New paper! In work led by Sabina Sagynbayeva we quantify mission and ancillary data (RV, astrometry) requirements that enable "full system" (terrestrial AND giant planets) characterization with the Habitable Worlds Observatory. arxiv.org/abs/2507.21443

While not yet confirmation, the fact that JWST sees a planet candidate in Alpha Centauri consistent with the one we identified in 2019 with VLT is extremely encouraging! Well done Aniket Sanghi, Chas, and team - this was a very fun project to be a part of! science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/…

Alpha Centauri A is the nearest Sun-like star. In the Avatar movie, it hosts a giant planet orbiting in its habitable zone. New JWST results suggest that it may be the case in real life too… arxiv.org/abs/2508.03812 #JWST #Exoplanets #AlphaCentauri #Avatar #Pandora

It is not aliens. Again. “As a theoretical astrophysicist crashing the field [of planetary science], Loeb is unburdened by the obvious similarities of 3I/ATLAS to all other comets.” Details in the amusing read below by Steve Desch. medium.com/@steve.desch/t…

Most planets in our galaxy orbit dim red stars. But can any of them support life? A new JWST study of planet TRAPPIST-1 d offers clues. No sign of an Earthlike atmosphere, but its cooler neighbors look more promising. (So, alas, we're still at "maybe.") esawebb.org/news/weic2516/

At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, we are excited to host 51 Pegasi b Fellows in the Department of Astronomy! Applications are due October 3, 2025. This was the fellowship that I had as a postdoc, and I’d be happy to chat if you think you might be interested in applying!

And so is the other 'UW' (University of Washington)!

The LIGO Scientific Collaboration will greatly miss our friend and colleague, Professor Rainer Weiss, whose immeasurable impact on gravitational-wave astronomy will be felt for generations to come ligo.org/professor-emer… Our thoughts are with Rai's family and friends

One of the most important contributions to the study of how stars evolve didn’t come from an astrophysicist, but instead a computer scientist. Bill Paxton — who died last month — revolutionized the field by creating the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). Read

astrobiology.com/2025/09/first-…

🆕 Webb has taken a close look at TRAPPIST-1 e 👀 This transmission spectrum graph compares data collected by the #NIRSpec instrument on Webb with computer models of the exoplanet, with (blue) and without (orange) an atmosphere. 1/2

Whether planet e has an atmosphere is still TBD. Researchers are still observing it, and think its primary atmosphere is gone, though it could have a heavier secondary one. go.nasa.gov/3VBE3cL

TIL that I study “space balls” (71 down in Sunday’s NYT crossword).

RIP William Paxton, the founder of the MESA stellar structure and evolution code.

Sorry Wikipedia and Google but this is not correct. Half of the Nobel prize was awarded to Penrose for the mathematical theory of black holes; the other half to Genzel & Ghez for their study of Sgr A*. (Thanks New York Times Games Connections for alerting me to this!)

Can any experts tell me if these error bars are to be believed? arxiv.org/abs/2509.17454

The statue of Pasteur in Paris faces the Invalides where Napoleon is buried. This is apt as one fought germs, while the other fought Germans.

Incredible: A selection of the multi-planet systems discovered in the Milky Way galaxy by the Kepler Telescope! (Credit: Ethan Kruse/NASA Goddard)