Over the past decade or so, astronomers have speculated about the characteristics of rogue planets in the Milky Way galaxy. These "free-floating" worlds don't orbit stars, but instead roam the ...

IMAGE: An artist’s impression of a free-floating planet. Using observations and archival data from several of NSF’s NOIRLab’s observatories, together with observations from telescopes around the world ...

Astronomers have discovered a unique planet in the Milky Way's Volans constellation, featuring a molten surface and sulfur-rich atmosphere. This hellish world, over 60% larger than Earth but less ...

Our search for exoplanets is focused on Milky Way stars. It's been successful, with more than 6,000 detected so far. Scientists are even beginning to move beyond mere detections, and working on ...

Building on eight years of extraordinary discoveries by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS and SDSS-II), a new program of four coordinated surveys will revolutionize the study of the distant universe, ...

Exoplanets have captured the imagination of the public and scientists alike and as the search continues for more, researchers have turned their attention to the evolution of metallicity in the Milky ...

Over 4 billion years ago, as planets were coalescing around the newborn Sun, our star may have gone on an epic road trip across the Milky Way along with thousands of stellar "twins." And we may owe ...

Using observations and archival data from several of NSF’s NOIRLab’s observatories, together with observations from telescopes around the world and in orbit, astronomers have discovered at least 70 ...

NASA says a group of scientists may have discovered signs of a new planet beyond the Milky Way. The potential discovery could be the first-ever planet found in another galaxy. The potential planet, ...