Extrasolar Planets
A New Chemical Scheme to Study Carbon-rich Exoplanet Atmospheres 
Atmospheres with a high C/O ratio are expected to contain an important quantity of hydrocarbons, including heavy molecules (with more than 2 carbon atoms).
Determining Interior Structure of Rocky Exoplanets From Mass and Radius Measurements
We present an inversion method based on Bayesian analysis to constrain the interior structure of terrestrial exoplanets, in the form of chemical composition of the mantle and core size.
Earth-like Planets More Likely to Orbit Sun-like stars - Not Lower-mass Stars
Simulations by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Tsinghua University indicate that Earth-like planets are more likely to be found orbiting Sun-like stars rather than lower-mass stars that are currently targeted, in terms of water contents of planets.
Earth and Terrestrial Planet Formation
The growth and composition of Earth is a direct consequence of planet formation throughout the Solar System.
Colliding Winds in Low-Mass Binary Star Systems: Implications for Habitable Planets
In binary star systems, the winds from the two components impact each other, leading to strong shocks and regions of enhanced density and temperature.
Planetary Systems and the Formation of Habitable Planets
As part of a national scientific network 'Pathways to Habitability' the formation of planets and the delivery of water onto these planets is a key question as water is essential for the development of life.
Twinkle on Fast-Track Mission to Unveil Exoplanet Atmospheres
A team of UK scientists and engineers have announced plans for a small satellite, named "Twinkle," that will give radical new insights into the chemistry, formation and evolution of planets orbiting other stars.
Scientists Predict Earth-like Planets Around Most Stars
Planetary scientists have calculated that there are hundreds of billions of Earth-like planets in our galaxy which might support life.
KOI-3158: The Oldest Known System of Terrestrial-size Planets
The first discoveries of exoplanets around Sun-like stars have fueled efforts to find ever smaller worlds evocative of Earth and other terrestrial planets in the Solar System.
Potentially Habitable Planets May Start As Neptune-like Worlds
Two phenomena known to inhibit the potential habitability of planets tidal forces and vigorous stellar activity might instead help chances for life on certain planets orbiting low-mass stars, University of Washington astronomers have found.
Making Planets in the Laboratory
New laser-driven compression experiments reproduce the conditions deep inside exotic super-Earths and giant planet cores, and the conditions during the violent birth of Earth-like planets, documenting the material properties that determined planets' formation and evolution processes.
Nearby M Star With Three Transiting Super-Earths Discovered by K2
Small, cool planets represent the typical end-products of planetary formation. Studying the architectures of these systems, measuring planet masses and radii, and observing these planets' atmospheres during transit directly informs theories of planet assembly, migration, and evolution.
Extrasolar Planets Are More Hospitable to Life Than Previously Thought
A study by astrophysicists at the University of Toronto suggests that exoplanets - planets outside our solar system - are more likely to have liquid water and be more habitable than we thought.
Ammonia, Water Clouds and Methane Abundances of Giant Exoplanets and Opportunities for Super-Earth Exoplanets
Future direct-imaging exoplanet missions such as WFIRST/AFTA, Exo-C, and Exo-S will measure the reflectivity of exoplanets at visible wavelengths.
Planet Formation in Post-common-envelope Binaries
To understand the evolution of planetary systems, it is important to investigate planets in highly evolved stellar systems, and to explore the implications of their observed properties with respect to potential formation scenarios.
Planetary Systems in Star Clusters
In the solar neighborhood, where the typical relaxation timescale is larger than the cosmic age, at least 10% to 15% of Sun-like stars have planetary systems with Jupiter-mass planets. In contrast, dense star clusters, charactered by frequent close encounters, have been found to host very few planets.
Deciphering Thermal Phase Curves of Dry, Tidally Locked Terrestrial Planets
Next-generation space telescopes will allow us to characterize terrestrial exoplanets. To do so effectively it will be crucial to make use of all available data.
Potentially Habitable Planets Orbiting M Dwarfs
We present an improved estimate of the occurrence rate of small planets around small stars by searching the full four-year Kepler data set for transiting planets using our own planet detection pipeline and conducting transit injection and recovery simulations to empirically measure the search completeness of our pipeline.
The Persistence of Oceans on Earth-like Planets: Insights from the Deep-Water Cycle
In this paper we present a series of models for the deep water cycle on super-Earths experiencing plate tectonics.
Twelve Small Kepler Transiting Planets in the Habitable Zone
We present an investigation of twelve candidate transiting planets from Kepler with orbital periods ranging from 34 to 207 days, selected from initial indications that they are small and potentially in the habitable zone (HZ) of their parent stars.
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Calendar
- 6 Mar: Midwest Astrochemistry Meeting
- 11 Mar: Connecting Space with International Security and Stability
- 15 Mar: 58th Annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Dinner
- 15 Mar: MESSENGER MDIS Data Users' Workshop
- 15 Mar: Scientist and Science Educator Professional Development Workshop
- 15 Mar: March Storm 2015 Legislative Campaign
- 15 Mar: User Workshop for Mars ChemCam/LIBS Data at LPSC
- 16 Mar: Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 159, Global Positioning Systems
- 16 Mar: 3rd Manfred Lachs International Conference on NewSpace Commercialization and the Law
- 17 Mar: STA Reception for Rep. Culberson
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