Astronomers: There are many, many, many, many, many habitable worlds
European astronomers have made a rather remarkable announcement this morning, saying that an estimated 40 percent of red dwarf stars have super-Earth-sized worlds in their habitable zones. Why is this...
View Article11 for ’13: Carolyn Sumners believes in extraterrestrial life
On the cusp of 2013, I’ve invited 11 of the greater Houston area’s top minds to write about something they believe, but cannot prove. A new entry in the 11 for ’13 series will be published each...
View ArticleWho should have responsibility for naming exoplanets?
Last November a private company, Uwingu, launched a fundraising contest in which participants could suggest names for exoplanets for 99 cents. The public could then vote on their favorites. This idea...
View ArticleAstronomers discover the most Earth-like worlds yet
A team of astronomers — including three from the University of Texas at Austin — have discovered a pair of Earth-sized worlds in the so-called Goldilocks zone of another star. As part of a five-planet...
View ArticleRumors swirling that Kepler, its mission not yet done, may be kaput (UPDATED)
3:30 p.m. CT UPDATE: NASA says a second one of four wheels that control’s the spacecraft’s rotation has failed. The agency stated: With the failure of a second reaction wheel, it’s unlikely that the...
View ArticleAstronomers find solar system that may teem with life
Astronomers have found a solar system where three planets slightly larger than Earth are in the habitable zone around the star. This means the temperatures on the worlds could be such that water exists...
View ArticleAfter five billion years of solitude, Earth has become a lot less lonely in...
During the last 10 or 15 years astronomers have completely rewritten our understanding of planets around other stars, finding that not only are planets common in our galaxy, but they’re everywhere, and...
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