Albedos of Super Earths
This paper introduces a new method of searching for occultations in Kepler data to study the albedos of close in super-Earths.
New detections of exoplanet HD 95086 b with the Gemini Planet Imager
HD 95086 b is one of the first exoplanets directly imaged with the newly commissioned instrument Gemini Planet Imager. This is only the first in what is likely to be a long line of exciting results coming from this state of the art instrument.
How giant planets affect accretion of water by rocky planets
How do giant planets affect the water content of rocky planets in habitable zones? Astronomers have run new planet formation simulations to try to answer this question.
Water ice in the solar nebula
The formation of water ice is an important first step in the formation of our Solar System. We review the process of early water ice formation and the difference between crystalline and amorphous water ice.
Water vapor found on dwarf planet Ceres
Large plumes of water vapor were recently found on the dwarf planet Ceres in the asteroid belt. Using Ceres’ rotation, astronomers have located two possible sources for the water vapor on the surface.