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Thousands Of Planets Are Hidden In This Photo
[ESA] Three years since launch, ESA’s Euclid space telescope reveals the Milky Way galaxy’s centre in extraordinary detail: a mosaic of tens of millions of stars captured in just 26 hours. But this is more than an image. It is a map of stellar evolution, from dark clouds where stars are being born to ancient…
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Nearby “Super Earth” May Be A Better Candidate For Life Than Previously Thought
[UT Austin] Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look…
How A Giant Planet Survived Its Star’s Death
[Northwestern University] When astronomers discovered a giant planet orbiting a dead star in 2020, they…
Improving Exoplanet Mass Characterisation With Bayesian Model Selection Using The Learned Harmonic Mean Estimator
[astro-ph.EP] Radial velocity (RV) analyses require modelling choices (such as eccentricity treatment, noise model, velocity…
Unveiling Complex Chemistry In Planet-forming Disks With The SKAO
[astro-ph.SR] The chemical composition of planets is inherited from that of the natal protoplanetary disk…
Chemical Abundances of the Bioessential Elements C, O and S, and the Refractory Elements
[astro-ph.EP] We determined atmospheric and evolutionary parameters, along with chemical abundances of C, O, S,…
The Dust Mineralogy of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS from JWST/MIRI Observations
[astro-ph.EP] We present the first spectroscopic mineralogical analysis of the dust coma of an interstellar…
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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Astronomy & Telescopes
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
Orbital Biosignature Assay: Summer Algal Bloom Spreads Across The Baltic Sea
[European Union] During the summer months, large algal blooms occur frequently in the Baltic Sea. Often driven by warmer temperatures, abundant sunlight, and nutrient-rich waters, these blooms can reduce water quality and affect marine life. In late June 2026, a new algal bloom was observed across parts of the Baltic Sea. This image, acquired by…
Read moreExploration Gear & Tech
Ocean Planet Expeditions: Alvin Submersible Certified To Return To Service
Editor’s note: Submersibles and oceanic exploration have a long history of intersection and collaboration. NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara was a research engineer at Woods Hole…
Ocean Planet Exploration: New University of Rhode Island Ocean Robotics Laboratory
[URI] The University of Rhode Island celebrated a major milestone in the $300 million, multi-phase revitalization of the Narragansett Bay Campus with a ribbon cutting…
Perseverance Astrobiology Droid Has Completed A Martian Marathon
[NASA] On June 14, 2026, Mars Perseverance rover completed a Martian “marathon” by surpassing 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers) of travel. The day before, NASA’s Mars…
Imaging & Spectroscopy
Perseverance Astrobiology Rover – A Selfie While Working
[NASA] NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie on March 11, 2026, the 1,797th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, during the rover’s deepest…
Charge Transfer From Ammonia Neutralizes Propylene Oxide Cations: Implications For The Astrochemistry Of Chiral Molecules
[astro-ph.GA] To date only one chiral species, propylene oxide, has been observed in the interstellar medium but little is known about the chemistry that leads…
Curiosity Rover Takes a Close Look at Martian Sulfur Crystals
[NASA] These sulfur crystals were found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30,…
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
The Impact of the Viking Entry, Descent, and Landing Legacy on Future Mars ExplorationAstrobiology
[Astrobiology] This article outlines engineering challenges that were involved in the design innovations required to successfully deliver not one but two landers for Viking. The…
Unraveling The Building Blocks Of Earth’s Pigments
[Ohio State] Although they are some of the most widespread substances on Earth, not much is known about eumelanin, or natural organic matter (NOM) —…
Theoretical and Experimental IR Spectra of Astronomical PAHs and PANHs in the 2000–1650 cm–1 Range (∼5–6 μm)
[ACS Earth and Space Chemistry] Recent James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal unprecedented details in the 2000–1650 cm–1 (∼5–6 μm) region, including the well-known 5.25…