Study finds exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e is unlikely to have a Venus- or Mars-like atmosphere
Astronomers led by EAPS postdoc Ana Glidden ruled out several atmospheric scenarios for the planet, narrowing ideas of what habitability there might look like.
New research, data advance understanding of early planetary formation
Led by Assistant Professor Richard Teague, a team of international astronomers has released a collection of papers and public data furthering our understanding of planet formation.
MIT welcomes 2025 Heising-Simons Foundation 51 Pegasi b Fellow Jess Speedie
The fellowship supports research contributing to the field of planetary science and astronomy.
MIT astronomers find the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt
The team’s detection method, which identified 138 space rocks ranging from bus- to stadium-sized, could aid in tracking potential asteroid impactors.
Bridging the heavens and Earth
EAPS PhD student Jared Bryan found a way to use his research on earthquakes to help understand exoplanet migration.
3 Questions: Evidence for planetary formation through gravitational instability
Assistant Professor Richard Teague describes how movement of unstable gas in a protoplanetary disk lends credibility to a secondary theory of planetary formation.
Roadmap details how to improve exoplanet exploration using the JWST
Scientists created the step-by-step guide to unlock the potential of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope for identifying habitable worlds in the universe.
Astronomers spot a highly “eccentric” planet on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter
The planet’s wild orbit offers clues to how such large, hot planets take shape.
Sarah Millholland receives 2024 Vera Rubin Early Career Award
American Astronomical Society’s Division on Dynamical Astronomy honors the assistant professor and MIT Kavli member for contributions to the dynamics of multi-planet extrasolar systems.
Newly discovered Earth-sized planet may lack an atmosphere
Circling a cold, Jupiter-sized star, the new world could offer an unobstructed view of its surface composition and history.
Astronomers spot a giant planet that is as light as cotton candy
The new world is the second-lightest planet discovered to date.
A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets, MIT study finds
A low carbon abundance in planetary atmospheres, which the James Webb Space Telescope can detect, could be a signature of habitability.
Newly discovered planet has longest orbit yet detected by the TESS mission
The frosty gas giant was discovered in a system that also hosts a warm Jupiter.
A telescope’s last view
Astronomers discover the last three planets the Kepler telescope observed before going dark.
In a first, astronomers spot a star swallowing a planet
Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.