Stars

And then there was lightAstronomers probe ancient radio waves for clues about the universe’s first light.

The final frontierNow that an Earthlike planet has been discovered, the key to confirming that it can host life will be to study its atmosphere in detail

Learning from hot JupitersBy studying how massive planets may have formed, MIT astrophysicist sets the stage for studying smaller, more Earthlike planets.

Building a list of Earth candidatesMIT researchers increase their odds of detecting an Earthlike planet by working on a combination of satellite missions.

Astronomers detect first carbon-rich exoplanetDiscovery opens door to new class of exoplanets, including rocky planets rich in diamond and graphite.

Explained: the Doppler effectThe same phenomenon behind changes in the pitch of a moving ambulance’s siren is helping astronomers locate and study distant planets.

In a first, astronomers detect strong winds on an exoplanetResearchers see tempestuous atmosphere on a planet located 150 light years from Earth.

Coordinated stargazingMIT astronomer leads the first team to study a Kuiper Belt object during a stellar occultation.

In the search for Earthlike exoplanets, GJ 436b has much to tell usFirst detailed analysis of the atmosphere of a Neptune-sized planet reveals surprisingly low methane levels, presents "new territory" for researching planets outside our solar system

A massive star is bornTime-lapse movie shows that massive stars — which may hold clues about the origins of life — form like their smaller siblings.

A faraway planet intriguesAn exoplanet with an extremely tilted orbit raises new interest in stellar astronomy.

Oddball stars explainedNew observations solve longstanding mystery of tipped rotation. In addition to shedding light on how binary stars form, the explanation knocks down a possible challenge to Einstein's theory of relativity.

The hunt for dark matterMIT physicists are working on new detectors that may, at last, help them find the elusive particles thought to constitute up to a quarter of the universe.