In August, Eos looks at what the first round of observations with the James Webb Space Telescope might reveal about faraway worlds.
Extra-solar planets
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Thousands of Stars View Earth as a Transiting Exoplanet
Researchers have identified more than 2,000 stars whose past, present, or future vantage points afford a view of Earth passing directly in front of the Sun, a geometry useful for pinpointing planets.
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The Possible Evolution of an Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
Scientific sleuths explore data gathered trillions of kilometers away and put forth different, and often conflicting, ideas to reconstruct the gaseous envelope on a distant rocky exoplanet, GJ 1132 b.
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Gap in Exoplanet Size Shifts with Age
Smaller planets are scarcer in younger systems and larger planets are lacking in older systems, according to new research that analyzed hundreds of exoplanets.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
‘Oumuamua May Be an Icy Fragment of a Pluto-Like Exoplanet
Researchers favor nitrogen ice as the most likely material for the mysterious interstellar object’s composition.
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Machine Learning Can Help Decode Alien Skies—Up to a Point
Astronomers are testing the tools that might help them keep up with the upcoming storm of exoplanet atmosphere data.
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Looking Back at Our Pale Blue Dot
Astronomers model changes in Earth’s chemical signature over the past 4 billion years to improve the search for Earth-like exoplanets.
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Record-Setting Winds on a Nearby Brown Dwarf
Infrared and radio observations reveal zonal winds moving faster than 2,000 kilometers per hour on a “failed star” in our celestial neighborhood.
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Water Found in Small, Habitable Zone Planet’s Atmosphere
K2-18b is warm, has an atmosphere, and has water vapor. But it’s no Earth 2.0.