How are Earth-like planets found?
Often by tiny dips in starlight or tiny wobbles of the star, which star surface noise can hide.
Ask your own in the app → TopicExoplanets · Physics & Space
How do astronomers find and study other planets?
Exoplanets are planets around stars other than the Sun. The papers we have covered work out where a planet-hunting telescope should look, model how one planet could have several possible climates, and test whether noisy starlight can be calibrated using the Sun as a guide.
Paper by paper
The papers we've covered
- PHYSICS Exoplanets
arXiv8 min listen
A Timing Trick Reads a Planet's Morning and Evening
A distant planet's morning side is hidden under haze while its evening side is clear and far hotter. A new timing method reads each side without the old bias.
Preprint Method tested on simulated data and one planet Preliminary evidence
- PHYSICS Exoplanets
arXiv9 min listen
Does a Star's Metal Content Change Which Lines Jitter?
Planet hunters pick the calmest lines in a star's light using the Sun as a guide. Does that guide still work for stars richer or poorer in metals?
Preprint Simulation study Preliminary evidence
- PHYSICS Exoplanets
arXiv9 min listen
Can the Same Planet Be Frozen, Mild or Scorching?
Put an Earth-like planet at Earth's distance from a Sun-like star. This climate model finds three stable climates: frozen, mild or scorching.
Preprint Climate model simulations Preliminary evidence
- PHYSICS Exoplanets
arXiv8 min listen
Should a Planet-Hunting Telescope Stare Longer or Move?
After two years staring at one patch of sky, Europe's PLATO telescope can keep staring or move north. This study simulates both for finding Earth-like planets.
Preprint Simulation study Preliminary evidence
Questions people ask
Short answers, from the papers.
Could an Earth-like planet be frozen?
One climate model found three stable climates for the same planet: frozen, mild or scorching.
Ask your own in the app →Where should a telescope look?
One study simulated a telescope staying on one field or moving, and found the answer depends on the goal.
Ask your own in the app →Keep up with Physics & Space research, ten minutes a paper.
The papers that matter in this hub, explained, and you can ask each one questions.
