![JWST MIRI images of the HD 101452 system before and after PSF subtraction. The top row shows 100×100 pixel cutouts of the MIRI images centered on HD 101452 prior to PSF subtraction. The bottom row shows the corresponding PSF-subtracted images. All panels use a common surface brightness scale (-5 to 50 MJy/sr). The companion is detected in all filters at a consistent location with a measured separation of r = 1.276±0.004′′ and position angle θ = 84.3±0.2 ◦ East of North at the time of observation. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/A-Binary-Flux.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] We report the direct imaging detection of a stellar companion to HD 101452 (HIP 56925; Gaia DR3 5384905720847544192), an A star historically used as an infrared flux calibrator.
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) 🖖🏻
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Can AI Detect Life? Lessons From Artificial Life
[cs.LG] Modern machine learning methods have been proposed to detect life in extraterrestrial samples, drawing on their ability to distinguish biotic from abiotic samples based on training models using natural […]
![Schematic representation of the chemical concept explored in this work. (A) Ethanolamine (EtA, NH2CH2CH2OH), methanol (CH3OH), and water (H2O) are subjected to electron irradiation, illustrating the starting molecular components and the formation of an unresolved product inventory after energetic processing. The question mark denotes the chemically diverse products investigated by FTIR, TPD-QMS, and ESI-MS. (B) Structure of the choline cation, [(CH3)3NCH2CH2OH]+ , included as a structurally related reference for assessing methylated EtA-derived and/or choline-like spectral features. -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Electron.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Electron Irradiation And Temperature-programmed Desorption Of Layered Ethanolamine-water-methanol Ices
[astro-ph.GA]. Ethanolamine (EtA) is a recently detected interstellar complex organic molecule and a potential precursor to more functionalised N-bearing species.
![Surviving CH4 fraction as a function of depth below the surface and effective GCR exposure time. The colour scale gives the CH4 abundance relative to its initial value, while the dashed contours indicate 90%, 50%, and 10% remaining CH4. Vertical dashed lines mark the 3σ viable GCR exposure range of 0.87 - 3.12 Gyr. Increasing GCR exposure progressively extends CH4 depletion to greater depths while more deeply shielded layers retain a larger fraction of their primordial CH4. --[astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Delayed.png?resize=1200%2C713&ssl=1)
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Delayed Methane Detection in 3I/ATLAS: GCR-Driven Subsurface Stratification and Interstellar Exposure Age Constraints
[astro-ph.EP] Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS shows unusual volatile activity, including strong H2O, CO, and CO2 production and a delayed post-perihelion detection of CH4.
![Radial gas temperature maps for planets within the in-house 3D GCM framework. The panels illustrate equatorial slice plots of (Tgas, pgas) across three global temperature regimes: 800 K (left), 1600 K (center), and 2400 K (right). Host star types vary by row, descending from A-type to G-type and M-type stars [1] -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Faithful.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Faithful Neural Embeddings For 3D Exoplanet Climate Modeling
[astro-ph.EP] With the rapid advancement of telescopes like JWST and Ariel, there is an urgent need for efficient 3D climate models to interpret observations of exoplanet atmospheres.
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Multiband Color Monitoring of 3I/ATLAS Through Ground-Based Relay Observations
[astro-ph.EP] We present multiband, long-baseline photometric observations of interstellar comet 3I throughout its 2025–2026 apparition using coordinated ground-based global relay observations.
![Comparison of isovalent species including sulfinothioic acid (1a, HSS(O)H) and recently detected hydrogen trioxide (trans‐/cis‐HOOOH). The calculated geometries of 1a were completed at the CCSD(T)‐F12/cc‐pVTZ‐F12 level of theory. This geometry is compared with calculated geometries of hydrogen trioxide from Bai et al. [17]. -- Agendwante Chemie via PubMed](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Interstellar-Ice.jpg?resize=1200%2C722&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Interstellar Ice Chemistry Yields Elusive Sulfinothioic Acid (HS(O)SH)
[Agendwante Chemie via PubMed]. Low-oxidation-state sulfur oxyacids are key yet experimentally elusive intermediates in interstellar sulfur chemistry; even the simplest member, sulfinothioic acid (HS(O)SH), has neither been detected in space […]
Posted inMoon
South Pole-Aitken Basin Sample Return And eXploration (SPARX) Science Definition Team Report
[astro-ph.IM] Sample return from South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA) on the Moon has been recognized as the highest priority lunar science mission for well over two decades, appearing as a recommended […]
![Ratio maps involving the PAH7.7 feature and the F1500W synthetic photometry applied to the MRS cubes for ASPECS galaxies. The first row of panels shows the maps of the total PAH7.7 feature to the synthetic F1500W photometry. Ratios above 1 are possible because the wings of the PAH feature extend well beyond the filter (see text for details and Donnan et al. 2026b). The second row of panels is the fraction of PAH7.7 feature within the F1500W filter to the synthetic F1500W photometry. The third row of panels is the same as the second but for the fraction of continuum emission within the F1500W to the synthetic F1500W photometry -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PAHSPECS.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
PAHSPECS: JWST/MIRI Spectroscopy Of PAHs at Cosmic Noon
[astro-ph.GA] The physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM) are thought to differ greatly at high redshifts compared to local galaxies. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are key ISM constituents, mediating […]
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech
Looking Inside Living Antarctic Cells For The First Time
[British Antarctic Survey] Cambridge engineers have built the first microscope to see inside living cells in sub-zero conditions, revealing secrets of Antarctic fish survival.