[astro-ph.EP] The PLATO mission will observe its first long-pointing field, LOPS2 (Long-duration Observation Phase, South field), for at least two years, bringing the habitable zones (HZ) of its M-dwarf sample […]
Astronomy & Telescopes
![Planets that will be observed with MIRI in transit, in JWST Cycles 1-5. As mentioned in section 5, we see a wide variety of planet sizes and equilibrium temperatures. The currently published planets are shown in black dots, and listed in Table 1 and Figure 1. We have ommitted the white dwarf planet WD 1856 b (Teq = 160K, Rp = 10.2R⊕, cycle 4), as well as the disintergrating planets K2-22 b (see section 2.1) and BD+05 4868 A b (Teq = 1820K, unknown Rp, cycle 4). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/A-Homogeneous.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Homogeneous Survey Of JWST MIRI Transmission Spectra Of 10 Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] The launch of JWST has enabled unprecedented atmospheric characterization of exoplanets. In particular, the JWST-MIRI instrument in the mid-infrared enables probing of molecular species that are harder to detect […]
![Phase-dependent (colors) apparent albedo spectra from our updated rfast model for an ocean-covered Earth and assuming 75% cloud coverage (left). The equivalent figure adapted from the high-fidelity Earth simulation data of Ryan & Robinson (2022) are shown for comparison (right). All spectra are at a resolving power (λ/∆λ) of 140. Deeper water bands in the rfast simulations are due to this model only including lower-atmospheric clouds, whereas the Ryan & Robinson (2022) simulations include high-altitude clouds that have lower contrast in gas absorption bands (as they obscure the deep atmosphere). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Retrieving.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Retrieving Ocean Glint Reflectance Signatures From Directly Imaged Earth-like Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Future space telescopes searching for extraterrestrial life require methods to detect environments that can potentially support life.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Mass Constraints For The K2-223 System Planets: An Ultra-short-period sub-Earth, A Short-period Super-Earth, And A Tentative Long-period Giant Planet
[astro-ph.EP] We present mass constraints of two short-period, terrestrial-sized planets transiting K2-223, based on high-precision radial velocity measurements from HARPS-N and ESPRESSO, as well as a tentative indication of an […]
![The separation of β Pictoris b and β Pictoris c from the star in terms of their Hill sphere. β Pictoris b has a longer orbital period (∼20 yr), with a Hill sphere primary transit at MJD ∼58000 and a Hill sphere radius of 1.1 au. β Pictoris c has a shorter orbital period (∼3.3 yr), with two primary transits at MJD 58195+11 −20 and 59415+8 −8 and a secondary transit at 58707+3 −7 . The § Hill sphere radius is approximately 0.3 au. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Hill.png?resize=1200%2C712&ssl=1)
Posted inBeta Pictoris
The Hill Sphere Transits of Beta Pictoris c and The Search for Another 1981-like Event
[astro-ph.EP]. Beta Pictoris is a young and nearby planetary system hosting an edge-on debris disk and at least three gas-giant planets. Their circumplanetary environments could host exomoons and rings, a […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
NASA SMD ROSES-25 Amendment 68: New Opportunity: D.8 Habitable Worlds Observatory Precursor Science Investigations [UPDATE 2]
[NASA]. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a large-aperture ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared observatory concept recommended by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine decadal survey, “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Comets May Have Transported Water To A Young Planetary System
[Lund University] Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets – comets in other solar systems – orbiting a young star similar to our Sun. The observations […]
![Left: SCALES optical diagram. Right: Image of the focal plane coronagraph slide mask holder, with flight optics labeled. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Pre-shipment.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Pre-shipment Optical Characterization Of The SCALES Instrument
[astro-ph.IM] The Slicer Combined with an Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy (SCALES) instrument is a 1-5 micron imager and 2-5 micron integral field spectrograph, currently being commissioned on the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Stellar Flares Rather Than High Tint As Possible Cause For the Missing Methane In Young Exoplanets: The Case Study of V1298-Tau b
[astro-ph.EP] Recent observations of V1298-Tau b, a warm sub-Neptune (R=9.85±0.3R⊕, M=13.1±5.3,M⊕, Teq=670K) orbiting a young (10-30Myr) K star, show depleted methane and surprising abundances of CO2 in its atmosphere.
Posted inApps - Games
pyEDITH: The Coronagraphic Exposure Time Calculator For The Habitable Worlds Observatory
[astro-ph.IM] To support the development of next-generation missions for the search and characterization of habitable planets, high-fidelity tools for astrophysical and instrumental noise simulations are needed.