Around 540 million years ago, Earth’s biosphere underwent a pivotal transformation, shifting from a microbe-dominated world to one teeming with animal life, as nearly all major animal phyla appeared abruptly […]
2026
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
A New Signal Around HD 206893 B: An Exomoon Candidate Revealed By Ultra-high-precision Astrometry
A study led by a researcher from the Paris Observatory-PSL within the Laboratory for Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics (LIRA – CNRS / Sorbonne University / Université Paris Cité) reveals […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Setting A Polyphasic Approach To Study Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Communities As A Toolkit For Astrobiology
The present study has set up a pilot experiment to optimise the most promising assays for investigating the survival of Antarctic microbial cryptoendolithic communities – a natural astrobiological benchmark – […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Architectures of Exoplanetary Systems. IV: A Multi-planet Model for Reproducing the Radius Valley and Intra-system Size Similarity of Planets around Kepler’s FGK Dwarfs
The Kepler-observed distribution of planet sizes have revealed two distinct patterns: (1) a radius valley separating super-Earths and sub-Neptunes and (2) a preference for intra-system size similarity.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report
Abiotic Formation Of Nitrile Precursors To Amino Acids And Nucleobases In Interstellar Ice Analogues
Amino acids and the five canonical nucleobases have been identified in carbonaceous meteorites such as Murchison and Murray; however, their formation mechanisms under interstellar conditions have remained largely elusive.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Science Fiction, Status Report
Finding Endor With Lunar Eclipses — Exomoons And Exorings With The Habitable Worlds Observatory II
Giant planets in the habitable zone may host exomoons with conditions conducive to life. In this paper we describe a method by which the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) could detect […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
NASA’s Galileo Mission Points to Ammonia at Europa, Recent Study Shows
New analysis of decades-old data has turned up a significant result: the first discovery of ammonia-bearing compounds on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Ammonia is a nitrogen-bearing molecule, and […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Stellar And Orbital Characterization Of Three Low Mass M Dwarf Binary Stars With Dynamical Spectroscopy From The Habitable Zone Planet Finder
Contrast curves and reconstructed images from the NESSI speckle imager for a: LSPM 0515+5911, b: NLTT 45468, and c: NLTT 43564. Neither LSPM 0515+5911 nor NLTT 43564 show companions within […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Climates Of Terrestrial Exoplanets And Biosignatures
Understanding the climates of terrestrial exoplanets and the detectability of biosignatures is an inherently interdisciplinary challenge, requiring the integration of insights from Solar System exploration, exoplanet observations and climate science. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Spatial Distribution Of Organics In The Horsehead Nebula: Signposts Of Chemistry Driven By Atomic Carbon
(Abridged) Complex organic molecules (COMs) are considered essential precursors to prebiotic species. While COMs were once expected to be efficiently destroyed under UV-irradiated conditions, detections in photodissociation regions (PDRs) have […]