View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, captured Jupiter half hidden behind the moon on the morning of October 6, 2026. Thank you, Steven! Keep scrolling to see another amazing image from Steven that includes the moons of Jupiter. Then see even more pics from the EarthSky community!
Moon and Jupiter pics here!
On the morning of October 6, 2026, the moon passed in front of the king of the planets, Jupiter, for some observers in most of the U.S., Mexico, southeast Canada, and extending to the southern half of west Africa. Other people were able to see the gas giant planet quite close to the waning moon, making a stunning scene. And EarthSky observers around the world took advantage of the cosmic hide-and-seek photo op, then shared their images with us. Thank you to all who contributed! Here’s a look at our editor’s picks.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, captured another shot of Jupiter and our moon, but this one also includes Jupiter’s 4 brightest and largest moons! Great shot! Thanks, Steven.
More pics with Jupiter by the moon
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Did you see the moon close to one of the visible planets, Jupiter, this morning? From some locations, the moon occulted — passed in front of — the gas giant. That included Quakertown, Pennsylvania, where Karl Diefenderfer captured this shot shortly after Jupiter emerged from behind our natural satellite. You can even see 4 of Jupiter’s own moons if you look closely. Thank you, Karl! View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Wes Inman of Torrington, Connecticut, captured Jupiter as it approached the moon on Tuesday morning. Thank you, Wes!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, captured the moon and Jupiter peeking between the trees on October 6, 2026. Joel wrote: “The moon and Jupiter had a stunning conjunction this morning. I managed to get a brief look at the pair through a gap in the trees.” Thank you, Joel!
More stunning pics
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, captured the moon and Jupiter with its own moons on October 6, 2026. Eliot wrote: “In Arizona, we were out of the occultation zone, but the conjunction 35 minutes after exit was still striking.” Thank you, Eliot!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Julie Hubbard in Carson, Virginia, called her shot “the moon getting kissed.” Julie wrote: “Out the back door first thing this morning. What a beautiful sight to see!” Thank you, Julie!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured the moon, Jupiter, and its largest moon Ganymede, on October 6, 2026. Thank you, Mario!
Bottom line: On Tuesday morning, October 6, 2026, the moon slid in front of Jupiter, temporarily blocking it from view. Our EarthSky community members shared their moon and Jupiter pics. See some of them here!
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, captured Jupiter half hidden behind the moon on the morning of October 6, 2026. Thank you, Steven! Keep scrolling to see another amazing image from Steven that includes the moons of Jupiter. Then see even more pics from the EarthSky community!
Moon and Jupiter pics here!
On the morning of October 6, 2026, the moon passed in front of the king of the planets, Jupiter, for some observers in most of the U.S., Mexico, southeast Canada, and extending to the southern half of west Africa. Other people were able to see the gas giant planet quite close to the waning moon, making a stunning scene. And EarthSky observers around the world took advantage of the cosmic hide-and-seek photo op, then shared their images with us. Thank you to all who contributed! Here’s a look at our editor’s picks.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Steven Bellavia in Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, captured another shot of Jupiter and our moon, but this one also includes Jupiter’s 4 brightest and largest moons! Great shot! Thanks, Steven.
More pics with Jupiter by the moon
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Did you see the moon close to one of the visible planets, Jupiter, this morning? From some locations, the moon occulted — passed in front of — the gas giant. That included Quakertown, Pennsylvania, where Karl Diefenderfer captured this shot shortly after Jupiter emerged from behind our natural satellite. You can even see 4 of Jupiter’s own moons if you look closely. Thank you, Karl! View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Wes Inman of Torrington, Connecticut, captured Jupiter as it approached the moon on Tuesday morning. Thank you, Wes!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Joel Weatherly in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, captured the moon and Jupiter peeking between the trees on October 6, 2026. Joel wrote: “The moon and Jupiter had a stunning conjunction this morning. I managed to get a brief look at the pair through a gap in the trees.” Thank you, Joel!
More stunning pics
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Eliot Herman in Tucson, Arizona, captured the moon and Jupiter with its own moons on October 6, 2026. Eliot wrote: “In Arizona, we were out of the occultation zone, but the conjunction 35 minutes after exit was still striking.” Thank you, Eliot!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Julie Hubbard in Carson, Virginia, called her shot “the moon getting kissed.” Julie wrote: “Out the back door first thing this morning. What a beautiful sight to see!” Thank you, Julie!View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured the moon, Jupiter, and its largest moon Ganymede, on October 6, 2026. Thank you, Mario!
Bottom line: On Tuesday morning, October 6, 2026, the moon slid in front of Jupiter, temporarily blocking it from view. Our EarthSky community members shared their moon and Jupiter pics. See some of them here!
When humans began exploring our solar system — the moons, planets, asteroids and comets orbiting our sun — we found not all moons were as cold and inactive as our moon. Here’s a tour of some of our solar system’s most bizarre moons. Images via NASA.
The solar system’s most bizarre moons
Some of the most bizarre worlds in our solar system are moons. That is, they don’t orbit our sun directly, but instead orbit planets, dwarf planets or even asteroids. From icy geysers to endless volcanic eruptions to hidden oceans, these natural satellites have proven much more dynamic than our own dormant moon.
Here’s a quick tour of some of the strangest moons in our solar system.
Orbiting Jupiter, Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system. Its surface is constantly being reshaped by eruptions that send plumes hundreds of miles into space.
Unlike Earth’s volcanoes, Io’s are driven by tidal heating. That means that Jupiter’s immense gravity stretches and squeezes the little moon. And, as it does so, friction builds up inside, melting rock into magma.
The result is a surface dotted with lava lakes and sulfur deposits. There are no visible impact craters — because eruptions constantly resurface this little world.
View larger. | NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this detailed view of Jupiter’s moon Io on October 15, 2023. In 2024, Io’s volcanoes were the focus of a study that concludes they are billions of years old, originating from a time when the moon first formed. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Ted Stryk.
#2 Europa: An ocean beneath the ice
Another of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, looks smooth and icy on the outside. But beneath that frozen shell lies a global ocean of liquid water. Scientists believe this ocean may contain more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Reddish cracks crisscross the surface, likely caused by ice shifting over the ocean below.
Because earthly scientists believe liquid water is a key ingredient for life, Europa is one of the most promising places to search for life in the solar system. Future space missions, including NASA’s Europa Clipper, aim to study this hidden ocean in detail.
This image of Jupiter’s moon Europa is a composite from the Galileo spacecraft. It consists of images acquired in 1995 and 1998. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SETI Institute.
#3 Enceladus: Geysers in space
Enceladus blew scientists’ minds when NASA’s Cassini mission discovered jets of water vapor blasting from the south pole of this Saturn moon.
These geysers erupt from an underground ocean, which — in the little moon’s relatively weak gravity — spray material into space. This material feeds Saturn’s E ring! Even more intriguing, the water vapor plumes issuing from Enceladus’ hidden ocean contain complex organic molecules — the building blocks of life.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Enceladus and its water vapor plumes in 2010. Image via NASA/ JPL/ Space Science Institute/ Freie Universität Berlin.
#4 Titan: Lakes of methane
The largest moon of Saturn is Titan. It’s the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere. Scientists say it has weather, rivers and lakes. But those lakes aren’t filled with water. Instead, they contain liquid methane and ethane.
This hazy, orange world hosts a methane cycle similar to Earth’s water cycle, complete with clouds and rain. Beneath its surface, Titan may also harbor a subsurface ocean of water.
NASA’s Dragonfly mission is currently scheduled to launch in 2028 and arrive at Titan in 2034. Once it lands, the drone-like spacecraft will hop across Titan’s alien landscape.
View larger. | Titan has lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane on the surface. Ligeia Mare is the 2nd-largest sea on Titan. You can also see rivers in this radar image from the Cassini spacecraft in 2013. Image via NASA.
#5 Mimas: Death Star’s twin
When people see Saturn’s 7th-largest satellite Mimas, they think of the Death Star. The two have a very similar shape, sporting a larger crater in the northern hemisphere that takes up a good deal of territory. In fact, many people think the Death Star was modeled on the moon Mimas.
In reality, the original Star Wars movie came out on May 25, 1977. But we didn’t get a closeup look at Mimas until Voyager 1 passed it in 1980. So, the resemblance is just coincidental.
The crater, named after William Herschel — who discovered the moon as a tiny dot in his telescope — is 86 miles (138 km) across. The terrain shows the entire satellite felt the shockwaves from the impact that created this mighty crater on Mimas.
The most significant feature on Saturn’s moon Mimas is its Herschel crater, which stretches 1/3 of the way across the little moon’s face. It makes the moon resemble the Death Star from Star Wars. Image via NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on its closest-ever flyby of Mimas.
#6 Miranda: A patchwork world
Miranda, a small moon of Uranus, looks like it did shatter … and then reassemble. Its surface is a crazy quilt of textures and ages. It might also be home to the tallest cliff in our solar system. Verona Rupes is a 12-mile (20-km) high scarp.
One theory suggests Miranda broke apart in a massive impact. The pieces then reassembled themselves through gravity into the Frankenstein-like appearance this moon has today.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft took this image of Uranus’ moon Miranda on January 24, 1986. Research shows Miranda might have an ocean beneath its surface. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ Johns Hopkins.
#7 Triton: A captured rebel
Neptune’s large moon Triton orbits in the direction opposite its planet’s rotation. So it likely didn’t form there, but instead is a captured Kuiper Belt object.
Triton is also geologically active, with nitrogen geysers erupting from its frozen surface. It’s one of the most intriguing — and least explored — moons.
The Webb space telescope captured this wide-field image of Neptune and its rings. The bright blue spot to Neptune’s upper left is the moon Triton. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI.
Why these bizarre moons matter?
These bizarre moons can help scientists understand how planetary systems evolve. They show the complexity and diversity of distant worlds. Some even provide potential for life far from the sun’s warmth.
Future missions (such as JUICE, Dragonfly and Europa Clipper) will continue to explore these strange satellites, searching for answers to some of the biggest questions in science: How do worlds form? What makes one world habitable and another not? Are we alone?
Bottom line: The solar system’s most bizarre moons reveal active, complex worlds that continue to surprise scientists. Are any of them harboring life?
When humans began exploring our solar system — the moons, planets, asteroids and comets orbiting our sun — we found not all moons were as cold and inactive as our moon. Here’s a tour of some of our solar system’s most bizarre moons. Images via NASA.
The solar system’s most bizarre moons
Some of the most bizarre worlds in our solar system are moons. That is, they don’t orbit our sun directly, but instead orbit planets, dwarf planets or even asteroids. From icy geysers to endless volcanic eruptions to hidden oceans, these natural satellites have proven much more dynamic than our own dormant moon.
Here’s a quick tour of some of the strangest moons in our solar system.
Orbiting Jupiter, Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system. Its surface is constantly being reshaped by eruptions that send plumes hundreds of miles into space.
Unlike Earth’s volcanoes, Io’s are driven by tidal heating. That means that Jupiter’s immense gravity stretches and squeezes the little moon. And, as it does so, friction builds up inside, melting rock into magma.
The result is a surface dotted with lava lakes and sulfur deposits. There are no visible impact craters — because eruptions constantly resurface this little world.
View larger. | NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this detailed view of Jupiter’s moon Io on October 15, 2023. In 2024, Io’s volcanoes were the focus of a study that concludes they are billions of years old, originating from a time when the moon first formed. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Ted Stryk.
#2 Europa: An ocean beneath the ice
Another of Jupiter’s moons, Europa, looks smooth and icy on the outside. But beneath that frozen shell lies a global ocean of liquid water. Scientists believe this ocean may contain more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Reddish cracks crisscross the surface, likely caused by ice shifting over the ocean below.
Because earthly scientists believe liquid water is a key ingredient for life, Europa is one of the most promising places to search for life in the solar system. Future space missions, including NASA’s Europa Clipper, aim to study this hidden ocean in detail.
This image of Jupiter’s moon Europa is a composite from the Galileo spacecraft. It consists of images acquired in 1995 and 1998. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SETI Institute.
#3 Enceladus: Geysers in space
Enceladus blew scientists’ minds when NASA’s Cassini mission discovered jets of water vapor blasting from the south pole of this Saturn moon.
These geysers erupt from an underground ocean, which — in the little moon’s relatively weak gravity — spray material into space. This material feeds Saturn’s E ring! Even more intriguing, the water vapor plumes issuing from Enceladus’ hidden ocean contain complex organic molecules — the building blocks of life.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this view of Enceladus and its water vapor plumes in 2010. Image via NASA/ JPL/ Space Science Institute/ Freie Universität Berlin.
#4 Titan: Lakes of methane
The largest moon of Saturn is Titan. It’s the only moon in our solar system with a thick atmosphere. Scientists say it has weather, rivers and lakes. But those lakes aren’t filled with water. Instead, they contain liquid methane and ethane.
This hazy, orange world hosts a methane cycle similar to Earth’s water cycle, complete with clouds and rain. Beneath its surface, Titan may also harbor a subsurface ocean of water.
NASA’s Dragonfly mission is currently scheduled to launch in 2028 and arrive at Titan in 2034. Once it lands, the drone-like spacecraft will hop across Titan’s alien landscape.
View larger. | Titan has lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane on the surface. Ligeia Mare is the 2nd-largest sea on Titan. You can also see rivers in this radar image from the Cassini spacecraft in 2013. Image via NASA.
#5 Mimas: Death Star’s twin
When people see Saturn’s 7th-largest satellite Mimas, they think of the Death Star. The two have a very similar shape, sporting a larger crater in the northern hemisphere that takes up a good deal of territory. In fact, many people think the Death Star was modeled on the moon Mimas.
In reality, the original Star Wars movie came out on May 25, 1977. But we didn’t get a closeup look at Mimas until Voyager 1 passed it in 1980. So, the resemblance is just coincidental.
The crater, named after William Herschel — who discovered the moon as a tiny dot in his telescope — is 86 miles (138 km) across. The terrain shows the entire satellite felt the shockwaves from the impact that created this mighty crater on Mimas.
The most significant feature on Saturn’s moon Mimas is its Herschel crater, which stretches 1/3 of the way across the little moon’s face. It makes the moon resemble the Death Star from Star Wars. Image via NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on its closest-ever flyby of Mimas.
#6 Miranda: A patchwork world
Miranda, a small moon of Uranus, looks like it did shatter … and then reassemble. Its surface is a crazy quilt of textures and ages. It might also be home to the tallest cliff in our solar system. Verona Rupes is a 12-mile (20-km) high scarp.
One theory suggests Miranda broke apart in a massive impact. The pieces then reassembled themselves through gravity into the Frankenstein-like appearance this moon has today.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft took this image of Uranus’ moon Miranda on January 24, 1986. Research shows Miranda might have an ocean beneath its surface. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ Johns Hopkins.
#7 Triton: A captured rebel
Neptune’s large moon Triton orbits in the direction opposite its planet’s rotation. So it likely didn’t form there, but instead is a captured Kuiper Belt object.
Triton is also geologically active, with nitrogen geysers erupting from its frozen surface. It’s one of the most intriguing — and least explored — moons.
The Webb space telescope captured this wide-field image of Neptune and its rings. The bright blue spot to Neptune’s upper left is the moon Triton. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI.
Why these bizarre moons matter?
These bizarre moons can help scientists understand how planetary systems evolve. They show the complexity and diversity of distant worlds. Some even provide potential for life far from the sun’s warmth.
Future missions (such as JUICE, Dragonfly and Europa Clipper) will continue to explore these strange satellites, searching for answers to some of the biggest questions in science: How do worlds form? What makes one world habitable and another not? Are we alone?
Bottom line: The solar system’s most bizarre moons reveal active, complex worlds that continue to surprise scientists. Are any of them harboring life?
Artist’s impression of the newly discovered rocky exoplanet, LHS 1140b. This exoplanet atmosphere is leaking helium. Could it be a sign of alien life? Image via ESO.
LHS 1140b is a potentially rocky exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. It’s an intriguing target in the search for worlds that could support life.
Astronomers detected helium escaping from the planet, a possible sign of a long-lasting secondary atmosphere. However, a 2nd observation did not detect helium.
The finding is tentative, but studying LHS 1140b’s atmosphere could help scientists understand how planetary atmospheres form and evolve. And it could show how to recognize signs of life on other worlds.
A helium leak in this exoplanet atmosphere could hint at life
This summer, exoplanet science — the study of planets orbiting stars beyond our sun — took a big step forward.
Reports of helium gas escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140b propelled this exoplanet from the pages of scientific journals into the mainstream media.
LHS 1140b orbits a faint red star within the constellation of Cetus — named after a whale-like sea monster in Greek mythology — and just next to the easily recognizable “W” of Cassiopeia. But don’t squint — it appears some 10,000 times fainter than the feeblest star you can see with your unaided eye.
This exoplanet is of particular interest because it is a potentially rocky world within the habitable zone of the star it orbits. This means it may have a temperature that could allow for liquid water on its surface.
Just possibly, it could support the existence of life.
Previous observations of LHS 1140b with the James Webb Space Telescope ruled out the existence of a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, a so-called “primary” atmosphere that is thought to form in step with young planets and is soon lost to space.
Astronomers think that all rocky planets may possess a primary atmosphere and then lose it shortly after they form. This is a short, transient phase in their story.
However, the reported observation of helium may indicate a “secondary” atmosphere, thought to be more stable and long-lived. Secondary atmospheres persist around their planets and can be studied by astronomers.
On planet Earth, our secondary atmosphere has been with us for billions of years. And its chemical balance reflects the combined effects of geology, chemistry and, ultimately, life.
Super-Earth or mini-Neptune?
LHS 1140b orbits a red dwarf star about 1/5 the mass of our sun but some 300 times fainter. However, as viewed from Earth, the star dims with a regular dip every 24.7 days.
From the size of the brightness dip, scientists from the team that discovered the planet in 2017 estimated it to be 1.7 times larger than Earth. Subsequent observations indicated the planet to be just over five times bigger than Earth.
Such super-Earths are among the least massive planets that we can currently detect. And they represent some of the best candidates for detecting life beyond our solar system. But accurately labeling such worlds poses a problem for astronomers.
In our own solar system, the next biggest planet compared to Earth is Uranus, which is equal to 14 Earths. Then comes Neptune at 17 Earth masses.
So is LHS 1140b a super-Earth or a mini-Neptune? We have little idea, mainly because we lack examples of such worlds close to home. This blind spot in our knowledge of planetary physics is a pressing one. That’s because sub-Neptunian worlds appear to be the most common type of planet out there.
A rocky, Earthlike exoplanet with a detectable atmosphere in the habitable zone of even a dim red star would be a major scientific discovery because of the potential for it to host life. However, as with all cutting edge science, the devil is in the details.
A contrast-enhanced color picture of Neptune from the NASA Voyager 2 in 1989. Image via NASA/JPL.
Could LHS 1140b host alien life?
Studying the atmospheres of exoplanets is one of the most exciting areas in modern astronomy. Starting 150 years ago, studies of the outer gaseous envelopes of stars — stellar atmospheres — kick-started the science we today call astrophysics.
In a similar manner, studies of the atmospheres of their planets may lead to an answer to the question: Do they host alien life?
As mentioned, LHS 1140b is of particular interest because it lies within the “habitable zone” of its star. Thus it may have a surface temperature between the 0 C and 100 C (32 and 212 F) and that could allow for the existence of liquid water — and possible life — on its surface.
Care is required with such terms, however. If LHS 1140b absorbs all of the stellar radiation that falls upon it, then it would reach an equilibrium temperature of -30 C (-22 F). That’s seemingly cold but well within the range where the greenhouse effect of a thick atmosphere could warm the planet to more clement temperatures.
However, if we attempt a more realistic mathematical treatment of the planet, then LHS 1140b might be as cold as -90 C (-130 F). That’s comparable to present-day Mars.
A tenuous, nuanced result
This is only the 2nd time that astronomers have captured even a hint of an atmosphere around a remotely Earthlike planet. The 1st time was around the exoplanet Gliese 1214b.
Furthermore, the numbers that underpin the calculations of the surface conditions on LHS1140b involve significant, untested assumptions.
Yet this is progress, however incremental, toward the goal of atmospheric spectroscopy of potentially habitable worlds. And let us not forget that this single step forward was the result of years of dedicated effort from the science team responsible. For that, they deserve recognition, respect and future funding.
A color image of the Earth, showing the Pacific Ocean, from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in 1990. Image via NASA/JPL.
Nature will teach us the rules
And what of the more lofty goal of detecting life on such worlds from the hints of trace gases in their atmospheres? Which potentially biogenic molecules will offer unambiguous evidence — the so-called “smoking gun” — of life?
Might the answer lie within our own atmosphere, enriched as it is by molecules of oxygen and methane?
My own answer, and perhaps a frustrating one to those impatient for further discovery, is that we will likely have a much clearer picture once we have observed thousands of exoplanet atmospheres, rather than one or two. We need nature to teach us the rules by which planetary atmospheres work and that work has only just begun.
But if a journey of a thousand planets starts with a single step, then with these recent observations of LHS 1140b we have just taken our 2nd. The journey is underway.
Bottom line: A tentative helium detection may offer the first glimpse of this exoplanet atmosphere, but much more evidence is needed to know if LHS 1140b could host life.
Artist’s impression of the newly discovered rocky exoplanet, LHS 1140b. This exoplanet atmosphere is leaking helium. Could it be a sign of alien life? Image via ESO.
LHS 1140b is a potentially rocky exoplanet in its star’s habitable zone. It’s an intriguing target in the search for worlds that could support life.
Astronomers detected helium escaping from the planet, a possible sign of a long-lasting secondary atmosphere. However, a 2nd observation did not detect helium.
The finding is tentative, but studying LHS 1140b’s atmosphere could help scientists understand how planetary atmospheres form and evolve. And it could show how to recognize signs of life on other worlds.
A helium leak in this exoplanet atmosphere could hint at life
This summer, exoplanet science — the study of planets orbiting stars beyond our sun — took a big step forward.
Reports of helium gas escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140b propelled this exoplanet from the pages of scientific journals into the mainstream media.
LHS 1140b orbits a faint red star within the constellation of Cetus — named after a whale-like sea monster in Greek mythology — and just next to the easily recognizable “W” of Cassiopeia. But don’t squint — it appears some 10,000 times fainter than the feeblest star you can see with your unaided eye.
This exoplanet is of particular interest because it is a potentially rocky world within the habitable zone of the star it orbits. This means it may have a temperature that could allow for liquid water on its surface.
Just possibly, it could support the existence of life.
Previous observations of LHS 1140b with the James Webb Space Telescope ruled out the existence of a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, a so-called “primary” atmosphere that is thought to form in step with young planets and is soon lost to space.
Astronomers think that all rocky planets may possess a primary atmosphere and then lose it shortly after they form. This is a short, transient phase in their story.
However, the reported observation of helium may indicate a “secondary” atmosphere, thought to be more stable and long-lived. Secondary atmospheres persist around their planets and can be studied by astronomers.
On planet Earth, our secondary atmosphere has been with us for billions of years. And its chemical balance reflects the combined effects of geology, chemistry and, ultimately, life.
Super-Earth or mini-Neptune?
LHS 1140b orbits a red dwarf star about 1/5 the mass of our sun but some 300 times fainter. However, as viewed from Earth, the star dims with a regular dip every 24.7 days.
From the size of the brightness dip, scientists from the team that discovered the planet in 2017 estimated it to be 1.7 times larger than Earth. Subsequent observations indicated the planet to be just over five times bigger than Earth.
Such super-Earths are among the least massive planets that we can currently detect. And they represent some of the best candidates for detecting life beyond our solar system. But accurately labeling such worlds poses a problem for astronomers.
In our own solar system, the next biggest planet compared to Earth is Uranus, which is equal to 14 Earths. Then comes Neptune at 17 Earth masses.
So is LHS 1140b a super-Earth or a mini-Neptune? We have little idea, mainly because we lack examples of such worlds close to home. This blind spot in our knowledge of planetary physics is a pressing one. That’s because sub-Neptunian worlds appear to be the most common type of planet out there.
A rocky, Earthlike exoplanet with a detectable atmosphere in the habitable zone of even a dim red star would be a major scientific discovery because of the potential for it to host life. However, as with all cutting edge science, the devil is in the details.
A contrast-enhanced color picture of Neptune from the NASA Voyager 2 in 1989. Image via NASA/JPL.
Could LHS 1140b host alien life?
Studying the atmospheres of exoplanets is one of the most exciting areas in modern astronomy. Starting 150 years ago, studies of the outer gaseous envelopes of stars — stellar atmospheres — kick-started the science we today call astrophysics.
In a similar manner, studies of the atmospheres of their planets may lead to an answer to the question: Do they host alien life?
As mentioned, LHS 1140b is of particular interest because it lies within the “habitable zone” of its star. Thus it may have a surface temperature between the 0 C and 100 C (32 and 212 F) and that could allow for the existence of liquid water — and possible life — on its surface.
Care is required with such terms, however. If LHS 1140b absorbs all of the stellar radiation that falls upon it, then it would reach an equilibrium temperature of -30 C (-22 F). That’s seemingly cold but well within the range where the greenhouse effect of a thick atmosphere could warm the planet to more clement temperatures.
However, if we attempt a more realistic mathematical treatment of the planet, then LHS 1140b might be as cold as -90 C (-130 F). That’s comparable to present-day Mars.
A tenuous, nuanced result
This is only the 2nd time that astronomers have captured even a hint of an atmosphere around a remotely Earthlike planet. The 1st time was around the exoplanet Gliese 1214b.
Furthermore, the numbers that underpin the calculations of the surface conditions on LHS1140b involve significant, untested assumptions.
Yet this is progress, however incremental, toward the goal of atmospheric spectroscopy of potentially habitable worlds. And let us not forget that this single step forward was the result of years of dedicated effort from the science team responsible. For that, they deserve recognition, respect and future funding.
A color image of the Earth, showing the Pacific Ocean, from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in 1990. Image via NASA/JPL.
Nature will teach us the rules
And what of the more lofty goal of detecting life on such worlds from the hints of trace gases in their atmospheres? Which potentially biogenic molecules will offer unambiguous evidence — the so-called “smoking gun” — of life?
Might the answer lie within our own atmosphere, enriched as it is by molecules of oxygen and methane?
My own answer, and perhaps a frustrating one to those impatient for further discovery, is that we will likely have a much clearer picture once we have observed thousands of exoplanet atmospheres, rather than one or two. We need nature to teach us the rules by which planetary atmospheres work and that work has only just begun.
But if a journey of a thousand planets starts with a single step, then with these recent observations of LHS 1140b we have just taken our 2nd. The journey is underway.
Bottom line: A tentative helium detection may offer the first glimpse of this exoplanet atmosphere, but much more evidence is needed to know if LHS 1140b could host life.
The World Space Week Association (WSWA) official poster for World Space Week 2026, celebrated October 4–10 under the theme The Rocket Revolution. Image via WSWA.
Happy World Space Week! It runs October 4 through 10. The dates were chosen in honor of the October 4, 1957, launch of Sputnik 1 — world’s first Earth-orbiting satellite — who unassuming beep beep in orbit sent shock waves around the world.
And the ending date relates to the October 10, 1967, Outer Space Treaty.
This year’s theme is The Rocket Revolution. According to World Space Week:
Rocket Revolution focuses on the rapid transformation of space launch. Once limited to a small number of government programs, access to space is now expanding through commercial launch providers, reusable rockets, university teams, startups, and new national space actors. This shift is changing who can reach space, how often launches happen, and what space is used for.
World Space Week activities
This year, activities will center around the recognition of the growing significance of the commercial space industry. With this in mind, the Association hopes to inspire students worldwide to study science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and business. Also, it hopes space companies can take this opportunity to recruit workers needed for the expanding commercial space industry.
World Space Week dates back to 1999, when the U.N. General Assembly declared a week-long international celebration of science and technology every October 4 to 10. World Space Week says its mission to is:
… to strengthen the link between space and society through public education, participation and dialogue on the future of space activity.
Additionally, its long term goal is:
The long-term goal of the Association is to sufficiently institutionalize U.N.-declared World Space Week such that it continues to grow throughout the world by itself.
Overall, according to the website, the goals are to:
Provide unique leverage in space outreach and education.
Educate people around the world about the benefits that they receive from space.
Encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic development.
Demonstrate public support for space programs.
Excite young people about science, technology, engineering and math.
Foster international cooperation in space outreach and education.
Bottom line: World Space Week runs every year from October 4 to 10. This year, the theme is The Rocket Revolution. Find events here.
The World Space Week Association (WSWA) official poster for World Space Week 2026, celebrated October 4–10 under the theme The Rocket Revolution. Image via WSWA.
Happy World Space Week! It runs October 4 through 10. The dates were chosen in honor of the October 4, 1957, launch of Sputnik 1 — world’s first Earth-orbiting satellite — who unassuming beep beep in orbit sent shock waves around the world.
And the ending date relates to the October 10, 1967, Outer Space Treaty.
This year’s theme is The Rocket Revolution. According to World Space Week:
Rocket Revolution focuses on the rapid transformation of space launch. Once limited to a small number of government programs, access to space is now expanding through commercial launch providers, reusable rockets, university teams, startups, and new national space actors. This shift is changing who can reach space, how often launches happen, and what space is used for.
World Space Week activities
This year, activities will center around the recognition of the growing significance of the commercial space industry. With this in mind, the Association hopes to inspire students worldwide to study science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and business. Also, it hopes space companies can take this opportunity to recruit workers needed for the expanding commercial space industry.
World Space Week dates back to 1999, when the U.N. General Assembly declared a week-long international celebration of science and technology every October 4 to 10. World Space Week says its mission to is:
… to strengthen the link between space and society through public education, participation and dialogue on the future of space activity.
Additionally, its long term goal is:
The long-term goal of the Association is to sufficiently institutionalize U.N.-declared World Space Week such that it continues to grow throughout the world by itself.
Overall, according to the website, the goals are to:
Provide unique leverage in space outreach and education.
Educate people around the world about the benefits that they receive from space.
Encourage greater use of space for sustainable economic development.
Demonstrate public support for space programs.
Excite young people about science, technology, engineering and math.
Foster international cooperation in space outreach and education.
Bottom line: World Space Week runs every year from October 4 to 10. This year, the theme is The Rocket Revolution. Find events here.
Hunter-Gatherer Equality: Anthropology Or Creation Myth?
On the shores of Lake Eyasi in Northern Tanzania, a small number of people still hunt and gather their food. Today a Hadza hunter has taken down an animal – a kudu. He can’t carry it by himself, so he cuts his poisoned arrow from its flank, covers the carcass in dry grass to hide it from hyenas and heads home to enlist help.
A kudu post-butchering, with portions going to various community members.Duncan Stibbard Hawkes
News spreads like wildfire across the camp. Everybody rushes to the kill. They divide up the carcass, carry it back, then divvy it up some more. Every family gets some, and after the meat is cooked, there’s more sharing still. On a good day like today, the hunter and his family retain half, but sometimes they keep much less. People may even walk from other camps, and almost everyone, from miles around, is entitled to a share.
The post-hunt scene above is idyllic. It paints a quintessential picture of egalitarianism and equality. But our experience as anthropologists working with the Hadza people of Tanzania and with the Tsimane people of Bolivia’s Amazon rainforest is that inequalities are part of even the most equal of societies. Furthermore, the equalities that do exist often emerge from selfish motives.
Insights like ours are revising researchers’ understanding of both the past and how people operate today, as inequality grows globally. Hunter-gatherers are often at the center of heated academic battles about what it means to be human, including debates over gender, war and peace and whether humans are, by nature, egalitarian or hierarchical.
Sometimes these debates oversimplify. So we pulled together hundreds of different sources covering more than a century of ethnography to find out just how egalitarian hunter-gatherer and other subsistence societies really are.
Is any society truly egalitarian?
Anthropologists have called hunter-gatherers such as the Hadza “egalitarian societies,” with equalities of power, wealth and social status. And it’s true that the traditional subsistence communities we work with successfully limit many inequalities.
Most families have similar, modest possessions and store little material wealth. When leaders do emerge, they are highly constrained in how they can direct other people. People often make decisions via consensus, and, if they cannot reach agreement, families will move away.
While the same anthropologists also emphasize that some hunter-gatherers are very unequal and that equality takes deliberate effort, the prevailing impression is that equality characterizes hunter-gatherers, past and present.
Some scientists are pushing back against these utopian portrayals. The popular bestseller, “The Dawn of Everything,” calls egalitarianism a “Garden of Eden narrative” that lacks substance. Other scholars have called egalitarian societies a scientific origin myth.
So where does the truth lie? Probably somewhere in between.
Most Hadza hunting is done solo, but the meat is shared with everyone. Duncan Stibbard Hawkes
Inequality among hunter-gatherers
In our recent wide-ranging review of the evidence from the early 20th century onward, we found that no society lacked inequality.
Like the Hadza, the Ju/’Hoansi of the Kalahari desert in southern Africa had little property and widespread food-sharing, yet certain families controlled valuable hunting territory surrounding waterholes. The Bayaka of the central African rainforest had little material inequality, yet they bought, sold and hoarded ritual knowledge. The Philippine Agta controlled and arranged their children’s marriages, hugely discriminating against orphans.
Our study also found that although hunter-gatherers are frequently generous, the processes limiting inequality often do not require any generosity. Instead, equality often results from people’s self-interested motives to acquire resources, status and autonomy.
A great example of this is food-sharing. Although each Hadza family gets a cut of kudu meat, it often happens not because the hunter’s family prioritizes total equality, but because other families request it vociferously. It can involve more taking than giving, often through strongly stated demands or complaints.
The Tsimane reach decisions through community deliberation. Some have more influential voices than others, but everyone has the opportunity to contribute. Christopher von Rueden
Egalitarianism is alive and well
Many of these inequality-reducing processes are familiar to people everywhere.
Like many great debates, the truth is complex: Our ancient hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t reach the giddy heights of inequality seen in other societies over the last 6,000 years, but putting hunter-gatherers on a pedestal as paragons of equality is a mistake. Sweeping statements about equality in the past blind us to the tools that probably allowed ancient hunter-gatherers to combat inequality, just as they and people in all societies do today.
Egalitarianism, then, is best seen not as perfect equality but as a set of tools that people use to secure their own autonomy and access to resources. Equality along one dimension or another might be the outcome, but it doesn’t rely on people being amazingly noble or completely lacking in greed or status-seeking. If you consider egalitarianism as equality-creating processes, you can see that it is a widespread reality among hunter-gatherer societies, and beyond.
By Duncan Stibbard Hawkes, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Baylor University and Christopher von Rueden, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, original article.
from ScienceBlogs - Where the world discusses science https://ift.tt/M3dB9hV
Hunter-Gatherer Equality: Anthropology Or Creation Myth?
On the shores of Lake Eyasi in Northern Tanzania, a small number of people still hunt and gather their food. Today a Hadza hunter has taken down an animal – a kudu. He can’t carry it by himself, so he cuts his poisoned arrow from its flank, covers the carcass in dry grass to hide it from hyenas and heads home to enlist help.
A kudu post-butchering, with portions going to various community members.Duncan Stibbard Hawkes
News spreads like wildfire across the camp. Everybody rushes to the kill. They divide up the carcass, carry it back, then divvy it up some more. Every family gets some, and after the meat is cooked, there’s more sharing still. On a good day like today, the hunter and his family retain half, but sometimes they keep much less. People may even walk from other camps, and almost everyone, from miles around, is entitled to a share.
The post-hunt scene above is idyllic. It paints a quintessential picture of egalitarianism and equality. But our experience as anthropologists working with the Hadza people of Tanzania and with the Tsimane people of Bolivia’s Amazon rainforest is that inequalities are part of even the most equal of societies. Furthermore, the equalities that do exist often emerge from selfish motives.
Insights like ours are revising researchers’ understanding of both the past and how people operate today, as inequality grows globally. Hunter-gatherers are often at the center of heated academic battles about what it means to be human, including debates over gender, war and peace and whether humans are, by nature, egalitarian or hierarchical.
Sometimes these debates oversimplify. So we pulled together hundreds of different sources covering more than a century of ethnography to find out just how egalitarian hunter-gatherer and other subsistence societies really are.
Is any society truly egalitarian?
Anthropologists have called hunter-gatherers such as the Hadza “egalitarian societies,” with equalities of power, wealth and social status. And it’s true that the traditional subsistence communities we work with successfully limit many inequalities.
Most families have similar, modest possessions and store little material wealth. When leaders do emerge, they are highly constrained in how they can direct other people. People often make decisions via consensus, and, if they cannot reach agreement, families will move away.
While the same anthropologists also emphasize that some hunter-gatherers are very unequal and that equality takes deliberate effort, the prevailing impression is that equality characterizes hunter-gatherers, past and present.
Some scientists are pushing back against these utopian portrayals. The popular bestseller, “The Dawn of Everything,” calls egalitarianism a “Garden of Eden narrative” that lacks substance. Other scholars have called egalitarian societies a scientific origin myth.
So where does the truth lie? Probably somewhere in between.
Most Hadza hunting is done solo, but the meat is shared with everyone. Duncan Stibbard Hawkes
Inequality among hunter-gatherers
In our recent wide-ranging review of the evidence from the early 20th century onward, we found that no society lacked inequality.
Like the Hadza, the Ju/’Hoansi of the Kalahari desert in southern Africa had little property and widespread food-sharing, yet certain families controlled valuable hunting territory surrounding waterholes. The Bayaka of the central African rainforest had little material inequality, yet they bought, sold and hoarded ritual knowledge. The Philippine Agta controlled and arranged their children’s marriages, hugely discriminating against orphans.
Our study also found that although hunter-gatherers are frequently generous, the processes limiting inequality often do not require any generosity. Instead, equality often results from people’s self-interested motives to acquire resources, status and autonomy.
A great example of this is food-sharing. Although each Hadza family gets a cut of kudu meat, it often happens not because the hunter’s family prioritizes total equality, but because other families request it vociferously. It can involve more taking than giving, often through strongly stated demands or complaints.
The Tsimane reach decisions through community deliberation. Some have more influential voices than others, but everyone has the opportunity to contribute. Christopher von Rueden
Egalitarianism is alive and well
Many of these inequality-reducing processes are familiar to people everywhere.
Like many great debates, the truth is complex: Our ancient hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t reach the giddy heights of inequality seen in other societies over the last 6,000 years, but putting hunter-gatherers on a pedestal as paragons of equality is a mistake. Sweeping statements about equality in the past blind us to the tools that probably allowed ancient hunter-gatherers to combat inequality, just as they and people in all societies do today.
Egalitarianism, then, is best seen not as perfect equality but as a set of tools that people use to secure their own autonomy and access to resources. Equality along one dimension or another might be the outcome, but it doesn’t rely on people being amazingly noble or completely lacking in greed or status-seeking. If you consider egalitarianism as equality-creating processes, you can see that it is a widespread reality among hunter-gatherer societies, and beyond.
By Duncan Stibbard Hawkes, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Baylor University and Christopher von Rueden, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, original article.
View larger. | Artist’s concept of the exoplanet called K2-155 d. China’s FAST radio telescope detected an intriguing radio signal coming from the direction of this super-Earth world. Is it an alien radio signal? Image via NASA.
Did China’s FAST radio telescope detect an alien radio signal?
The narrowband radio signal came from the direction of the super-Earth exoplanet K2-155 d, 238 light-years away.
The signal fit several criteria for an extraterrestrial signal, but other details make the scientists think it is probably earthly radio interference.
Are there any alien civilizations out there? For several decades, scientists have been searching for evidence that they exist. That effort is collectively known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). In recent years, China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has become involved. And in late August, scientists with FAST said in a new paper that they found something interesting while surveying 33 planetary systems.
They announced that FAST detected a narrowband radio signal coming from the direction of the planetary system K2-155, 238 light-years away.
The system contains a super-Earth type exoplanet, K2-155 d, that could be potentially habitable. It orbits a red dwarf star and is 1.6 times the radius of Earth. Of course, we don’t know enough about this world to have any serious confidence in it being a likely place for life to start.
FAST actually originally detected the signal in 2021, but it went unnoticed at the time. The research team was sifting through the data using new machine-learning search pipeline. This pipeline is designed to allow them to more easily separate genuine candidates from earthly radio interference.
The intriguing peer-reviewed results were published in The Astronomical Journal on August 27, 2026.
Whittling down the candidates
This survey produced 139,127 initial candidates. Those were eventually narrowed down to just the two most promising candidates. One of them, from the direction of the star Kepler-438, was then ultimately found to be earthly radio interference.
That left K2-155.
View larger. | Size comparison between K2-155 d and Earth (artist’s concept). Image via Martin Vargic/ Halcyon Maps/ Wikimedia Commons.
Ticking the boxes for an alien radio signal
The signal, at 1148.4167 megahertz, was coming from the direction of K2-155, a small red dwarf star 238 light-years away. And it seemed to pass the initial tests that astronomers have for determining whether it was a natural radio signal from the cosmos or an artificial signal created by us (earthly radio interference) or even some other intelligence out there.
The new machine-learning algorithm uses a mathematical technique called wavelet analysis to tease out faint signals from the other noisy radio data.
The researchers first noticed that the signal was very narrow. It is rare for natural sources to produce narrowband signals. Such signals are usually artificial in origin. The paper states:
Natural astrophysical processes rarely generate extremely narrow spectral features while engineered transmitters often do.
Another possible clue was that the signal drifted. That’s because the relative motion of a planet rotating on its axis and orbiting its host star can shift the frequency of a radio signal through the Doppler effect. This produces a telltale drift of the signal over time. The K2-155 signal drifted.
One problem, though, is that terrestrial interference can sometimes imitate that drift.
Another issue is where the signal is in the sky. Ideally, it should be in just one spot. If it’s in multiple locations, it’s probably terrestrial interference. The K2-155 signal was in just one spot. Another box ticked for it possibly being alien.
View larger. | The FAST radio telescope in China as seen on August 10, 2025. Image via SCJiang/ Wikimedia Commons.
I looked at the data, and it looks like terrestrial interference: Astronomers Searched 33 Planetary Systems For Alien Signals. One Caught Their Attention. https://ift.tt/BCRefEu… iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3…
All of this looked promising for the K2-155 signal. But there was another problem. It was only strong in one polarization channel of the telescope. And there were similar signals at three other stars, close to the same frequency.
That would make terrestrial interference the more likely source. The researchers, however, don’t know what produced it.
So for now, the source of the signal remains unknown. Could it still be alien? Maybe. But unfortunately, the current evidence seems to suggest otherwise.
Bottom line: Did China’s FAST radio telescope detect an alien radio signal coming from the super-Earth exoplanet K2-155 d? Probably not.
View larger. | Artist’s concept of the exoplanet called K2-155 d. China’s FAST radio telescope detected an intriguing radio signal coming from the direction of this super-Earth world. Is it an alien radio signal? Image via NASA.
Did China’s FAST radio telescope detect an alien radio signal?
The narrowband radio signal came from the direction of the super-Earth exoplanet K2-155 d, 238 light-years away.
The signal fit several criteria for an extraterrestrial signal, but other details make the scientists think it is probably earthly radio interference.
Are there any alien civilizations out there? For several decades, scientists have been searching for evidence that they exist. That effort is collectively known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). In recent years, China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) has become involved. And in late August, scientists with FAST said in a new paper that they found something interesting while surveying 33 planetary systems.
They announced that FAST detected a narrowband radio signal coming from the direction of the planetary system K2-155, 238 light-years away.
The system contains a super-Earth type exoplanet, K2-155 d, that could be potentially habitable. It orbits a red dwarf star and is 1.6 times the radius of Earth. Of course, we don’t know enough about this world to have any serious confidence in it being a likely place for life to start.
FAST actually originally detected the signal in 2021, but it went unnoticed at the time. The research team was sifting through the data using new machine-learning search pipeline. This pipeline is designed to allow them to more easily separate genuine candidates from earthly radio interference.
The intriguing peer-reviewed results were published in The Astronomical Journal on August 27, 2026.
Whittling down the candidates
This survey produced 139,127 initial candidates. Those were eventually narrowed down to just the two most promising candidates. One of them, from the direction of the star Kepler-438, was then ultimately found to be earthly radio interference.
That left K2-155.
View larger. | Size comparison between K2-155 d and Earth (artist’s concept). Image via Martin Vargic/ Halcyon Maps/ Wikimedia Commons.
Ticking the boxes for an alien radio signal
The signal, at 1148.4167 megahertz, was coming from the direction of K2-155, a small red dwarf star 238 light-years away. And it seemed to pass the initial tests that astronomers have for determining whether it was a natural radio signal from the cosmos or an artificial signal created by us (earthly radio interference) or even some other intelligence out there.
The new machine-learning algorithm uses a mathematical technique called wavelet analysis to tease out faint signals from the other noisy radio data.
The researchers first noticed that the signal was very narrow. It is rare for natural sources to produce narrowband signals. Such signals are usually artificial in origin. The paper states:
Natural astrophysical processes rarely generate extremely narrow spectral features while engineered transmitters often do.
Another possible clue was that the signal drifted. That’s because the relative motion of a planet rotating on its axis and orbiting its host star can shift the frequency of a radio signal through the Doppler effect. This produces a telltale drift of the signal over time. The K2-155 signal drifted.
One problem, though, is that terrestrial interference can sometimes imitate that drift.
Another issue is where the signal is in the sky. Ideally, it should be in just one spot. If it’s in multiple locations, it’s probably terrestrial interference. The K2-155 signal was in just one spot. Another box ticked for it possibly being alien.
View larger. | The FAST radio telescope in China as seen on August 10, 2025. Image via SCJiang/ Wikimedia Commons.
I looked at the data, and it looks like terrestrial interference: Astronomers Searched 33 Planetary Systems For Alien Signals. One Caught Their Attention. https://ift.tt/BCRefEu… iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3…
All of this looked promising for the K2-155 signal. But there was another problem. It was only strong in one polarization channel of the telescope. And there were similar signals at three other stars, close to the same frequency.
That would make terrestrial interference the more likely source. The researchers, however, don’t know what produced it.
So for now, the source of the signal remains unknown. Could it still be alien? Maybe. But unfortunately, the current evidence seems to suggest otherwise.
Bottom line: Did China’s FAST radio telescope detect an alien radio signal coming from the super-Earth exoplanet K2-155 d? Probably not.
This artist’s concept shows a planet orbiting 2 stars, visible at upper left and upper right. The binary star system 70 Ophiuchi is about 16 light-years from Earth. A new study said this system could support an Earthlike planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI/ Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC).
People are fascinated by the idea of a planet orbiting more than one star, like Tatooine in “Star Wars” or Trisolaris in “The Three-Body Problem.” On September 29, 2026, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, said they have modeled a nearby binary star system and found that it could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a habitable-zone orbit.
The researchers used 70 Ophiuchi as their model. This two-star system lies about 16 light-years away. Both of the stars in the 70 Ophiuchi system are a bit smaller and cooler than our sun. And while we’ve yet to find a planet orbiting either star, the UC Riverside astronomers said they’ve found that one could feasibly exist in a stable orbit around one of the two stars. And it could lie within the habitable zone of one of the stars, where liquid water would be stable on its surface.
The researchers published their peer-reviewed study on September 29, 2026, in The Astrophysical Journal.
Why look at 70 Ophiuchi?
The researchers targeted 70 Ophiuchi for their study. It’s a nearby star at around 16 light-years away, and people have been observing it for decades. From a dark-sky site, you can see it with the unaided eye as a single dim point of light at around magnitude 4 in the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
With measurement data that goes back decades, the researchers were able to create a better model of what might happen there. Using their computer model, the researchers could then introduce an Earth-mass planet in different locations to see what happens to the system. Co-author Skylar D’Angiolillo of UC Riverside said:
We calculated the boundaries of the habitable zone around the primary star. Then I tested whether an Earth-mass planet could maintain a stable orbit at different distances within that zone.
What we found is that stable orbits are possible in the habitable zone of the primary star. You might expect the second star to disrupt those orbits, but that isn’t necessarily what happens.
D’Angiolillo added:
You can think of Earth’s orbit as being fairly circular. An unstable planet’s orbit can become increasingly elongated until eventually the planet is essentially flung away from the system. By repeating the simulation at different locations, we can identify regions where an Earth-sized planet could remain stable.
This is an early observation of the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi. This image is from the U.S. Naval Observatory from 1937. Image via UC Riverside.
Our sun is the oddball
The sun does not have a stellar companion. And that makes it a bit of an oddball. The majority of stars that astronomers have studied come in pairs. In fact, some 85% of all sun-like stars in the Milky Way have either one or more companions. So finding that an Earthlike planet in a habitable orbit can exist in a binary system would be an important step toward understanding whether potentially habitable worlds can exist around the most common types of stars in our galaxy. Co-author Stephen Kane of UC Riverside said:
Having a 2nd sun may sound exotic, but we need to consider worlds that could be habitable without necessarily looking like Earth’s neighborhood.
D’Angiolillo added:
One reason this kind of work is important is that there are a lot of steps we can take before trying to directly observe a planet. We can ask first: Is this system even capable of hosting a potentially habitable planet?
That kind of dynamical vetting could be useful for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a NASA mission planned for the 2040s that is intended to help search for potentially habitable worlds. There are many other binary systems that could benefit from this type of analysis as scientists begin considering possible targets.
But Kane said they will keep investigating 70 Ophiuchi in the meantime. Kane commented:
Who knows? We might actually discover an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that Skylar has predicted could be there even before the Habitable Worlds Observatory launches.
Artist’s concept of a planet with 2 suns. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ T. Pyle.
Bottom line: Astronomers found that an Earthlike planet could have a stable and potentially habitable orbit around one of two nearby suns.
This artist’s concept shows a planet orbiting 2 stars, visible at upper left and upper right. The binary star system 70 Ophiuchi is about 16 light-years from Earth. A new study said this system could support an Earthlike planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI/ Robert Hurt (Caltech/IPAC).
People are fascinated by the idea of a planet orbiting more than one star, like Tatooine in “Star Wars” or Trisolaris in “The Three-Body Problem.” On September 29, 2026, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, said they have modeled a nearby binary star system and found that it could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a habitable-zone orbit.
The researchers used 70 Ophiuchi as their model. This two-star system lies about 16 light-years away. Both of the stars in the 70 Ophiuchi system are a bit smaller and cooler than our sun. And while we’ve yet to find a planet orbiting either star, the UC Riverside astronomers said they’ve found that one could feasibly exist in a stable orbit around one of the two stars. And it could lie within the habitable zone of one of the stars, where liquid water would be stable on its surface.
The researchers published their peer-reviewed study on September 29, 2026, in The Astrophysical Journal.
Why look at 70 Ophiuchi?
The researchers targeted 70 Ophiuchi for their study. It’s a nearby star at around 16 light-years away, and people have been observing it for decades. From a dark-sky site, you can see it with the unaided eye as a single dim point of light at around magnitude 4 in the constellation Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer.
With measurement data that goes back decades, the researchers were able to create a better model of what might happen there. Using their computer model, the researchers could then introduce an Earth-mass planet in different locations to see what happens to the system. Co-author Skylar D’Angiolillo of UC Riverside said:
We calculated the boundaries of the habitable zone around the primary star. Then I tested whether an Earth-mass planet could maintain a stable orbit at different distances within that zone.
What we found is that stable orbits are possible in the habitable zone of the primary star. You might expect the second star to disrupt those orbits, but that isn’t necessarily what happens.
D’Angiolillo added:
You can think of Earth’s orbit as being fairly circular. An unstable planet’s orbit can become increasingly elongated until eventually the planet is essentially flung away from the system. By repeating the simulation at different locations, we can identify regions where an Earth-sized planet could remain stable.
This is an early observation of the binary star system 70 Ophiuchi. This image is from the U.S. Naval Observatory from 1937. Image via UC Riverside.
Our sun is the oddball
The sun does not have a stellar companion. And that makes it a bit of an oddball. The majority of stars that astronomers have studied come in pairs. In fact, some 85% of all sun-like stars in the Milky Way have either one or more companions. So finding that an Earthlike planet in a habitable orbit can exist in a binary system would be an important step toward understanding whether potentially habitable worlds can exist around the most common types of stars in our galaxy. Co-author Stephen Kane of UC Riverside said:
Having a 2nd sun may sound exotic, but we need to consider worlds that could be habitable without necessarily looking like Earth’s neighborhood.
D’Angiolillo added:
One reason this kind of work is important is that there are a lot of steps we can take before trying to directly observe a planet. We can ask first: Is this system even capable of hosting a potentially habitable planet?
That kind of dynamical vetting could be useful for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a NASA mission planned for the 2040s that is intended to help search for potentially habitable worlds. There are many other binary systems that could benefit from this type of analysis as scientists begin considering possible targets.
But Kane said they will keep investigating 70 Ophiuchi in the meantime. Kane commented:
Who knows? We might actually discover an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone that Skylar has predicted could be there even before the Habitable Worlds Observatory launches.
Artist’s concept of a planet with 2 suns. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ T. Pyle.
Bottom line: Astronomers found that an Earthlike planet could have a stable and potentially habitable orbit around one of two nearby suns.
