Postdoc Julien de Wit speaks with Boston Herald reporter Marie Szaniszlo about the discovery of seven Earth-like planets. De Wit, who is leading the effort to study the planets’ atmospheres, explains that “this is the first time that we’ve found so many small planets — each potentially habitable — around the same star, a star that’s close to us.”
Postdoc Julien de Wit speaks with NPR reporter Nell Greenfieldboyce about the discovery of seven exoplanets that could harbor the conditions necessary to sustain liquid water. Greenfieldboyce reports that de Wit explained that the planets have a “‘winning combination’ of being temperate, Earth-size and ideally suited for follow-up observations with telescopes to analyze their atmospheres.”
An international team of scientists, including astronomers from MIT, has discovered seven Earth-sized planets, reports Sarah Kaplan for The Washington Post. Julien de Wit, a postdoc at MIT who is leading the study of the planets’ atmospheres, explains that repeated observations of the planets, “lifted the veil on the architecture of the system.”
New York Times reporter Kenneth Chang writes about the discovery of seven Earth-sized exoplanets by a team of researchers, including MIT scientists. The discovery makes “the search for life in the galaxy imminent,” says Prof. Sara Seager. “We just have to wait and then make very careful observations and see what is in the atmospheres of the Trappist planets.”
Washington Post reporter Sarah Kaplan writes that a new study by MIT postdoc Julien de Wit provides evidence of a star that pulses when in proximity to its orbiting planet. De Wit and his colleagues found that the “star's brightness oscillated according to the exact rhythm of its planet's orbit.”
MIT astronomers have discovered a star that pulsates in response to an exoplanet orbiting around it, reports Brooks Hays for UPI. The findings “contradict the wisdom of most stellar models, which suggest planets can't influence their host stars in such a manner,” Hays explains.
Postdoc Jennifer Burt speaks with Boston Globe reporter Andrew Grant about a new database of nearby stars that has been made publically available. “This could be a great way to get undergrad and high school students involved in science,” Burt explains. “We’re inspiring the next generation of scientists and that’s awesome.”
In a series of papers, the New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, reveals that there may be a slushy subsurface ocean on Pluto, reports Rebecca Boyle for The Atlantic. “The research suggests that many other distant worlds in the Kuiper Belt might also hold inner oceans of water, or other liquids,” Boyle explains.
Researchers involved with the NASA New Horizons mission have uncovered evidence that an ocean of ice water lies beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped basin, reports Irene Klotz for Reuters. Prof. Richard Binzel explains that the findings show that “nature is more creative than we are able to imagine, which is why we go and explore."
Boston Globe reporter Olivia Quintana writes that the NASA New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, has collected data that suggests there is a slushy ocean of ice water beneath Pluto’s surface. “I think the big picture is that this is telling us that Pluto is much more complicated, much more fascinating than we ever imagined,” explains Prof. Richard Binzel.
Scientists at MIT and Brown University have discovered the origin of the Orientale basin, the oldest crater on the Moon, according to EFE. The impact of an asteroid 3.8 billion years ago formed a crater that has since “collapsed under the rock fractures and its temperatures forming three concentric rings visible today.”
Amina Khan of The Los Angeles Times writes that a team of scientists, led by postdoc Julien de Wit, has conducted an atmospheric study of two Earth-sized exoplanets and found that they are rocky and have thin atmospheres. The findings “lend growing support to the idea that such planets might potentially be friendly to life.”
EAPS postdoc Julien de Wit and his colleagues have analyzed the atmospheres of two potentially habitable exoplanets, reports Alan Yuhas for The Guardian. Based off their observations, de Wit explains that the atmospheres of the planets are probably similar to a “terrestrial planet like Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth.”
A double transit of two Earth-sized exoplanets allowed an international team of scientists, led by postdoc Julien de Wit, to conduct an atmospheric analysis, writes Vivian Wang for The Boston Globe. The researchers found that “the planets have rocky, rather than gaseous, terrain, and compact, rather than loose, atmospheres — all further indication that they are potentially habitable.”
New findings from EAPS postoc Julien de Wit shows that two previously discovered exoplanets 40 light years from Earth have rocky surfaces, which “represent a unique opportunity to go looking for conditions that would favor life,” writes Rachel Feltman for the The Washington Post.