Distant Earths

Daniel Apai's Blog on Exoplanet Exploration and Astrobiology

All posts by Daniel Apai

About Daniel Apai

I am an Associate Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at The University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. I also coordinate the University of Arizona's Center for Astrobiology. My research focuses on planet formation and exoplanet characterization; I use some of the largest ground-based telescopes as well as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. You can find more about my work on my UA website.

The Coolest Exoplanet Imaged – The Discovery of GJ 504b

Posted on Author Daniel ApaiPosted in Exoplanet Discoveries, Nature of PlanetsLeave a Reply

Exciting news for planet hunters: Working with the 8m Subaru telescope at Mauna Kea the international SEEDS team announced the exciting discovery of a new directly imaged planet – this new planet is exciting not only because very few planets have been directly imaged yet, but also because this one is different from all others…

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The Substellar Zoo: From Brown Dwarfs to Super-Earths

Posted on Author Daniel ApaiPosted in Exoplanet Discoveries, Nature of Planets2 Replies

I particularly like Frost’s illustration from 1846 which shows how planetary systems were thought to look like in a post-Newtonian universe: in essence, Frost’s universe is filled with copies of the solar system – planets orbit each star. Interestingly, 130 years later the Star Wars universe was not that different: the desert planet Tatooine, the…

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