[MIT] When exploring solar system bodies for signs of past or present life, scientists have mainly focused on planets that have (or had) a liquid surface similar to Earth’s. However, […]
Astrogeology
![Figure showing the structure of pure carbon planets ranging from 0.1 to 20 Earth masses with a surface temperature of 300K. Color bar indicates density in g/cm3 . -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Modeling-Carbon.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Modeling Carbon-Based Planets with MAGRATHEA
[astro-ph.EP] A planet’s interior structure not only influences its habitability, but it also provides information about the planet’s formation and history.
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
The SETI Institute And ETH Zurich Join Forces To Search For The Origin Of Life
[SETI Institute]. The question of how life originated and whether it exists elsewhere in the universe has fascinated humanity for centuries. Now, ETH Zurich and the SETI Institute in California […]
![Global Temperature contour maps of Venus with VEX RO serving as the primary reference dataset. The data binning is the same as in Figure 4. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Study-on.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inVenus
Study On The Venusian Atmospheric Thermal Structure: A Comparative Analysis Between VEX/Akatsuki And Venus-GRAM/VCD
[astro-ph.EP] We investigate the thermal structure of the Venusian middle atmosphere between 45 and 80 km using radio occultation (RO) measurements from Venus Express and Akatsuki spanning 2006-2024.
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy of Planetary Materials Using Laser Deposited Plasmonic Gold Nanoparticles
[x-mol.net] This work demonstrates a surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) approach based on laser deposition of Au plasmonic nanoparticles onto several relevant mineral surfaces. A pulsed 1064 nm wavelength laser is […]
![[LEFT] The MIRI F2100W observation of the HD 107146 system, shown in logarithmic scaling with the corresponding intensity levels indicated in the colorbar. [RIGHT] Contours from the ALMA observations obtained within the ARKS program (S. Marino et al. 2026), overlaid on the combined F182M and F210M JWST/NIRCam observations for HD 107146. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-JWSTNIRCam.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology
The JWST/NIRCam Scattered Light Disks GTO 2780 program: Panchromatic coronagraphic imaging of the HD 10647, HD 32297, HD 61005, HD 107146, and HD 181327 debris disk systems
[astro-ph.SR]. Debris disks, composed of rocks, boulders, planetesimals, and the dust produced in their collisions, present the most readily observable components of mature planetary systems.
![HAADF image and quantified EDX map (at%) of a GEMS-like assemblage in UCAMM DC06- 18, which is located at the top of the FIB section, probably close to the external surface of the UCAMM. - [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/STXM-XANES.png?resize=1200%2C711&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
STXM-XANES And TEM Analysis Of UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs)
[astro-ph.EP] The Concordia micrometeorite collection contains UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs) of probable cometary origin. Eight FIB sections of UCAMMs were studied by Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy – X-ray Absorption Near […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware
NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) Cooperative Agreement Notice (NNH26ZDA016C) Final Text And Due Dates
[NASA] The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) and Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate (HSMD) have released the final text of the fifth Solar System Exploration Research […]
![Images acquired on 2019 October 4 (left) and 27 (right) with LDT. The top row show stacks of r and CN images, respectively. The bottom row shows the same images enhanced by subtraction of an azimuthal median profile. The enhanced CN images have been smoothed with a Gaussian profile to better reveal the faint underlying structure. A compass indicating north (N), east (E), the anti-sunward direction (−⊙), and the anti-velocity vector (−v) are overlaid on the r panels, while a scale bar showing a distance at the comet of 20,000 km is given on the CN panels (1 arcsec corresponds to 2134 km on October 4 and 1814 km on October 27). All four panels for a given night have the same orientation and physical scale at the comet. The October 4 image is a single frame and shows several artifacts that could not be removed without a median combination include several bright pixels in the CN frame (yellow) and a bad column in all frames (black diagonal line). On October 4, a bright star is seen near the left edge of the r frames and as a diagonal (yellow) line in the upper right in CN. Two faint trailed stars are visible in the r images on October 27. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-Highly.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inComets and Asteroids
The Highly Unusual Behavior And Chemical Composition Of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
[astro-ph.EP]. We report on imaging, spectroscopy, and narrowband photometry of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov obtained at Lowell Observatory from 2019 September 13 to December 16.
Posted inAstrogeology
Volatile Depletion In Rocky Planets As A Chemical Fingerprint Of Hybrid Accretion
[astro-ph.EP] Volatile depletion in rocky planets relative to their host stars is commonplace in both the Solar System and exoplanetary systems, yet the connections between planet formation and composition remain […]