Space Exploration & Science Missions NASA

NASA’s future telescopes could directly image exoplanets—and reveal alien oceans

NASA’s Roman Space Telescope is expected to directly image exoplanets, while a next-generation observatory in early development could analyze reflected light from their surfaces. Detecting signatures such as ocean glint and rainbows would provide potentially important evidence in the search for habitable worlds and life beyond Earth.

Discovered 2026-09-09T09:10:40.039777-07:00 | 2026-09-09T09:10:40.039777-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

Direct imaging would expand exoplanet science beyond indirect detection by capturing light from planets themselves.
A future telescope capable of identifying ocean glint and rainbows could provide new indicators of surface conditions relevant to habitability.
The developments show how NASA’s telescope pipeline is extending from exoplanet imaging toward characterizing potentially habitable worlds.

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Space.com New Scientist