planets Archives

This illustration of TOI 700 d is based on several simulated environments for an ocean-covered version of the planet. Source: Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA “TESS” Planet Hunter Finds Earth-Size Habitable-Zone World

January 7, 2020 Guest Author or Contributor

By Jeanette Kazmierczak, NASA JPL NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered its first Earth-size planet in its star’s habitable zone, the range of distances where conditions may be just right to allow the […]

The TRAPPIST-1 system contains a total of seven planets, all around the size of Earth. Three of them -- TRAPPIST-1e, f and g -- dwell in their star's so-called "habitable zone." The habitable zone, or Goldilocks zone, is a band around every star (shown here in green) where astronomers have calculated that temperatures are just right -- not too hot, not too cold -- for liquid water to pool on the surface of an Earth-like world. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

NASA Telescope Reveals Batch of Earth-Size, Habitable-Zone Planets Around Single Star

February 23, 2017 Kay Whatley

By Elizabeth Landau (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Felicia Chou and Sean Potter (NASA Headquarters) NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are […]

Kepler before launch. At the Hazardous Processing Facility at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida, workers guide the suspended Kepler spacecraft onto a Delta II third stage. Photo: NASA/Troy Cryder February 16, 2009.

NASA’s Kepler Confirms 100+ Exoplanets

July 19, 2016 Kay Whatley

Released by Elizabeth Landau (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and Michele Johnson (Ames Research Center) An international team of astronomers has discovered and confirmed a treasure trove of new worlds using NASA’s Kepler spacecraft on its K2 mission. Out […]

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UK: New Guinness World Record Set for Largest Gooseberry

August 27, 2019

Graeme Watson of the United Kingdom holds the newest Guinness World Records title for the heaviest gooseberry. A gooseberry grown by Graeme and submitted to the Egton Bridge Gooseberry Show on August 6, 2019 weighed […]

strange

UFO Sightings by US State: February 2020

March 12, 2020

By Kay Whatley, Editor Across the United States each year, thousands of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings are reported. UFO reports cover close encounters of various types, range from blinking lights in the sky to […]

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NC Wildlife Seeks Public’s Help in Barn Owl Sightings and Nest Box Placement

August 2, 2019

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is asking the public to report any sightings of barn owls to the agency. Commission biologists are seeking barn owl observations to help them learn more about habitat needs […]