January 08, 2013
Probing Brown Dwarf Layers
This graph shows the brightness variations of the brown dwarf named 2MASSJ22282889-431026 measured simultaneously by both NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes.
› read moreCharts
-
-
January 11, 2012
Smallest exoplanets compared to Earth and Mars
This chart compares the smallest known exoplanets, or planets orbiting outside the solar system, to our own planets Mars and Earth.
› read more -
January 11, 2012
Extrasolar Planet Detected by Gravitational Microlensing
Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of 100 billion planets according to a detailed statistical study based on the detection of three extrasolar planets by an observational technique called microlensing.
› read more -
December 08, 2010
Signature of a Carbon-Rich Planet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope indicates the presence of molecules in the planet WASP-12b -- a super-hot gas giant that orbits tightly around its star.
› read more -
October 19, 2010
How to Find a Planetary Hot Spot
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows how astronomers located a hot spot on a distant gas planet named upsilon Andromedae b -- and learned that it was in the wrong place.
› read more -
April 21, 2010
How to Measure Exoplanet Light
These plots from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope show light from a distant planet, GJ 436b, and its star, as measured at six different infrared wavelengths.
› read more -
January 28, 2009
Exoplanet HD 80606b Infrared Light Curve
This figure charts 30 hours of observations taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope of a strongly irradiated exoplanet (an planet orbiting a star beyond our own). It shows the very rapid heating the planet experienced as it swung through its closest approach to the star.
› read more -
July 11, 2007
Exoplanet Forecast: Hot and Wet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a toasty gas exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system, contains water vapor.
› read more -
July 11, 2007
Exoplanet Forecast: Hot and Wet
This plot of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a toasty gas exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system, contains water vapor.
› read more -
February 21, 2007
Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds: an Exoplanet Atmosphere
This infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a distant gas planet, a so-called "hot Jupiter" called HD 209458b, might be smothered with high clouds. It is one of the first spectra of an alien world.
› read more -
February 21, 2007
Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds: an Exoplanet Atmosphere
This infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope called a spectrum tells astronomers that a distant gas planet, a so-called "hot Jupiter" called HD 209458b, might be smothered with high clouds. It is one of the first spectra of an alien world.
› read more -
February 21, 2007
Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds: An Exoplanet Atmosphere
This infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope tells astronomers that a distant gas planet, a so-called "hot Jupiter" called HD 189733b, might be smothered with high clouds. It is one of the first spectra of an alien world.
› read more -
October 12, 2006
The Light and Dark Sides of a Distant Planet
The top graph consists of infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. It tells astronomers that a distant planet, called Upsilon Andromedae b, always has a giant hot spot on the side that faces the star, while the other side is cold and dark. The artist's concepts above the graph illustrate how the planet might look throughout its orbit if viewed up close with infrared eyes.
› read more -
December 14, 2005
The Invisible Disk
Astronomers can detect the presence of disks of dust orbiting distant stars by measuring how the combined light from the star and disk changes across different wavelengths.
› read more -
March 22, 2005
The Language of Planetary Light
This graph of data from NASA's Spitzer Space telescope shows changes in the infrared light output of two star-planet systems (one above, one below) located hundreds of light-years away.
› read more
Images by type
-
Artwork
Artists' renderings of science concepts.
-
Observation
Images of observation data captured by telescopes.
-
Maps, Spectra and Graphs
Data charts, spectra, graphs, and planetary maps.
Images by subject
-
Rocky Planets
Small exoplanets that may have rocky surfaces, like Earth.
-
Gas Giants
Exoplanets 2.5 times the size of Earth and larger.
-
Hot Jupiters
Massive worlds too close to their stars for comfort.
-
Protoplanetary Disks
Areas where young planets are being formed.