Carl Sagan Institute

International team sheds light on how planet survived its star’s death

A planet survived its star’s death, James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal, offering clues to Jupiter’s fate after the Sun’s demise. Astronomers from Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences show that WD 1856 b migrated later and has methane-rich atmosphere.

Where to find other Earths? New list narrows down the targets

New Cornell research identifies 45 potentially habitable rocky exoplanets using Gaia data and NASA archives, creating a catalog to guide life-search efforts. Authors are an undergraduate, two recent alumni and Lisa Kaltenegger, professor of astronomy and director of the Carl Sagan Institute in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Cornell exoplanet expert discusses where we should look for life

As the film "Project Hail Mary" hits theaters, Cornell College of Arts and Sciences astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger, director of the Carl Sagan Institute, explains how real exoplanet research, habitable zones, and nearby star systems inform the film’s search for extraterrestrial life.

New catalog of rocky planets in the habitable zone

Novel way to detect signals from stellar and exoplanetary systems unveiled

Thanks to this innovation, scientists have discovered new radio bursts originating from dwarf stars and possibly from exoplanets.

Pandora satellite launches for exoplanet observation

Tasked with studying exoplanet systems around small stars, the refrigerator-sized satellite is the first in NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers program – small-scale missions designed to train early-career scientists, including Trevor Foote, Ph.D. ’24, a former member of the research group led by faculty member Nikole Lewis.