In April, astronomers said they had detected a possible signature of life on the exoplanet K2-18b. Now, three independent analyses discount the evidence.
Tag: Planets
Astronomers Detect a Signature of Life on a Distant Planet
Further studies are needed to determine whether K2-18b, which orbits a star 120 light-years away, is inhabited, or even habitable.
A Parade of Planets Is Marching Through the Night Sky
With Mercury joining the show, all seven of Earth’s celestial neighbors will be present at dusk this week.
Barnard’s Star Finally Has a Planet, and Possibly More
For a century, exoplanet hunters have “discovered” planets around a nearby star, only to retract the claims. But the latest find is for real.
NASA Sends a Missy Elliott Song to Space
NASA sent the song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” from a radio dish in California last week. It took 14 minutes to travel the 158 million miles.
As Stellar Observations Improve, Earth’s History and Future Get Fuzzier
Astronomers have gotten better at tracking the motions of stars just beyond the solar system. But that’s made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.
As Stellar Observations Improve, Earth’s History and Future Get Fuzzier
Astronomers have gotten better at tracking the motions of stars just beyond the solar system. But that’s made it harder to predict Earth’s future and reconstruct its past.
A Space Rock Fell Into Sweden. Who Owns It on Earth?
Sweden’s courts have been debating claims to a meteorite that fell north of Stockholm, including whether the right to move around in nature, including on private property, extends to claiming a meteorite.
Astronomers Find a New Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth’s Orbit
The Trojan asteroid 2020 XL5, which follows the same path around the sun as our planet, was revealed only after a decade of searching.
A Divided World United to Launch the James Webb Space Telescope
“I’ve always seen space as an area where we cooperate, through all the trying times,” said a professor who oversaw mission control for the global effort to launch a $10 billion telescope into space.