2026

Sweeping winds of vaporized metals have been found in a massive cloud that dimmed the light of a star for nearly nine months. -- NOIRLab

Massive Cloud With Metallic Winds Discovered Orbiting A Mystery Object

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2026January 22, 2026

In September 2024, a star 3000 light-years away suddenly became 40 times dimmer than usual, and remained so until May 2025. The star, J0705+0612, is similar to our Sun, so […]

Main panel: comparison among ATLAS9 fluxes for the Sun calculated with suitable ODFs adopting different solar chemical mixtures

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

KOALA, A New ATLAS9 Database — I. Model atmospheres, Opacities, Fluxes, Bolometric Corrections, Magnitudes And Colours

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2026January 22, 2026

We present the KOALA database, a new set of LTE, line-blanketed model atmospheres calculated with the code ATLAS9, together with the corresponding Opacity Distribution Functions and emergent fluxes.

Astrobiology - Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrobiology (general), NASA Astrobiology Program, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans

Astrobiology Mentioned In OSTP Report On Science & Technology Highlights

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

There is a mention of #astrobiology in this new White House OSTP report on Science & Technology Highlights: Year One:

Still from an animated view of the Sun and the Earth as seen from the Moon's South Pole NASA source

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Our Moon’s 4-Billion-Year Impact Record Suggests Meteorites Didn’t Supply Earth’s Water

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

A long-standing idea in planetary science is that water-rich meteorites arriving late in Earth’s history could have delivered a major share of Earth’s water. A new study by Universities Space […]

A seemingly serene landscape of gas and dust is hopping with star formation behind the scenes. NASA, ESA, and K. Stapelfeldt (Jet Propulsion Laboratory); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) larger imagery

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

Astrochemistry: Hubble Observes Lupus 3 Star-forming Cloud

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

While this eerie NASA Hubble Space Telescope image may look ghostly, it’s actually full of new life. Lupus 3 is a star-forming cloud about 500 light-years away in the constellation […]

NASA Astrobiology Program, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report

NASA ROSES-2026 To Be Released July 2026

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

In 2025, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released the annual Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitation in July rather than February, the traditional target release date. For […]

Schematic diagram of typical initial conditions for a model run (not to scale). Temperature ranges from 100 to 273 K and is shown according to the color scale at right. There is an axis of symmetry on the right-hand side, adjacent to the denser and weaker “drip nucleus” region. The size, shape, density, and viscosity of the drip nucleus is varied between runs. Points labeled “X1,” “X2,” and “Y1” represent the locations of particle tracers tracked in Section 3 (results). Note that tracer particle “Y1” is at 300 m depth below the surface of the shell. Inset: depiction of “tapered” drip shape modeled in Section 4.2, with associated tracer particle locations. Inset shows the drip nucleus lithosphere against the symmetry boundary at the top of the model domain. -- The Planetary Science Journal

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Study Suggests A Pathway For Life-sustaining Conditions In Europa’s Ocean

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

A recent study by geophysicists at Washington State University offers insight into how nutrients may reach the subsurface ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and a leading candidate for […]

Deep layers of molten rock inside some super-earths could generate powerful magnetic fields—potentially stronger than Earth’s—and help shield these exoplanets from harmful radiation. (University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics illustration / Michael Franchot)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Radiation

Hidden Magma Oceans Could Shield Rocky Exoplanets From Harmful Radiation

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

Deep beneath the surface of distant exoplanets known as super-earths, oceans of molten rock may be doing something extraordinary: powering magnetic fields strong enough to shield entire planets from dangerous […]

A graphical representation of glycine on a surface in the interstellar medium bombarded by cosmic rays to produce peptides, the building block of proteins. Credit Alfred Thomas Hopkinson. The stars are adapted from NIRCam image of the Cosmic Cliffs - NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI.

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

New Research Reveals That Complex Building Blocks Of Life Form Spontaneously In Space

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

In a cutting-edge laboratory at Aarhus University and at an international European facility in Hungary (HUN-REN Atomki), researchers Sergio Ioppolo and Alfred Thomas Hopkinson conduct pioneering experiments.

Currently known exoplanet population color-coded by detection technique in the companion mass vs. semi-major axis plane. The detection limits of various facilities are overlaid with solid lines. The boundary between giant planets and brown dwarfs is highlighted by a dotted red line and the boundary between brown dwarfs and stars is highlighted by a dashed red line. VLTI+ is an upgraded VLTI and KPI stands for Kilometric Baseline Interferometry. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Exoplanet Atmospheres And Demographics In The 2040s

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

Direct observations of exoplanets probe the demographics and atmospheric composition of young self-luminous companions, yielding insight into their formation and early evolution history.