Alone in space, but not lonely

New year, new planet? Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a team of citizen scientists has uncovered a Jupiter-like world roughly 379 light-years from Earth. According to NASA, the planet, called TOI-2180 b, is roughly three times more massive than Jupiter but has about the same diameter. A study about the finding has been published in The Astronomical Journal. Pictured: An artist’s impression of the exoplanet. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt.

A massive asteroid made a pretty close pass by Earth and everything was totally fine. On Jan.18, asteroid (7482) 1994 PC1 whizzed by Earth at about 1.93 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) at its closest. The asteroid — reportedly more than two and a half times the height of the Empire State Building — couldn’t be viewed with the naked eye or most binoculars, but beginner telescopes were able to pick it up. Astronomers estimate this asteroid won’t make a pass this close to Earth for another 200 years or so.

A lunar-based telescope is set to launch in 2024. A team of astronomy professors and student researchers at Louisiana State University is developing a telescope that will observe exoplanets, asteroids and stars from the far side of the moon. The telescope, called L-CAM1, will assist with exoplanet research, planetary defense efforts and more. “From the Moon, you have a different observing window,” said LSU astronomer and assistant professor Tabetha Boyajian. “We want our eyes on the sky at all times.”

A rogue planet may be alone in space, but it isn’t necessarily lonely. Worlds that have escaped their host star’s gravity float through the cosmos untethered, sometimes with one or more moons in orbit around them. As unlikely as it may seem, rogue planets and their moons may be able to sustain life. A new article from Planetary Society contributing editor Jatan Mehta explains how a world without a home could be home to alien life. Pictured: The first direct image of a rogue planet, named PSO J318.5-22, visible as the dot with the reddish hue. Image credit: N. Metcalfe/Pan-STARRS 1.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has been on Mars for nearly 10 years now. In that time, it has confirmed the Red Planet’s past habitability and made significant progress in our quest to understand the history of our neighboring world. Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada joins this week’s Planetary Radio to look back at the rover’s accomplishments and forward to what’s next for the mission.

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