discovery will open up ‘whole new line of thinking’
Is Another Interstellar Visitor Headed Our Way? – Sky & Telescope
By Earl on 12 Sep 2019 No CommentsIs Another Interstellar Visitor Headed Our Way? – Sky & Telescope
An amateur has discovered a comet that might be the second interstellar visitor after ‘Oumuamua — and it’s heading for perihelion late this year.
Source: www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/possible-interstellar-comet-headed-our-way/
Directly measuring the mass of an imaged planet
Extremely accurate measurements of the position of β Pictoris from the Hipparcos and Gaia satellites allow the direct measurement of the mass of the imaged planet β Pic b.
Source: astrobites.org/2018/09/21/directly_measureing_the_mass_of_beta_pic_b/
Scientists identify exoplanets where life could develop as it did on Earth
By Earl on 02 Aug 2018 No CommentsScientists identify exoplanets where life could develop as it did on Earth
Scientists have identified a group of planets outside our solar system where the same chemical conditions that may have led to life on Earth exist.
The world’s most advanced camera aims to image habitable exoplanets
By Earl on 26 May 2018 No CommentsThe worldâs most advanced camera aims to image habitable exoplanets
With its high contrast ratio, DARKNESS could reveal planets hidden in the light of their host stars.
Source: www.astronomy.com/news/2018/04/the-worlds-most-advanced-camera-aims-to-image-habitable-exoplanets
With the launch of TESS, NASA will boost its search for exoplanets | Science News
By Earl on 16 Apr 2018 No CommentsWith the launch of TESS, NASA will boost its search for exoplanets
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite will set the stage for the next chapter of exoplanet exploration.
Source: www.sciencenews.org/article/launch-tess-nasa-boost-search-exoplanets