When astronomers search for planets that could host liquid water on their surface, they start by looking at a star's habitable zone. Water is a key ingredient for life, and on a planet too close to ...

For decades, the search for alien life has revolved around a narrow ring around stars where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface. That “habitable zone” remains important, but astronomers are ...

Do certain exoplanets mirror Earth regarding their distribution of iron and water? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as an international team of researchers ...

What happens when a planet contains immense quantities of water but is far too hot for that water to remain liquid?

As much as 95% of an exoplanet's water could be trapped forever deep inside its iron core, transforming what we thought we knew about water worlds and potentially rendering them even more habitable ...

The James Webb Space Telescope has detected clouds made of silicates, similar to sand here on Earth, as well as water, ...

"When the Earth's mantle melts, it produces basalts," said Esteban Gazel, professor of engineering. Basalt, a gray-black volcanic rock found throughout the solar system, are key recorders of geologic ...

Scientists have discovered the strongest evidence to date for a stratosphere on a planet outside our solar system, or exoplanet. A stratosphere is a layer of atmosphere in which temperature increases ...

Named for the Gaelic god of war, Smertrios has a composition and density that are a challenge to planet formation models. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

Researchers from School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University say there might actually be too much water for the TRAPPIST-1 planets to harbor life. Share on Facebook (opens in a ...

In this illustration super-Earth Kepler-138 d is in the foreground. To the left, the planet Kepler-138 c, and in the background the planet Kepler 138 b, seen in silhouette transiting its central star.

How can astronomers determine if an exoplanet has water based on Earth’s geological composition? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of researchers led ...