Top Story
Sulfate Deposits On Iani Chaos On Mars
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona] This HiRISE image shows light-toned layered deposits within Iani Chaos. Many of the same deposits occur within the depressions of Iani Chaos, as well as several nearby similar regions like Aram and Aureum Chaos. The chaos regions are thought to have formed when large volumes of water at the surface and within the subsurface…
Latest
Correlations Between The Carbon-to-Oxygen Ratio and the Orbital and Physical Properties of Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Studies suggest that protoplanetary disks around stars with high carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratios can produce…
Pathways Of Early Evolution From The Perspectives Of A Riboreplisome — The Ultimate RNA Machine Of Life
[q-bio.PE] Translation of the genetic code into proteins is universal across life, with ribosomes serving…
On The Compositions Of Interstellar Objects
[astro-ph.EP] As physical samples of distant planetary systems, the compositions of interstellar objects (ISOs) should…
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
Astronomy & Telescopes
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
The North Pole Of Mars Is Less Dusty Than Scientists Thought
[University of Washington] Although Mars may have once resembled Earth, the rocky red planet now appears far from hospitable. Still, certain details — such as ice-bound water — pique researchers’ curiosity. Much like on Earth, ice contains valuable records of past climate that could say whether Mars hosts, or has ever hosted, life. Aside from…
Read moreExploration Gear & Tech
NASA Scientists Search For Clues About Mars’ Past In Scotland
[NASA] This summer, NASA scientists headed to the Scottish Highlands to follow up on last year’s announcement of potential biosignatures on Mars and prepare for…
Offworld Expedition Training: Astronauts Explore An Ancient Earth Volcano
[ESA]. From its rim, remnants of recent eruptions lie open for this crew of astronauts learning geology for planetary exploration. Participants of PANGAEA’s 10th edition…
Looking Inside Living Antarctic Cells For The First Time
[British Antarctic Survey] Cambridge engineers have built the first microscope to see inside living cells in sub-zero conditions, revealing secrets of Antarctic fish survival. Editor’s…
Imaging & Spectroscopy
Secondary Ion-Ice Chemistry in UV-Irradiated Oxygen Ice: New Astrochemical Models Including Bulk Ionic Species
[ACS Earth Space Chemistry] Although energetic and nonenergetic processing of interstellar dust grain surfaces and ice is thought to be one of the dominant mechanisms…
A Temperate Sub-Neptune Transiting The M4 Dwarf TOI-210 Identified By NIRPS And TESS — Uncovering Hidden M-dwarf Planetary Systems In The Near-infrared
[astro-ph.EP] Super-Earths and sub-Neptunes dominate the exoplanet population, yet their compositions, formation mechanisms, and capability of retaining atmospheres remain poorly understood. M-type stars offer a…
Nonequilibrium Formation of Pyridine (C5H5N) in Interstellar Ice Analogs: Implications for Biorelevant Nitrogen Heterocycles in Ryugu and Bennu
[Journal of the American Chemical Society] Biorelevant nitrogen heterocycles, including the five canonical nucleobases found in RNA and DNA, have recently been identified in samples…
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Life On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Would Be Possible
[University of Regensburg] From a human perspective, Enceladus is anything but a comfortable place to live: Icy cold, hardly any oxygen, and – below its…
Characterization Of Cold-adapted, Halotolerant Glycoside Hydrolase From Antarctic Halomonas sp. KS41843
[Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ] Cold-adapted and halotolerant enzymes are promising candidates for industrial biocatalysis because they remain active under low-temperature and high-salinity conditions. However,…
Near-infrared Confocal Imaging Reveals The Spatial Organisation Of Far-red Photosynthesis In Shark Bay Microbial Mats And Halomicronema sp,
[Journal of Microscopy] Far-red light (FRL) cyanobacteria occupy spectrally filtered habitats where visible wavelengths are depleted but far-red radiation persists. Shark Bay (Western Australia) stromatolitic…