Astronomy & Telescopes Archives

Integrated MIRI-MRS spectrum of HK Tau A (top) and B (bottom) in grey, with the black line representing the continuum baseline. In the top panel, the insets zoom into wavelength regions where molecular emission from 12CO, H2O, 12CO2 , and H2 is visible. In the bottom panel, the shaded bands in the indicate the main ices absorption regions. H2 rotational lines are marked with blue ticks, and gas emission features are labelled where present. -- astro-ph.EP

MINDS: Complementary Inclinations In The Binary Ssystem HK Tau Reveal Gas- And Ice-phase Chemistry

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] HK Tau is a roughly equal mass pre-main sequence binary system consisting of a low-inclination primary (57 deg) and an edge-on (83 deg) secondary. We present JWST/MIRI observations targeting […]

The transmission spectrum of TOI-1231 b. The observed JWST spectrum and retrieved model fits are shown for the fiducial retrieval using the JexoPipe data, considering the six prominent CNO molecules, with a single offset and no stellar heterogeneity, as discussed in Section 3. For visual clarity, the data shown here have been binned to R∼50. A retrieved offset of 79.38 ppm has been added to the NIRSpec data. The dark blue line indicates the median retrieved spectrum, with the shaded regions indicating the 1σ and 2σ uncertainties. The yellow points show the median retrieved spectrum binned at the same resolution as the plotted data. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Transmission Spectrum of the Benchmark Temperate Exo-Neptune TOI-1231 b

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] The JWST is revolutionizing our understanding of the temperate sub-Neptune population through atmospheric spectroscopy.

Abundance trends of [X/Fe] versus [Fe/H]. The data points have been colour-coded by the estimated ages of the stars. The red and blue lines mark the smoothed running mean for stars that have ages greater than 9.5 Gyr, and less than 9.5 Gyr, respectively. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry

Exploring The Milky Way Stellar Disk. Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Sulphur, Potassium, and Copper Abundances For 714 F and G dwarf Stars In The Solar Neighbourhood

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] We aim to determine abundances of carbon, nitrogen, sulphur, potassium, and copper for 714 nearby F and G dwarf and subgiant stars, and to re-derive oxygen abundances using updated […]

Satellites and objects orbiting Earth -- ESA larger image

Intelligence & Language

Signs And Signatures Of Intelligence

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2026July 5, 2026

[physics.pop-ph] Research into the emergence and evolution of intelligence is underrepresented in astrobiology.

[TOP] Example observations of (2060) Chiron for survey/telescopes (left) ATLAS, (middle) ZTF, and (right) LCO/LOOK. [BOTTOM] Example observations of 103P/Hartley 2 for survey/telescopes (left) ATLAS, (middle) ZTF, and (right) LCO/LOOK. -- astro-ph.EP

Comets and Asteroids

Multi-year Ground-Based Survey Photometry of Active Comet 103P/Hartley 2 and Centaur (2060) Chiron: A Tale of Two Comets in the Pre-LSST Era

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2026July 5, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Comets and Centaurs trace the evolution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) into the inner solar system.

Millions of stars. Thousands of hidden worlds. One unprecedented view of our galaxy. -- ESA

Astronomy & Telescopes

Thousands Of Planets Are Hidden In This Photo

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[ESA] Three years since launch, ESA’s Euclid space telescope reveals the Milky Way galaxy’s centre in extraordinary detail: a mosaic of tens of millions of stars captured in just 26 […]

GJ 3378b orbits a small cool red dwarf -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Nearby “Super Earth” May Be A Better Candidate For Life Than Previously Thought

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[UT Austin] Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. The […]

Radial velocities for TOI-1055 (TIC 320004517), with green circles for HARPS03, orange circles for HARPS15 and blue circles for HARPS20. Error bars show observed uncertainties, with lighter extensions indicating the contribution from the 𝜎jit jitter terms added in quadrature. The white noise CW0 (upper panels) and GP CG0 (lower panels) models are shown as the black curve and grey shaded region, representing the median and 68% credible interval of the RV signal from the posterior samples. Both models have circular orbit planets and no trend, differing only in the noise model. The lower panels show residuals relative to each RV model above. The GP model is strongly preferred over the white noise model with log Bayes factor Δ ln Z = 14.4, and has less scatter in the residuals (RMS of 2.05 ms−1 versus 4.99 ms−1). -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Improving Exoplanet Mass Characterisation With Bayesian Model Selection Using The Learned Harmonic Mean Estimator

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Radial velocity (RV) analyses require modelling choices (such as eccentricity treatment, noise model, velocity trends, and number of planets) that can significantly affect derived planetary masses.

Sketch of the dust grain growth and disk structure. The physical processes, observational tech- niques, and disk components depicted are described in Sect. 1. The horizontal axis in the upper panel repre- sents increasing particle size (and implicitly evolutionary time), from micron-sized grains to planetary cores. The disk in the sketch coarsely extends to 30–100 au. The inner part highlights the motion of the ionized gas at (sub-)au scale toward the star following the magnetic field. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Demographics Of Planet-forming Disks With The SKAO

by Keith CowingJuly 3, 2026July 3, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Understanding how solid material in planet-forming disks evolves from micron-sized dust to planetary cores is a central challenge in modern astrophysics. This study has advanced dramatically in the past […]