Rice researchers explore the effects of stellar magnetism on potential habitability of exoplanets
A new study by Rice’s David Alexander and Anthony Atkinson extends the definition of a habitable zone for planets to include their star’s magnetic field.
Astronomers find water vapor in distant star’s habitable zone
Rice University astronomer Andrea Isella and colleagues have reported the first observations of gaseous water in the portion of a protoplanetary disk where a rocky, Earth-like planet might be forming around a distant star.
Radiation from massive stars shapes nascent planetary systems
NASA has released the first stunning images of the Orion Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope in a study in the journal Science that shows with unprecedented precision how massive stars impact the formation of planetary systems.
Disc around star observed in another galaxy for the first time
Astronomers have uncovered evidence of an extragalactic accretion disk for the first time.
Early planetary migration can explain missing planets
Computer simulations by Rice University scientists and their collaborators explain two puzzling observations of exoplanets orbiting distant stars.
Earth isn’t ‘super’ because the sun had rings before planets
Before the solar system had planets, the sun had rings — bands of dust and gas similar to Saturn’s rings — that likely played a role in Earth’s formation, according to a new study.
Orbital harmony limits late arrival of water on TRAPPIST-1 planets
Seven Earth-sized planets orbit the star TRAPPIST-1 in near-perfect harmony, and U.S. and European researchers have used that harmony to determine how much physical abuse the planets could have withstood in their infancy.
'Cool' kids in the cosmos may not be so unique
Rice University scientists show that "cool" stars like the sun share dynamic surface behaviors that influence their energetic and magnetic environments. Stellar magnetic activity is key to whether a given star can host planets that support life.
Nightside radio could help reveal exoplanet details
Rice scientists enhance models that could be used to detect magnetosphere activity on exoplanets. The Rice model adds data from nightside activity that could increase signals by at least an order of magnitude.
