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This study reveals a broken age–frequency relation of hot Jupiters, which simultaneously constrains the tidal factor of host stars and indicates different timescales in hot Jupiter formation, with ~40% forming late on billion-year timescales through secular chaos.

A primordial carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) greater than 0.8 in an exoplanet causes a carbide-dominated interior, as opposed to the silicate-dominated composition found on Earth; the atmospheres also can differ from those in the Solar System. The solar C/O is 0.54. This study reports an analysis of spectra from the transiting hot Jupiter WASP-12b that reveals that C/O>1 in its atmosphere, based upon the observed concentrations of the prominent molecules CO, CH₄ and H₂O.

The authors report observations of a dense and inhomogeneous ring at a surprisingly large distance from the trans-Neptunian body Quaoar.

Observations of six transiting planets around the bright nearby star HD 110067 show that they follow a chain of resonant orbits, with three of the planets inferring the presence of large hydrogen-dominated atmospheres.

The radial-velocity technique could detect a small gas giant orbiting a binary star and determine its mass: 65.2 ± 11.8 Earth masses. The system also hosts a smaller inner planet, making it one of the few known multiplanetary circumbinary systems.

Three planets orbit the Sun-like star ν² Lupi. CHEOPS data show that all of them are transiting and show remarkable diversity. In particular, dry and gas-poor inner planet b has experienced extensive atmospheric loss, while planets c and d are water rich and have a small gaseous envelope of primordial origin.

Kepler-107 b and c have the same radius but, contrary to expectations, the outermost Kepler-107 c is much denser. This difference cannot be explained by photoevaporation by stellar high-energy particle flux and it suggests that Kepler-107 c experienced a giant impact event.

'Hot Jupiters' abound in lists of known extrasolar planets. Those closest to their parent stars have strong tidal interactions, leading to the suggestion that systems such as OGLE-TR-56 could be used as tests of tidal dissipation theory. Here, the discovery of planet WASP-18b is reported, with an orbital period of 0.94 days and a tidal interaction an order of magnitude stronger than that of OGLE-TR-56b. Either WASP-18 is in a rare, short-lived state, or the tidal dissipation in this system must be weaker than in the Solar System.

The authors find that a nearby planetary system has two terrestrial planets that transit in front of their star (from our perspective). Transiting terrestrial planets are sought after, as they can be characterized in detail, including their atmospheres. Having two in the same system is very rare.

The radial velocities of a young star are measured, revealing the presence of a planet of mass about three-quarters that of Jupiter, orbiting its host star very closely, and thus demonstrating that ‘hot Jupiters’ can migrate inwards in less than two million years.

A fully formed, Neptune-sized planet is observed orbiting a young star, demonstrating that planets can form in less than 10 million years and may also experience inward migration on these timescales.

Data from the Kepler spacecraft and the HARPS-N ground-based spectrograph indicate that the extrasolar planet Kepler-78b has a mean density similar to that of Earth and imply that it is composed of rock and iron.