1+ week, 3+ day ago   (639+ words) On July 23, 2026, astronomers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison announced the confirmation of GJ 523b, an unusually dense mega-Earth first detected in data from NASA’s TESS telescope. GJ 523b is 2.5 times the diameter of Earth. Some super-Earths can be that large, but…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago   (708+ words) How is that possible? A new study, led by researchers at Stanford University in California, suggests an explanation. The researchers said on August 25, 2026, that gases slowly escaping from below the planets’ surfaces might replenish the gases that have been lost....

2+ week, 4+ day ago   (510+ words) When searching for possible signs of alien life on exoplanets, scientists tend to focus on atmospheres that might be earthlike. That is, atmospheres dominated by nitrogen, oxygen or even carbon dioxide. But there’s another possibility that has been largely overlooked....

3+ week, 4+ day ago   (369+ words) Super-Earths are rocky exoplanets that are larger and more massive than Earth, but smaller than Neptune. Powerful telescopes have provided clues about what their atmospheres are like. But what are they like on the inside? Some astronomers have suggested these…...