Hazes are common in known planet atmospheres, and geochemical evidence suggests early Earth occasionally supported an organic haze with significant environmental and spectral consequences. The UV spectrum of the parent […]
2017
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Dwarf Star 200 Light Years Away Contains Life's Building Blocks
Many scientists believe the Earth was dry when it first formed, and that the building blocks for life on our planet — carbon, nitrogen and water — appeared only later […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Studying Ancient Earth To Understand Hazy Exoplanets
For astronomers trying to understand which distant planets might have habitable conditions, the role of atmospheric haze has been hazy. To help sort it out, a team of researchers has […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Planets of Red Dwarf Stars May Face Oxygen Loss in Habitable Zones
The search for life beyond Earth starts in habitable zones, the regions around stars where conditions could potentially allow liquid water – which is essential for life as we know […]
Posted inPress Release, SETI & Technosignatures
Post-Detection SETI Protocols & METI: The Time Has Come To Regulate Them Both
Regulations governing METI are weak or non-existent. Post-detection SETI protocols are non-binding and too general. Vastly increased SETI capabilities, Chinese involvement in the field, and an intensified effort by METI-ists […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
False Negatives for Remote Life Detection on Ocean-bearing Planets: Lessons From the Early Earth
Ocean-atmosphere chemistry on Earth has undergone dramatic evolutionary changes through its long history, with potentially significant ramifications for the emergence and long-term stability of atmospheric biosignatures. Though a great deal […]
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Primitive Deuterostome From 540 Million Years Ago Discovered
Researchers have identified traces of what they believe is the earliest known prehistoric ancestor of humans – a microscopic, bag-like sea creature, which lived about 540 million years ago. Named […]
Posted inMars, Press Release
3D Modelling of the Climatic Impact of Outflow Channel Formation Events on Early Mars
Mars was characterized by cataclysmic groundwater-sourced surface flooding that formed large outflow channels and that may have altered the climate for extensive periods during the Hesperian era. In particular, it […]
Posted inImpact events, Press Release
A Tale of Clusters: No Resolvable Periodicity in the Terrestrial Impact Cratering Record
Rampino & Caldeira (2015) carry out a circular spectral analysis (CSA) of the terrestrial impact cratering record over the past 260 million years (Ma), and suggest a ~26 Ma periodicity […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Plant Biology, Press Release
Mechanism for Photosynthesis Already Existed in Primeval Microbe
Photosynthesis, creating oxygen and carbohydrates such as glucose from solar energy, water, and CO2, is indispensable for many species on this planet. However, it is unclear exactly how or when […]