#Tag · bonfire.cafe

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

OK #exoplanet friends, is it super-jupiter or super-Jupiter? I'm thinking much like we have the Galaxy (Milky Way), and galaxies (the rest), big exoplanets should be super-jupiters: there is Jupiter, unique in our solar system, and then other jupiters and super-jupiters around other stars? 🤔

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans

@astroroyalscot.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy · last week

jbz boosted

jbz

@jbz@indieweb.social · last week

｢ Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has revealed the disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, with wisps of material stretching much farther above and below the disk than astronomers have seen in any similar system. Strangely, more extended filaments are only visible on one side of the disk ｣

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chaotic-dracula-chivito-hubble-reveals.html

#space #astronomy #exoplanet

jbz

@jbz@indieweb.social · last week

https://phys.org/news/2025-12-chaotic-dracula-chivito-hubble-reveals.html

#space #astronomy #exoplanet

Hacker News

@h4ckernews@mastodon.social · 4 weeks ago

Webb observes exoplanet that may have an exotic helium and carbon atmosphere

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-observes-exoplanet-whose-composition-defies-explanation/

#HackerNews #exoplanet #discovery #helium #atmosphere #carbon #science #news #NASA #Webb #telescope

NASA Science

NASA’s Webb Observes Exoplanet Whose Composition Defies Explanation

Scientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a rare type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, whose atmospheric composition

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Olly 👾

@Olly42@nerdculture.de · last month

👽️🔭Scientists just found a Super-Earth Exoplanet.

It's just 18 light-years away: a super-Earth named GJ 251c with a minimum mass about 3.84 times that of our own planet. The most exciting part? It's smack-bang in its star's habitable zone — an orbital distance neither too far from nor too close to the star to support life.

🖇️Check my Image Description’s🖇️

https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e20

#251c #exoplanet #astronomy #physics #science #media #space #observation #tech #news

3 media

[ImageSource: Pennsylvania State University]

⁉️A new exoplanet candidate has just burst onto the scene, and it may be one of the best alien worlds yet on which to search for extraterrestrial life. "The exoplanet is in the habitable or the 'Goldilocks Zone,' the right distance from its star that liquid water could exist on its surface, if it has the right atmosphere," explains astronomer Suvrath Mahadevan.⁉️

Scientists are still trying to figure out the complex mix of ingredients that make up a world on which life can emerge, but there are a few key big-picture characteristics to look for before examining a candidate more closely.

👾The first two things scientists look for are: whether the world has a solid, rocky composition like Earth, since it's the only world we know for a fact hosts life; and whether the planet is at a distance from its star where temperatures allow for liquid water, the so-called "solvent of life".👾

<https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-012-9301-6>

<https://soundcloud.com/theucipodcast/nearbyexoplanet_mixdown>

The exoplanet orbits a star called GJ 251, a red dwarf about a third of the mass and diameter of the Sun. Because it's small and cool, the habitable zone is much closer to the star than the Solar System's habitable zone. This can actually make any worlds hanging out there easier to find, because they have shorter orbits, making the signals from multiple orbits easier to spot and stack.

<https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/habitable-zone/> — [ImageSource: Pennsylvania State University] ⁉️A new exoplanet candidate has just burst onto the scene, and it may be one of the best alien worlds yet on which to search for extraterrestrial life. "The exoplanet is in the habitable or the 'Goldilocks Zone,' the right distance from its star that liquid water could exist on its surface, if it has the right atmosphere," explains astronomer Suvrath Mahadevan.⁉️ Scientists are still trying to figure out the complex mix of ingredients that make up a world on which life can emerge, but there are a few key big-picture characteristics to look for before examining a candidate more closely. 👾The first two things scientists look for are: whether the world has a solid, rocky composition like Earth, since it's the only world we know for a fact hosts life; and whether the planet is at a distance from its star where temperatures allow for liquid water, the so-called "solvent of life".👾 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11084-012-9301-6> <https://soundcloud.com/theucipodcast/nearbyexoplanet_mixdown> The exoplanet orbits a star called GJ 251, a red dwarf about a third of the mass and diameter of the Sun. Because it's small and cool, the habitable zone is much closer to the star than the Solar System's habitable zone. This can actually make any worlds hanging out there easier to find, because they have shorter orbits, making the signals from multiple orbits easier to spot and stack. <https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/habitable-zone/>

Luckily, it's a prime candidate for further observations. The researchers believe that the exoplanet should be detectable in future direct imaging campaigns, where astronomers seek to investigate the world not by studying its effect on the star, but directly observing the exoplanet itself.

👾This is not easy to do, but we're right on the cusp of new technologies that enable a new era in direct-imaging studies of alien worlds.👾

"We are at the cutting edge of technology and analysis methods with this system," Beard says. "While its discovery is quite statistically significant, we are still determining the status of the planet due to the uncertainty of our instruments and methods. We need the next generation of telescopes to directly image this candidate, but what we also need is community investment."

<https://www.sciencealert.com/p-value>

⁉️We're so tantalizingly close to the next generation of telescopes that will be able to reveal whether or not GJ 251c has an atmosphere that traps heat to allow oceans of water to slosh around on its surface.⁉️

<https://science.nasa.gov/kids/earth/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/>

"While we can't yet confirm the presence of an atmosphere or life on GJ 251c, the planet represents a promising target for future exploration," Mahadevan adds. "We made an exciting discovery, but there's still much more to learn about this planet."

<https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e20> — Luckily, it's a prime candidate for further observations. The researchers believe that the exoplanet should be detectable in future direct imaging campaigns, where astronomers seek to investigate the world not by studying its effect on the star, but directly observing the exoplanet itself. 👾This is not easy to do, but we're right on the cusp of new technologies that enable a new era in direct-imaging studies of alien worlds.👾 "We are at the cutting edge of technology and analysis methods with this system," Beard says. "While its discovery is quite statistically significant, we are still determining the status of the planet due to the uncertainty of our instruments and methods. We need the next generation of telescopes to directly image this candidate, but what we also need is community investment." <https://www.sciencealert.com/p-value> ⁉️We're so tantalizingly close to the next generation of telescopes that will be able to reveal whether or not GJ 251c has an atmosphere that traps heat to allow oceans of water to slosh around on its surface.⁉️ <https://science.nasa.gov/kids/earth/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/> "While we can't yet confirm the presence of an atmosphere or life on GJ 251c, the planet represents a promising target for future exploration," Mahadevan adds. "We made an exciting discovery, but there's still much more to learn about this planet." <https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e20>

GIF

Discovery of a Nearby Habitable Zone Super-Earth Candidate Amenable to Direct Imaging

Unnamed TNG skant beefcake boosted

Olly 👾

@Olly42@nerdculture.de · last month

👽️🔭Scientists just found a Super-Earth Exoplanet.

🖇️Check my Image Description’s🖇️

https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e20

#251c #exoplanet #astronomy #physics #science #media #space #observation #tech #news

3 media

GIF

Discovery of a Nearby Habitable Zone Super-Earth Candidate Amenable to Direct Imaging

Olly 👾

@Olly42@nerdculture.de · last month

👽️🔭Scientists just found a Super-Earth Exoplanet.

🖇️Check my Image Description’s🖇️

https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/ae0e20

#251c #exoplanet #astronomy #physics #science #media #space #observation #tech #news

3 media

GIF

Discovery of a Nearby Habitable Zone Super-Earth Candidate Amenable to Direct Imaging

vruz boosted

Mikko Tuomi

@mustapipa@scicomm.xyz · 4 months ago

Astronomers found an #atmosphere where they least expected it—clinging to an #exoplanet that’s too small, too hot and too old to have air, at least in theory.

Observations of the blazing-hot lava #planet TOI-561 b suggest not only that it has a thick atmosphere but also that it may have had one for billions of years.

This is the strongest evidence yet for "air" around a hot rocky world that isn’t just a temporary veil of #hydrogen and #helium left over from planetary formation.

#exoplanets #astronomy
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/james-webb-space-telescope-finds-atmosphere-on-lava-planet-toi-561-b/

Scientific American

This Fiery Exoplanet Shouldn’t Have an Atmosphere—But It Does

Hot, small and old—exoplanet TOI-561 b is just about the worst place to look for alien air. Scientists using JWST found it there anyway

Mikko Tuomi

@mustapipa@scicomm.xyz · 4 months ago

Astronomers found an #atmosphere where they least expected it—clinging to an #exoplanet that’s too small, too hot and too old to have air, at least in theory.

Observations of the blazing-hot lava #planet TOI-561 b suggest not only that it has a thick atmosphere but also that it may have had one for billions of years.

This is the strongest evidence yet for "air" around a hot rocky world that isn’t just a temporary veil of #hydrogen and #helium left over from planetary formation.

#exoplanets #astronomy
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/james-webb-space-telescope-finds-atmosphere-on-lava-planet-toi-561-b/

Scientific American

This Fiery Exoplanet Shouldn’t Have an Atmosphere—But It Does

Hot, small and old—exoplanet TOI-561 b is just about the worst place to look for alien air. Scientists using JWST found it there anyway