[astro-ph.EP] Direct detection and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres via reflected starlight enables probes of composition of mature exoplanet systems (since flux is decoupled from age) at closer separations than via […]
Keith Cowing
Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻
![Global map of Enceladus with color and contours indicating the estimated heat flux (in mWm−2 ) calculated from maps of shell thickness [Hemingway and Mittal, 2019]. Our results (Table 1) are plotted as lines using the same color scale as the background. Green labeled boxes show other estimates [Giese et al., 2008; Bland et al., 2012, 2007; Leonard et al., 2021] of paleo-heat fluxes using similar methods.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Paleoheat.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Paleo-heat Flux Estimates Across Enceladus Derived From Flexural Response Of The Ice Shell
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s moon Enceladus has active plumes suggestive of locally high heat fluxes at present, and the present-day heating is reasonably well characterized. However, the moon’s thermal history is not […]
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 26 October 2026: Flying South
Keith’s note: This report may be updated over the course of the day. Dale’s departure from Cape Town was scheduled for 10:00 am Local time but ended up at 10:28 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS): I. Overview of the ALMA Large Program
[astro-ph.GA] It remains a fundamental research question in astrochemistry to characterize the inventory of complex organic molecules formed during the early stages of star formation, which may affect the eventual […]
Posted inMars
A Technical Reanalysis Of The Viking Carbon Assimilation-Pyrolytic Release Experiment
[astro-ph.IM]. Viking Lander: The 1976 Viking Carbon Assimilation-Pyrolytic Release (CAPyR) experiment tested whether carbon from 14CO2 and 14CO entered Martian soil during a 120-hour incubation in a form retained during […]
![A comparison of the dominant heating and cooling mechanism for different times and at the time of the maximum temperature. Each model is started at 𝑇 = 10 K. -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/UCLCHEM.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
UCLCHEM 4.0: An Open Source Gas-grain Astrochemistry Simulation Framework
[astro-ph.GA] Astrochemical modeling is a key tool for the understanding of the formation and destruction of molecules in the dense gas of the interstellar medium, as observed by modern day […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Novel Antarctic Chemolithotroph Drives Iron Biomineralization
[Microbiome] Background: Iron, the most abundant redox-active metal in the Earth’s crust, is coupled to numerous biogeochemi- cal cycles. However, the mechanisms of iron oxidation and the organisms involved remain […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
M-FORCE Tiger Team Meets To Modernize Planetary Protection
[NASA OSMA] NASA’s new Microbial Forward Contamination Evaluation (M‑FORCE) Tiger Team recently met at the NASA Safety Center in Cleveland, Ohio, to produce a comprehensive assessment of planetary protection’s forward […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
VentVirGenomes: A Global Ocean Hydrothermal Vent Virus Genome Dataset for Exploring Diversity, Function, and Host Interactions
[Nature] Ocean hydrothermal vents constitute chemically driven oases of life that fundamentally differ from photosynthesis-based ecosystems.
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 25 October 2026: Hurry Up And Wait
Dale Andersen: “Hurry up and wait.” Anyone who works in the polar regions knows the phrase, and knows the experience: storms, blowing snow, and low visibility set the schedule.