Exoplanets

A Sun-like star 3,000 light-years away abruptly dimmed for nine months, revealing a colossal cloud of gas and dust likely from a planetary collision. Astronomers used advanced telescopes to measure metallic winds within the cloud for the first time. The event highlights ongoing chaos in ancient star systems.

January 20, 2026 Reported by AI

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have observed the ultra-hot gas giant WASP-121b losing its atmosphere over a full orbit, revealing two enormous helium tails extending across more than half its path around its star. This marks the first continuous tracking of such atmospheric escape, providing unprecedented details on the process. The findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight the complexity of exoplanetary environments.

Astronomers have observed a collision between two large asteroids orbiting the young star Fomalhaut, creating a new dust cloud that resolves the long-standing mystery of an apparent planet. This event, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, suggests similar collisions may have shaped early planetary systems like our own. The discovery highlights unexpected activity around this nearby star.

December 17, 2025 Reported by AI

A bizarre exoplanet named PSR J2322-2650b, orbiting a rapidly spinning neutron star, has been detected more than 2000 light years away. Its atmosphere contains molecular carbon, defying expectations for such worlds. The planet's unusual shape and extreme conditions puzzle scientists.