Among the stars known to host more than one planet, V1298 Tau deserves particular attention. This star, located approximately 360 light years away from us, is around 20 million years old and possesses a planetary system with four exoplanets discovered so far. Due to these characteristics, V1298 Tau can offer valuable insights into the planetary formation process and the early
The study of the exoplanets orbiting around young stars (e.g., younger than a few tens of million of years) offer the important opportunity for studying the early evoalutionary phases of those processes that shape the architecture of planetary systems. However, it is quite difficult to detect and study exoplanets around young stars, because of their low number, the complexity of their
To date (November 2023), we have confirmed the presence of 5539 exoplanets in 4128 planetary systems. These numbers indicate that, in the majority of cases, we have identified one planet per planetary system. This limitation is primarily due to observational constraints, as it remains challenging to detect small exoplanets with long orbital periods (distant from their stars several astronomical units,
The two giant planets of the Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, played an important role in shaping the properties and architecture of the inner solar system. This may be a quite general rule. The presence of giant planets, for instance, can be responsible for a less effective migration of solids and gas toward the inner part of planetary systems, inhibiting
Typically, planets did not form at the distance from their central stars where we observe them today. In fact, during their early evolution, planets migrate from their initial orbit until the system reaches its final configuration. Planetary migration can be induced by several processes: the interaction between the newborn planets and the protoplanetary disk where they formed, the gravitational interaction
The search for terrestrial like exoplanets in the habitable zone of their stars is one of the most significant areas of exoplanetary science. The habitable zone is defined as the region around a given star where rocky planets are within the suitable temperature range to potentially support liquid water on their surfaces. Earth-like planets within habitable zones are therefore the
In recent years, advances in instrumentation, knowledge, and observational strategies in the field of exoplanets have allowed for the identification and confirmation of thousands of planets around other stars (exoplanets). Moreover, for the past few years, astronomers have been capable of studying the chemistry and physical properties of the atmospheres of some of these exotic worlds. These studies can also
Among the 5322 exoplanets discovered so far (from NASA), approximately 100 planets belong to the class of Ultra-Short Period (USP) exoplanets. These planets have very close orbits around their stars, with a period shorter than one day on Earth. They typically have a radius smaller than 2 Earth radii and are likely to be rocky cores of gaseous planets that lost their
Flares are among the most energetic magnetic phenomena occuring in stars. They are triggered by a sudden release of energy previously stored in the stellar magnetic field, and then they culminate with the formation of magnetic loops in the stellar coronae filled by X-ray and UV emitting plasma at million degrees. Sometimes, these magnetic structures erupt, releasing in the surrounding
M dwarf stars, with temperature ranging between 2400 and 3900 K and mass between 0.08 and 0.7 solar masses, are ideal targets for the search of exoplanets. This because the most important techniques to search for exoplanets are more effective when applied to stars of this spectral type than to more massive stars. For instance, the method of radial velocity
