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Well-Preserved Polygons In Elysium Planitia on Mars
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona]. Polygons are interesting features on Mars, though sometimes only visible in high resolution images like those taken by HiRISE. They often form due to the contraction and expansion of ice under the surface. These polygons, in Elysium Planitia and to the east of Apollinaris Patera, are unusually well-preserved, so we can take a more…
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Long-term Performance Of Thermoacidophilic Methanotrophic Biotrickling Filters
[Frontiers] This study investigated thermoacidophilic biotrickling filters (BTFs) for methane mitigation under acidic (pH 2.2–2.5)…
Diversity Of Planetary Origins And Compositions Traced By Stellar Abundance Differences Of Co-natal Star Systems
[astro-ph.EP] Co-natal stars, wide binaries that form from the same molecular cloud, should harbor the…
Coupled Evolution Of Earth’s H2-rich Proto-atmosphere And Oxidized Magma Ocean
[astro-ph.EP] Giant impacts during Earth’s final accretion likely generated global magma oceans, where the disproportionation…
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
Astronomy & Telescopes
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
Advancing Methane Detection Technology For Future Mars Missions
[Canadian Space Agency]. The presence of methane on Mars could provide important clues about the red planet’s past and present, including whether it may once have supported life. By studying methane and other gases in the Martian atmosphere, scientists hope to better understand how the planet has changed over time and what is happening there…
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![Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 29 October 2026: Preparing For The Overland Traverse To Lake Untersee [UPDATE]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/29-October-2026b-copy.jpeg?fit=1200%2C582&ssl=1)
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 29 October 2026: Preparing For The Overland Traverse To Lake Untersee [UPDATE]
Update: note from Dale at 6:00 pm EDT / 22:00 UTC: “It has been pretty breezy all day with blowing snow. Nevertheless it’s been a…
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 28 October 2026: Shoveling Snow In Antarctica
[Dale Andersen] : Hi Keith, A quick note while the base WiFi is up and running. We spent the last two days digging out the…
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 26 October 2026: Flying South
Keith’s note: This report may be updated over the course of the day. Dale’s departure from Cape Town was scheduled for 10:00 am Local time…
Imaging & Spectroscopy
Single-Molecule Studies Reveal That Water Starts to Protect Proteins Even At The ppm Level
[ACS Nano] A consensus established by extensive thermodynamic and structural studies of proteins and DNA is that water acts as an indispensable structural cofactor rather…
Preparing To Drill At ‘Nazca’ On Mars
[NASA]. Curiosity Blog, Sols 5043-5049: Preparing to Drill at ‘Nazca’ Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 Following the Basque Lakes drill campaign, Curiosity has…
The Impact Of The Sulfur Allotropes And Sulfur Hydrides On The Venus Cloud Chemistry
[astro-ph.EP] Venus is home to vivid sulfur chemistry, with SO2 as the major sulfur gas species and a global cloud layer between 47 and~70 km…
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Estimates For The Prebiotic Reaction Volume Necessary For The Origin Of Life
[Life] The prebiotic chemistry necessary for the development of life requires a low-probability combination of steps to reach the complexity of a living cell. An…
How Strong Is the Case For The RNA World?
[Life] The RNA World theory was proposed as a way to explain the origin of the DNA-RNA-Protein relationship found all current cells. It has been…
Webb Space Telescope Used To Compare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS With Icy Bodies In Our Solar System
[SwRI] A Southwest Research Institute-led study used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine ice grains streaming from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, just the third object…