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ExoClock Unlocked: A Project To Increase Public Participation In Exoplanet Research
[RAS Techniques and Instruments] Modern astronomical research increasingly relies on data obtained by robotic telescopes and processed through automated pipelines. While these advances have significantly enhanced scientific efficiency, they have also reduced opportunities for direct public engagement in observational astronomy. A key challenge in the new space era is therefore to create meaningful pathways for…
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Galápagos Hydrothermal Vents Join Third 100 IUGS Geological Heritage Site Listing
[WHOI] The site of the world’s first discovered hydrothermal vents, explored in 1977 by scientists…
Best Bulk Bennu (B3): Elemental Compositions Of Aggregate Samples From Asteroid Bennu K.
[astro-ph.EP] Ivuna-type (CI) carbonaceous chondrites have long served as proxies for the bulk Solar System…
The Neptunian Ridge Through The Lens Of TESS
[astro-ph.EP] The Neptunian desert and savanna are separated by a ridge, an overdensity at orbital…
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,…
Keep readingExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Habitable Zones
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
The Impact of M Dwarf Stellar Convection on Exoplanetary Atmospheric Signatures. A 3D Radiation-hydrodynamics Simulation Analysis for High-resolution Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.EP] M dwarf stars represent prime targets for the detection and characterization of small, temperate exoplanets; however, their complex activity and convective surfaces pose significant challenges for high-resolution spectroscopic studies. This work aims to investigate the impact of stellar convection on high-resolution spectroscopic observations of M dwarf stars and develop an integrated approach combining 3D…
Read moreExploration Gear & Tech
Scott Base: Lessons For A Mars Exploration Program
[Antarctic Science]. Scott Base is New Zealand’s year-round Antarctic research station, and it provides an operationally established template for designing sustained human presence in extreme,…
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 5 November 2026: Traverse to Lake Untersee
Keith’s note: after a routine traverse along the standard route from Ultima Airbase, Dale Andersen and his team arrived at their base camp location at…
Blown Sand On Mars Can Spread Microbial Spores From Earth
[Astrobiology (Journal), via PubMed] We present experiments demonstrating that B. subtilis HA101 endospores (henceforth spores) may remain intact after impact by, and subsequent transport on…
Imaging & Spectroscopy
Formamide Formation on Forsterite and Mg(OH)2.H2O
[astro-ph.GA] Context. Formamide formation in the Universe has been the subject of debate due to its importance as a precursor to amino acids and RNA.…
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter Detects Hints Of Volcanic Activity On Mars
[ESA] New evidence from gas seeping above volcanic rifts suggests Mars is not geologically dead deep inside, but merely sleeping. Fresh fissures along the Alba…
Using Vibrations To Reveal What Lies Beneath Other Planets’ Surfaces
[Virginia Tech] Modern space exploration hasn’t quite reached Star Trek levels of boldly going where no one has gone before. But if, like the denizens…
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Deep Evolutionary History Of Land Plants’ Closest Algal Relatives
[University of Göttingen] What did the algae that gave rise to the first land plants look like? A research team led by the University of…
Can A Self-sustaining Chemical Network Emerge Due To Just A Few Catalysts?
[q-bio.MN] Understanding how self-sustaining chemical reaction networks can emerge from simple molecules is an important question in chemical approaches to the origin of life. Reflexively…
Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) Study of Amino Acids in the Vacuum Stable Liquids EMI-BF4, EMI-Acetate, DEMA-OTf, DEMA-MsO, and Glycerol
[physics.app-ph] The detection of organics and potential biomolecules is an important goal of planetary science and astrobiology spacecraft missions, and many types of analytical chemistry…