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ALMA Reveals Planetary Formation Structures In Small Disks
[ALMA] Thanks to the extraordinary sharpness of ALMA’s images, a research team has discovered rings, grooves, and cavities in extremely compact disks surrounding young stars. The observations show that structures associated with planet formation extend into regions comparable in size to the inner solar system. This suggests that many small disks may have appeared uniform…
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Compatible Comma-Free Codes and the Origin of the Genetic Code
[biorxiv.org] The genetic code is the rule that (apart from minor modifications [1, 2]) is…
Simulations Of The Evolving Ozone Layer: Implications For The Early Earth, Exoplanets, And The Search For Life
[astro-ph.EP] Over 4 billion years, Earth’s atmosphere has been transformed from a composition devoid of…
VUV And mid-UV Photoabsorption Cross Sections Of Thin Films Of Glycine And Alanine: Application To Their Photochemistry In The Solar System
[Photochemistry and Photobiology] Experiments conducted in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since the 1990s have investigated…
Earth As A Potential Source Of Llife For Europa’s Subsurface Ocean
The paper discusses the possibility of dust particles containing living bacteria ejected from Earth reaching Europa and landing on its surface. It is shown that, taking certain factors into account, over a period of 30 − 80 Myr (the estimated age of Europa’s ocean), Jupiter’s moon would have been impacted…
Keep readingDust To Dust: Prospects For Passive Technosignatures As Relics Of ETI
Technological societies are separated in time, not just space — that is the lesson of the Drake equation. Might the best way to seek them be to find technosignatures that persist long after their creators? I present work I and my collaborators have done on the idea of passive technosignatures,…
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Habitable Zones
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
Elastic Properties of Titan Tholins Revealed by Brillouin Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.EP] Titan tholins, complex organic solids synthesized by simulating photochemical processes in Titan’s atmosphere, are widely regarded as analogs to organic surface materials on the Saturnian moon. Their mechanical properties are critical for understanding the evolution of Titan’s geomorphology and crustal layering. Here, we report the first direct experimental determination of the complete set of…
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Perseverance Mars Rover Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance Driven
[NASA]. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has driven farther than any vehicle ever has on the surface of another world. On Oct. 11, the rover’s odometer…
An Interdisciplinary Approach To Sampling Hard Rock Cores Of The Oceanic Crust For Microbiological And Biogeochemical Research
[Scientific Drilling] Studying life in the deep, rocky subseafloor involves many layers of technological and methodological challenges, and each drilling project or expedition must make…
Assessing the Preservation of Polysaccharides from a Sea-Ice Bacterium Through Analog Icy Moon Plume Ejection
[Astrobiology (Journal)] Detection of complex organics emitted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus has intensified the search for biosignatures accessible to future missions. Extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs) from…
Imaging & Spectroscopy
The Accretionally Heated Atmospheres Of Protoplanets And Brown Dwarfs
[astro-ph.EP] The ranks of accreting planets and brown dwarfs are growing. To help interpret their spectra, we study how accretion affects a planet’s atmosphere. The…
Giving NASA’s SciX A Quick Astrobiology Roadtest
Keith’s note: Goodbye ADS – Hello SciX. According to an editorial “Farewell NASA ADS” in Nature magazine, “After more than 33 years, NASA’s Astrophysics Data…
Fermentation Heterotrophy Can Reproduce Enceladus’s H2 And CH4 Under Limited Serpentinization
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth. Abundant H2 and CH4 in Enceladus’s south-polar plume have…
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Prebiotic Chemistry In Selk Crater on Titan
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s moon Titan is a prime destination for investigating prebiotic chemistry beyond Earth, particularly at impact crater sites where transient liquid water may have…
The Role Of Minerals In Prebiotic Evolution: Implications For Identifying Worlds With The Potential For Life’s Origin
[Fundamental Research] Understanding the origin of life requires explaining how abiotic molecules transitioned into the first living systems within plausible geological settings. Increasing evidence suggests…
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Active Asteroid (101955) Bennu
[astro-ph.EP] Measurements from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft revealed (101955) Bennu as a member of the active asteroid class. These objects exhibit transient, comet-like activity, commonly producing…