Detection of life on other planets requires identification of biosignatures, i.e., observable planetary properties that robustly indicate the presence of a biosphere. One of the most widely accepted biosignatures for […]
March 2014
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
COSMOS Then and Now
The new incarnation of “COSMOS” hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson debuted the other night. Highly anticipated, this new effort seeks to reboot, rekindle, and revitalize the indelible impression that its […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Small Step Toward Discovering Habitable Earths
University of Arizona researchers snapped images of a planet outside our solar system with an Earth-based telescope using essentially the same type of imaging sensor found in digital cameras instead […]
Posted inMars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Evidence of Water in a Martian Meteorite
A team of scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., has found evidence of past water movement throughout a Martian meteorite, […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), NASA Astrobiology Program
Why Is NASA's Astrobiology Program Ignoring "Cosmos"?
Last night @NASA and other main NASA Twitter accounts devoted a lot of real time tweeting and linking of images and references in support of the premiere of “Cosmos”. Most […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Dimer Molecules Aid Study of Exoplanet Pressure, Hunt for Life
Astronomers at the University of Washington have developed a new method of gauging the atmospheric pressure of exoplanets, or worlds beyond the solar system, by looking for a certain type […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Every Red Dwarf Star Has at Least One Planet
Three new planets classified as habitable-zone super-Earths are amongst eight new planets discovered orbiting nearby red dwarf stars by an international team of astronomers from the UK and Chile. The […]
Posted inMars
Fresh water may flow just below the surface during Martian summers
Mysterious dark finger-like features on steep Martian slopes that lengthen downhill during the Red Planet’s warm season could be caused by flowing water, scientists at Southwest Research Institute and the […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Global Warming Felt to Deepest Reaches of Ocean
In the mid-1970s, the first available satellite images of Antarctica during the polar winter revealed a huge ice-free region within the ice pack of the Weddell Sea. This ice-free region, […]