3 Questions: Sara Seager on discovering a trove of new planets
NASA’s Kepler orbiting telescope has found hundreds of new possible planets, including 54 in the so-called 'habitable zone.'
Explained: Transiting exoplanets
How astronomers learn whether a planet is habitable by observing slight changes in light emanating from its parent star.
And then there was light
Astronomers probe ancient radio waves for clues about the universe’s first light.
Learning from hot Jupiters
By studying how massive planets may have formed, MIT astrophysicist sets the stage for studying smaller, more Earthlike planets.
Building a list of Earth candidates
MIT researchers increase their odds of detecting an Earthlike planet by working on a combination of satellite missions.
Astronomers detect first carbon-rich exoplanet
Discovery opens door to new class of exoplanets, including rocky planets rich in diamond and graphite.
Robert J. Butler, former design research engineer at MIT, dies at 89
An MIT engineer for 25 years, he helped design instruments for NASA’s Voyager spacecraft.
Explained: the Doppler effect
The same phenomenon behind changes in the pitch of a moving ambulance’s siren is helping astronomers locate and study distant planets.
In a first, astronomers detect strong winds on an exoplanet
Researchers see tempestuous atmosphere on a planet located 150 light years from Earth.
Unraveling black hole spin
Retrograde spin of supermassive black holes may create jets that control galaxy evolution
Powering cube satellites
An electric propulsion technology for miniature satellites aims to give them more mobility — and may eventually allow them to take on deep-space missions.
Team predicts satellite could locate hundreds of Earth-sized planets
Researchers say proposed satellite could represent astronomy’s ‘next big leap’ — one that may help find signs of life elsewhere in the universe.
A massive star is born
Time-lapse movie shows that massive stars — which may hold clues about the origins of life — form like their smaller siblings.
A faraway planet intrigues
An exoplanet with an extremely tilted orbit raises new interest in stellar astronomy.