February 2017 » Astronomy For Change

NASA Discovery Reveals Largest Group of Earth-Size Planets In Habitable Zone

Posted on February 22, 2017November 11, 2017 by astrochange

A team of astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, an orbiting platform that observes the universe exclusively in the InfraRed (heat) region of the spectrum, have discovered a group of Earth-size planets in orbit around the cool, low-mass red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, three of which are within the star’s habitable zone! As mentioned in yesterday’s[…]

NASA Study Finds Planets of Red Dwarf Stars May Face Oxygen Loss

Posted on February 21, 2017November 11, 2017 by astrochange

The search for life beyond Earth starts in habitable zones, the regions around stars where conditions could potentially allow liquid water – essential for life as we know it – to pool on a planet’s surface. New NASA research suggests some of these zones might not actually be able to support life due to frequent[…]