The WTF star, formally known as KIC 8462852, has been causing lots of fuss not only in the scientific community but also in the media. Some suggest strange features in its light curve are the work of an alien civilization. The authors of today’s paper came up with a much simpler solution.
Image credits: Danielle Futselaar / SETI International
HAT-P-11b is a Neptune-size transiting exoplanet with water in its atmosphere. Here we discuss the first detection of its secondary eclipse.
On KELT-16b you would melt. I would melt too. A look at an exciting and newly discovered Hot Jupiter, and why KELT-16b is a valuable addition to the group of boiling gas giant planets, and a fantastic target for future atmospheric studies.
Stars at later stages of their evolution lack planets at small orbits, which is believed to be a consequence of disruption. However, the authors of the featured article found a large planet around a star at a late stage of its evolution.
In the era of extremely large telescopes, let’s take look at the opposite end: the extremely little telescopes. KELT, or the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope, is one of them.
The first Kepler mission observed hundreds of thousands of stars, and approximately 7500 of them are of potential interest. In this astrobite, we learn how astronomers are sifting through all these data in search for exoplanets.