Astronomers at MIT, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have detected three planets, located 40 light years away, that could potentially be habitable. The “planets likely have permanent day and night sides. The next step is to look for signs of biological conditions on the planets.”
Huffington Post reporter Michael McLaughlin writes that a new study co-authored by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit details the discovery of three Earth-sized planets. The “planets orbit a star in the Aquarius constellations named Trappist-1,” writes McLaughlin. “But the planets are close enough to the star to have ‘temperate’ conditions on their surface.”
Boston Globe reporter Astead Herndon writes that an international team of astronomers, including researchers from MIT, have discovered three potentially habitable planets. “This is a paradigm shift,” says Julien de Wit, a postdoc at MIT. “These planets are the best shots for us to search for other habitats, and maybe even life.”
Researchers have uncovered evidence about how “hot Jupiter” exoplanets form by studying a planet with an eccentric orbit, reports Eva Botkin-Kowacki for The Christian Science Monitor. "This planet is thought to be caught in the act of migrating inward," says MIT postdoc Julien de Wit. "By studying it, we are able to test theories of hot Jupiter formation."
Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman writes that a new study co-authored by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit examines the eccentric orbit of an exoplanet with extreme weather variations. The researchers found that, “every 111 days, the planet swings close to its sun-like host star before being flung back out.”
An Earth-like planet 39 light-years away from Earth could provide researchers with an opportunity to study another planet’s atmosphere, reports Chukwuma Muanya for The Guardian. “Because it is so close, the air and clouds above GJ 1132b could be studied in detail using space and ground-based telescopes,” Muanya explains.
Jonathan Amos reports for BBC News on the discovery of a nearby exoplanet that is orbiting a red dwarf star. Amos explains that researchers are interested in studying Earth-sized exoplanets as “it may be their best bet of establishing whether or not life exists beyond our Solar System.”
Huffington Post reporter Nitya Rajan writes that the discovery of an Earth-sized exoplanet by MIT researchers could be an important step in the search for extraterrestrial life. The planet is “close enough for experts to better understand the different types of atmospheres that could support life.”
The discovery of a new exoplanet will provide researchers an opportunity to explore the atmosphere of a galactic neighbor, reports Joshua Sokol for New Scientist. “There’s this huge forest out there of worlds like this one,” explains MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson. “But we’ve never had the opportunity to look at any one of those trees.”
Washington Post reporter Joel Achenbach writes that researchers have discovered a new Earth-sized exoplanet. “It was very hard to find, and just barely at the limit of our detection, but it gives us finally a chance to really study a rocky planet around another star in an unprecedented level of detail,” explains MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson.
Deborah Netburn of The Los Angeles Times reports on the discovery of an exoplanet 39 light-years away. "The discovery of this planet gives us the opportunity to switch our focus from imagining what is out there to testing our theories observationally,” says MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson.
Boston Globe reporter Felicia Gans writes that researchers have discovered an exoplanet 39 light-years away. “By studying this new world, I’m optimistic we’ll learn a little more about how planets work and bring us a little closer to that big exciting question of empirically figuring out whether life is out there in the galaxy,” says MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson.
Researchers have discovered a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that is close enough for astronomers to study its atmosphere, according to the Associated Press. “While the scientists say the planet is too hot for life, it's still much cooler than the rocky fireballs known to orbit stars beyond our solar system.”
Prof. Sara Seager and her team are building a list of biosignatures - chemicals that could suggest the presence of life on other planets - in their search for extraterrestrial life, writes Joshua Sokol for New Scientist. Seager is “looking at all small molecules, not just the ones linked to life as we know it.”
Chris Berdik writes for Boston Magazine about Professor Sara Seager’s search for Earth-like exoplanets. “I believe that in our lifetime we will be able to take children to a dark sky,” said Seager. “And point to a star and say, That star has a planet with signs of life in its atmosphere.”