The search for exoplanets has traditionally centered on those similar to Earth (of a relatively proportionate size and mass with comparable temperatures and atmospheric compositions) but scientists are now “rethinking the kinds of planets that may be habitable” and looking toward a new class known as hycean planets. Beyond our solar system these planets, akin to “mini Neptunes,” are much bigger than Earth and are …
Just in time for Halloween, NASA has shared two posters featuring the distant exoplanets, HD 189733 b (Rains of Terror) and PSR B1257+12 c (Zombie Worlds). For this series, meant to showcase places “only sophisticated telescopes” can reach, the space agency borrows storylines from famed sci-fi films and pairs them with hypothetical real-life journeys. HD 189733 b is characterized as being “the killer you never …
As the Atlantic puts it, the exoplanet Proxima b exists in its galaxy’s “Goldilocks” habitable zone: “No one will ever find a closer alien world than this.” The reason this happens to be a big deal: all signs point to the planet being able to support water and arguably existing life. There are still plenty of variables that could negate all of this wondrous news: …
