Habitable Zones & Global Climate
The Impact of Stripped Cores On The Frequency Of Earth-size Planets In The Habitable Zone 
The frequency of Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars, hereafter η⊕, is a key parameter to evaluate the yield of nearby Earth analogues that can be detected and characterized by future missions.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
Erosion of an Exoplanetary Atmosphere Caused By Stellar Winds
We present a formalism for a first-order estimation of the magnetosphere radius of exoplanets orbiting stars in the range from 0.08 to 1.3 Mo. With this radius, we estimate the atmospheric surface that is not protected from stellar winds.
Astrochemistry
Interstellar Iron Found In Antarctic Snow
The rare isotope iron-60 is created in massive stellar explosions. Only a very small amount of this isotope reaches the earth from distant stars. Now, a research team with significant involvement from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered iron-60 in Antarctic snow for the first time. The scientists suggest that the iron isotope comes from the interstellar neighborhood.
Mars
Ancient Mars Was Warm with Occasional Rain, Turning Cold
Scientists have long known that water was abundant on ancient Mars, but there has been no consensus on whether liquid water was common, or whether it was largely frozen in ice.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
The Search for Living Worlds and the Connection to Our Cosmic Origins
One of the most exciting scientific challenges is to detect Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of other stars in the galaxy and search for evidence of life.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
Habitability of Galaxies and Application of Merger Trees in Astrobiology
Galaxies represent the main form of organization of matter in our universe. Therefore, they are of obvious interest for the new multidisciplinary field of astrobiology.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
Inner Edge of Habitable Zones for Earth-sized Planets with Various Surface Water Distributions
When planets receive insolation above a certain critical value called the runaway threshold, liquid surface water vaporizes completely, which forms the inner edge of the habitable zone.
Extrasolar Planets
How Many Earth-like Planets Are Around Sun-like Stars?
A new study provides the most accurate estimate of the frequency that planets that are similar to Earth in size and in distance from their host star occur around stars similar to our Sun.
Astrochemistry
Key Phosphorus-based Molecule For Life On Earth May Have Come From Space
The answer to "How did the first organisms on Earth incorporate the critical element phosphorus?" has been a quandary for researchers, but, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa physical chemists believe a meteoric visitor could be the critical link.
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Earth As An Exoplanet: A Two-dimensional Alien Map
Resolving spatially-varying exoplanet features from single-point light curves is essential for determining whether Earth-like worlds harbor geological features and/or climate systems that influence habitability.
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Fluorescent Glow May Reveal Hidden Life In The Cosmos
Astronomers have uncovered a new way of searching for life in the cosmos. Harsh ultraviolet radiation flares from red suns, once thought to destroy surface life on planets, might help uncover hidden biospheres. Their radiation could trigger a protective glow from life on exoplanets called biofluorescence, according to new Cornell University research.
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