A noxious gas found seeping through cracks on Mars hints that there may be magma flowing beneath the Red Planet's surface — and perhaps even an environment similar to habitable ones on Earth, a new...

An international research team led by the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with collaborators, has achieved a breakthrough by using the Transit Timing Variation (TTV) technique for the first time to discover a super-Earth. The exoplanet, Kepler-725c, has 10 times the mass of Earth and is located in the habitable zone of the Sun-like star Kepler-725. The discovery was published in Nature Astronomy.

HD 20794 d completes its orbit just shy of two Earth years, placing it well within reach of conditions that might harbor life.

Searching for life on other planets requires more than just measuring their distances from their stars. A future NASA telescope may help search for potentially habitable worlds.

Astronomers discover LHS 1140b, a super Earth in the habitable zone with a helium atmosphere—first of its kind! This breakthrough reveals how rocky planets can retain air for billions of years, hinting at habitability. Thanks to JWST spectroscopy, we now know even 'party balloons' aren't the only ones deflating. Subscribe for more space discoveries! 2026-07-17 Tools used for generation Text Gemini Narator Azure TTS Clips Pexel Rendering Remotion

Astronomers have long searched for life within a rather narrow ring around a star, the "habitable zone," where a planet should be neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water. A new study argues that this ring is too strict: on tidally locked worlds that keep one face in daylight and the other in permanent night, heat may still circulate enough for liquid water to persist on the dark side, even when the planet orbits closer to cool M- and K-dwarf stars than conservative climate models allow.

A super-Earth 48 light-years away has become the first rocky planet in another star's habitable zone confirmed to hold an atmosphere. The detection, made by measuring helium escaping into space via th

Gesteinsplaneten in der habitablen Zone gelten bei der Suche nach lebensfreundlichen Welten als die vielversprechendsten Kandidaten. Nun wurde mit dem 48 Lichtjahre entfernten Exoplaneten LHS 1140 b der erste felsige Planet entdeckt, der seinen Stern in der habitablen Zone umkreist und eine Atmosphäre besitzt. Kommende Analysen sollen die Atmosphärenzusammensetzung bestimmen und nach Wasserdampf suchen. scinexx

Habitable Welt: Astronomen haben eine potenziell lebensfreundliche Supererde um einen nahen sonnenähnlichen Stern entdeckt – ein seltener Fund. Der rund sechs Erdmassen schwere Exoplanet liegt nur rund 20 Lichtjahre entfernt und umkreist seinen Stern in der habitablen Zone. Trotz eines exzentrischen Orbits könnte der HD 20794d getaufte Planet günstige Bedingungen für außerirdisches Leben bieten – und gilt als gut geeignetes Ziel für weitere Untersuchungen, wie das Team in „Astronomy & Astrophysics“ berichtet.

Rocky exoplanet in habitable zone shows atmosphere

The article discusses the discovery of GJ 887 d, a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting a quiet red dwarf star. While its location within the habitable zone suggests potential for liquid water, the planet's characteristics remain uncertain. The study highlights that the habitable zone is not a guarantee of habitability, as factors like atmospheric composition, geology, and stellar activity play critical roles. GJ 887 d receives 81% of Earth's sunlight, with an equilibrium temperature of -32°C, but its mass (six times Earth's) and atmospheric conditions are unknown. The planet's star, GJ 887, is relatively calm compared to other red dwarfs, reducing risks of extreme flares. However, the absence of transits limits direct atmospheric analysis, making future observations crucial to determine if GJ 887 d could support life. The article emphasizes the need for further research to understand this enigmatic world's potential for sustaining liquid water and habitable conditions.

Astronomers have discovered the first confirmed atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet located in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star. The planet, LHS 1140 b, is situated 48 light-years from Earth and has retained its atmosphere for over three billion years. This finding marks a significant breakthrough in the search for potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system. The atmosphere was detected through helium escaping into space, a signal that supports theoretical predictions about the planet's atmospheric composition. The discovery, published in Science, provides the strongest evidence yet that Earth-like planets with rocky compositions and conditions suitable for liquid water may exist elsewhere in the universe. Researchers used the Warm Infrared Echelle (WINERED) Spectrograph at the Magellan Observatory in Chile to analyze the planet's atmosphere during an event where two planets transited their star simultaneously. The findings suggest that future ground-based observations could identify more exoplanets with atmospheres, advancing our understanding of planetary habitability and the potential for extraterrestrial life.

A research team from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has confirmed the presence of an atmosphere on the rocky planet LHS 1140 b, located 48 light-years from Earth. This is the first de

Scientists have confirmed a potentially habitable fifth planet in the nearby L 98-59 system, revealing a diverse collection of rocky worlds that could harbor water or volcanic activity. A research tea...