Binary star systems are not rare. Neither are systems where one star is a remnant like a white dwarf or neutron star, and its companion is on the main sequence. In those systems, the dense remnant can draw material away from the main sequence star. This can create violent Type 1a supernovae in the case […]

TRAPPIST-1 is a red dwarf star located about 40 light years away that hosts seven Earth-sized rocky planets, with at least three orbiting in the habitable zone where liquid water could potentially exist. This makes it one of the most solar system-like exoplanet systems discovered, with TRAPPIST-1e considered among the best potentially habitable exoplanets. The […]

As atmospheric observations of exoplanets become increasingly precise, it is more important than ever to correctly account for the effect of starspots on host stars. An ideal opportunity to study starspots arises when a transiting planet passes directly across them—a phenomenon known as a spot-crossing transit.

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Just over a year ago, NASA made a remarkable announcement. The Perseverance rover had found potential signs of ancient life on Mars. Now, the technical details behind that discovery have been published in a Nature paper that, despite its rather modest wording, may ultimately prove to be among the most significant in the history of […]

Ten years ago, scientists heard the universe rumble for the first time. That first discovery of gravitational waves proved a key prediction from Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity and began a new era of astronomy.

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Astronomers have discovered what they think may be another moon orbiting a distant dwarf planet called Quaoar. This small, icy, egg-shaped planet in the far reaches of our solar system, beyond Neptune, is already known to have two rings and a moon, but this discovery was unexpected and accidental.

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Interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS that have been captured in planet-forming disks around young stars could become the seeds of giant planets, bypassing a hurdle that theoretical models have previously been unable to explain.

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Over the past decades, many research teams worldwide have been trying to detect dark matter, an elusive type of matter that does not emit, reflect or absorb light, using a variety of highly sensitive detectors. Ultimately, these detectors should be able to pick up the very small signals that would indicate the presence of dark […]