Press Releases

The most recent

Supersonic winds, rocky rains forecasted on lava planet
November 3 2020

Supersonic winds, rocky rains forecasted on lava planet

“Rocky” weather could change the surface and atmosphere over time on exoplanet K2-141b. Among the…

Interview with professors Björn Benneke and Nicolas Cowan on LTT 9779 b
October 26 2020

Interview with professors Björn Benneke and Nicolas Cowan on LTT 9779 b

LTT 9779 b is an exoplanet the size of Neptune and very close to its…

Citizen scientists help discover two bizarre brown dwarfs in the Milky Way
July 10 2020

Citizen scientists help discover two bizarre brown dwarfs in the Milky Way

Thanks to the help of citizen scientists, astronomers have confirmed the existence of two of…

Discovering an exoplanet around AU Mic
June 25 2020

Discovering an exoplanet around AU Mic

Astrophysicists detect the orb hidden in the dust and gas debris around the young star…

Water detected on an exoplanet located in its star’s habitable zone
September 11 2019

Water detected on an exoplanet located in its star’s habitable zone

An international study lead by Université de Montréal astronomer Björn Benneke has detected water vapour…

iREx astronomers determine Earth’s fingerprint in hopes of finding habitable planets beyond the Solar System
August 28 2019

iREx astronomers determine Earth’s fingerprint in hopes of finding habitable planets beyond the Solar System

Two iREx astronomers have assembled a “fingerprint” for Earth, which could be used to identify…

The dark side of extrasolar planets share surprisingly similar temperatures
August 28 2019

The dark side of extrasolar planets share surprisingly similar temperatures

A new study by McGill University astronomers has found that the temperature on the nightsides of different hot Jupiters is surprisingly uniform, suggesting the dark side of…

Probing a new class of exoplanets
July 2 2019

Probing a new class of exoplanets

An international team led by UdeM astronomer gets a clearer picture of what is likely…

Too much sodium turns a star blue
February 25 2019

Too much sodium turns a star blue

An international team of astrophysicists, led by researchers from the Université de Montréal, has identified…

All systems go for exo-Earth hunter SPIRou
February 22 2019

All systems go for exo-Earth hunter SPIRou

Nine months after capturing its first images from atop Maunakea in Hawaii, the scientific instrument…

Twice the size of Earth
September 5 2018

Twice the size of Earth

A young Canadian student at Université de Montréal discovers new exoplanet ideal for detailed characterization.…

Funding for Mont-Mégantic Observatory secured for five years
August 8 2018

Funding for Mont-Mégantic Observatory secured for five years

Ottawa and Quebec announce $4M in funding for the world-class observatory through 2023. With a…