a large orange org against a brown background with clouds and a distant light

Exoplanets

Hot and Cold: Jupiters Reveal Formation and Chemistry of Exotic Worlds

At the extremes: A hot Jupiter reveals extreme chemistry on a sizzling world, and a cold Jupiter sheds light on giant planet formation.

Hot Jupiter around a white dwarf

Exoplanets

Giant Planet Found Around a White Dwarf

Astronomers have found a Jupiter-size planet orbiting a much smaller white dwarf. The discovery shows what a system might look like after its star's death.

Iron rain on ultra-hot planet

Exoplanets

Iron Might Rain on This Hot Jupiter

New observations show a signature that could come from iron rain on one side of hot Jupiter WASP-76b.

White dwarf with crystal core

Astronomy & Observing News

60-second Astro News: White Dwarfs & Hot Jupiters

This week in astronomy news: Space telescopes show us that white dwarfs are crystallizing in their cores and cloudy night skies are universal among hot Jupiters.

WASP-12b

Exoplanets

Puffed-Up Hot Jupiter Is Surprisingly Dark

Researchers have found that a football-shaped, ultra-hot gas giant that’s being devoured by its host star is also one of the least reflective exoplanets ever found.

Exoplanets

An Atmosphere of Heavy Metals

Researchers have found strong evidence of titanium oxide in the atmosphere of a hot giant planet, adding new insights to the complex motions of these planets’ extreme atmospheres.

hot Jupiter WASP-121b

Exoplanets

Exoplanet Might Have Ozone-like Layer

Astronomers have potentially detected a stratosphere in the atmosphere of a hot Jupiter.

Hottest Jupiter

Exoplanets

KELT-9b: Hottest Hot Jupiter Exoplanet Yet

Astronomers announce the discovery of bloated gas giant KELT-9b, the hottest "hot Jupiter" exoplanet known orbiting a short-lived massive star.

Exoplanets

Do Exoplanets Transform Between Classes?

A new analysis suggests that hot super-Earths might be the skeletal remnants of hot Jupiters stripped of their atmospheres.

Exoplanets

Hot Jupiters Keep Their Stars Young

Sizzling gas giants circling close to their host stars — so-called hot Jupiters — keep their host stars young and active, a new study suggests.