New Webb observations of two exoplanets TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c show blistering days and frozen nights, offering the first detailed climate maps of rocky exoplanets and dimming hopes for habitability. This artist’s impression shows an imagined view from the surface one of the three exoplanets orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 38.8 light-years from Earth. These…
New images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveal two young stars surrounded by planet-forming disks, Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131 (right), offering a rare edge-on glimpse into how worlds like our own may take shape. These composite images show protoplanetary disks Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131 (right). Image credit: NASA /…
Using the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have characterized the atmosphere of TOI-5205b, an extrasolar gas giant orbiting a small, dim red dwarf star. These observations have revealed an atmosphere unexpectedly poor in heavy elements, raising fresh questions about how such ‘forbidden’ alien worlds take shape and evolve. The…
The Hubble team has released a beautiful close-up shot of the barred spiral galaxy IC 486. This Hubble image shows IC 486, a barred spiral galaxy some 380 million light-years away in the constellation of Gemini. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M.J. Koss / A.J. Barth. IC 486 is located some 380…
Using data from ESA’s Gaia mission and the NASA Exoplanet Archive, astronomers at Cornell University have identified 45 rocky exoplanets in the empirical habitable zone and 24 worlds in the narrower 3D habitable zone, offering scientists a focused guide in the search for extraterrestrial life. An artist’s impression of a planetary system around a slightly…
The breakup of C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, opens a window into how fragile comet nuclei evolve and collapse. These Hubble images of the fragmenting comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) were taken over the course of three consecutive days: November 8, 9, and 10, 2025. Image credit: NASA / ESA /…
Using a vast catalog of Sun-like stars built by ESA’s Gaia mission, astronomers have found strong evidence that our home star traveled outward with thousands of stellar counterparts roughly 4 to 6 billion years ago, offering new clues to the formation of the Milky Way’s central bar. An artist’s impression of a migration of the…
