Planet Quest: News Archive

Media Information Media inquiries regarding the missions, science or technology covered in this Web site should be directed to Jane Platt, media relations specialist. (818) 354-0880

For planet-hunter Rachel Akeson, science is in the genes 12.17.07 You could say that science runs in Rachel Akeson's family. The daughter of two scientists, she knew she was going to be an astronomer by the time she was a third-grader. Now, in addition to having her hands full with her own young children, Akeson is studying young stars as they develop their own planetary families.

Ready for planet-hunting 8.14.07 Astronomers from Penn State University recently got a glimpse of our solar system's future when they discovered a massive planet circling a bloated, dying red giant star.

Astronomers find companion orbiting brown dwarf candidate 7.30.07 Astronomers at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg have discovered what appears to be the smallest companion yet discovered orbiting close to a low-mass star.

Spitzer finds evidence for planets with 4 parents 7.24.07 How many stars does it take to "raise" a planet? In our own solar system, it took only one -- our sun. However, new research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows that planets might be forming in systems with as many as four stars. (External press release)

Metal-rich stars may contain the remains of devoured planets 7.23.07 Metal-rich stars may contain the remains of devoured planets. (External press release)

Putting together the big picture in planet-finding 7.18.07 Putting together the big picture in planet-finding (7. 18.07) - "I just do it for the pictures," laughs Dr. David Imel as he points to the myriad posters of stars and galaxies hanging from the walls in his office at Caltech. But the picture Imel wants to see most doesn't exist yet - a pale blue dot orbiting a distant star. Another Earth.

Pluto's moon Charon may harbor subsurface water 7.17.07 Pluto's moon Charon has been characterized as a giant iceball, but astronomers were surprised to find that the moon seems to be constantly recoating itself with a thin skin of fresh ice, no more than 1 millimeter thick. (External press release)

Survey suggests super-Jupiters stay close to home 7.11.07 Astronomers who used powerful telescopes in Arizona and Chile in a survey for planets around nearby stars have discovered that extrasolar planets more massive than Jupiter are extremely rare in other outer solar systems. (External press release)

Spitzer finds water vapor on hot, alien planet 7.11.07 A scorching-hot gas planet beyond our solar system is steaming up with water vapor, according to new observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. (External press release)

Droids dance on International Space Station (June 20, 2007) Three basketball-size "spheres" recently flew in tight formation in the International Space Station, achieving a major milestone along the path to developing NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) Interferometer.

Planet race heats up: 1 month, 32 discoveries (June 6, 2007) The race to find planets beyond our solar system heated up more than ever during the month of May, when astronomers announced 32 previously unknown planets orbiting nearby stars.

The 10 most intriguing stars of 2007 (June 5, 2007) PlanetQuest asked a number of leading planet hunters to name their most intriguing stars for 2007. Here are their top 10 choices.

Astronomers image face of Altair (May 31, 2007) Using a suite of four telescopes, astronomers have captured an image of Altair, one of the closest stars to our own and a fixture in the summer sky. (External press release)

Mission could seek out Spock's home planet (May 10, 2007) Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have concluded that the SIM PlanetQuest mission would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around 40 Eridani, a star familiar to "Star Trek" fans as the location of planet Vulcan.

Spitzer reveals extreme weather on distant worlds (May 9, 2007) Researchers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have learned what the weather is like on two distant, exotic worlds. (External press release)

CoRoT mission finds first planet (May 3, 2007) COROT has provided its first image of a giant planet orbiting another star and the first bit of "seismic" information on a far away, Sun-like star- with unexpected accuracy. (External press release)

Astronomers discover potentially habitable planet (April 25, 2007) European astronomers this week announced the discovery of a potentially habitable planet about 50 percent larger than Earth, orbiting a star very different from our sun.

Astronomers map out planetary danger zone (April 18, 2007) Astronomers have laid down the cosmic equivalent of yellow "caution" tape around super hot stars, marking the zones where cooler stars are in danger of having their developing planets blasted away. (External press release)

Space telescopes could detect Earth twin (April 11, 2007) For the first time ever, NASA researchers have successfully demonstrated in the laboratory that a space telescope rigged with special masks and mirrors could snap a photo of an Earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star. (External press release)

Some worlds may have non-green foilage (April 11, 2007) In the next decade, when scientists are able to study Earth-sized worlds around other stars, they may find that foliage on some of the planets is predominantly yellow--or orange, or red. It all depends on the color of the star the planet orbits and the stuff that makes up the planet's atmosphere. (External press release)

Double sunsets are common, Spitzer finds (March 29, 2007) Two teams of astronomers have announced the discovery of four gas-giant planets around other stars, bringing the total number of known extrasolar planets to 204. (External press release)

Astronomers discover 4 new planets (March 27, 2007) Two teams of astronomers have announced the discovery of four gas-giant planets around other stars, bringing the total number of known extrasolar planets to 20.

Exhibit showcases planet-finding techniques (March 13, 2007) Pioneering instruments that illustrate key techniques in the search for planets orbiting other stars are on public display this spring at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Planet hunting lands in L.A. library (March 8, 2007) An out-of-this-world exhibit has landed smack in the middle of downtown Los Angeles - in a library, of all places.

Spitzer identifies molecules on exoplanets (February 21, 2007) NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured for the first time enough light from planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets, to identify signatures of molecules in their atmospheres. (External press release)

Finding beauty in the universe (February 5, 2007) Beth A. Biller overcame her fear of math to pursue a career as a serious astronomer. Her research has helped produce some of the sharpest images of extrasolar worlds ever obtained.

Hubble probes alien world's atmosphere (February 5, 2007) The powerful vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to study for the first time the layer-cake structure of the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. Hubble discovered a dense upper layer of hot hydrogen gas where the super-hot planet's atmosphere is bleeding off into space. (External press release)

Take an interactive tour of Titan (January 26, 2007) Once shrouded in mystery, Saturn's moon Titan has been revealed as the most Earthlike place in our solar system. Find out how the exploration of Titan is helping scientists plan their searches for habitable planets around other stars. (Requires Flash 8)

SIM PlanetQuest to predict date of cosmic collision (January 4, 2007) Scientists plan to pin down the date of a galactic collision billions of years in our future by first reaching back to the Big Bang, a feat that will be made possible by the extreme precision of NASA's planned SIM PlanetQuest mission.

First spaceborne planet-hunter launches (January 2, 2007) The first space mission specifically designed to search for planets around other stars was successfully launched on December 27.
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