Astronomy & Telescopes Archives

Left: Qϕ image of WRAY 15-1880 obtained from the SPHERE polarimetric data. The red dot at the center of the image marks the position of the star; the dashed white circle is the size of the coronagraph used in this observation. The dotted straight lines mark the major and minor axes, as obtained by Curone et al. (2025). Right: similar image, but projected on the disk plane (i “ 39.22 deg) and rotated to have the major axis vertical and the minor axis horizontal. On this plane, the coronagraphic mask is an ellipse represented by the white dashed line. The yellow circle has a radius of 214.1 mas that is the peak of the disk as determined by the ALMA data (see Section 3.3.2). The center of this circle has been offset by 37 mas along the minor axis, to fit the outer contour of the observed disk East of the star, that is the closest side of the disk. The red solid circle (radius of 110 mas) fits the feature seen north of the star. The position of the planet discussed in Section 3.2 at the epoch of the SPHERE polarimetric observation is marked with a small white circle, and its orbit is shown as magenta circle. -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Analysis Of The Young Disk Around WRAY 15-1880: Does It Contain A Primitive Planetary System?

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Observations of (giant) planets accreting material within their natal environment are crucial to constrain models for their formation.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Exploring Exoplanets with Interferometry

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

(Extract from the Executive Summary) Humanity stands at the threshold of answering one of its most profound questions: Does life exist beyond Earth?

To test the method, the team analyzed more than 100 organic and inorganic samples, including material from three-billion-year-old Earth rocks, dinosaur eggshells and fossilized dinosaur feathers caught in amber, as well as samples collected in space from the Ryugu and Bennu asteroids. Asteroid Bennu. Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Before The Aliens, The Amino Acids

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Before any wrinkled, wide-eyed creature from a distant civilization asks to be taken home, the first success in the search for life beyond Earth might be more prosaic. A clue […]

Telluric spectrum observed at R = 45,000 with IGRINS (black) and the same spectrum smoothed to R = 2,000 (yellow). The middle panel labels the primary molecular constituents while the upper and lower panels show details of particular bands. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The Case for High-Resolution Infrared Spectroscopy with the Habitable Worlds Observatory

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

A high-resolution near-IR spectroscopy capability on the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) could strongly and efficiently advance many of the mission’s goals.

Schematic diagram of starlight redirected onto a planet using orbiting mirrors. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Exploring The Orbital Stability Of Large, Lightweight Mirrors Around Exoplanets

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

Extraterrestrial civilizations might place large, lightweight mirrors into orbit around an exoplanet, either to alter its climate or to provide illumination to the planet’s dark side. We previously analyzed the […]

The Wow! signal was a 72-second, intensely strong, narrowband radio transmission detected on August 15, 1977, by Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope. Source

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

The Ohio SETI Program — The Last Decades

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2026

The Ohio State University Radio Observatory (OSURO), known as the Big Ear, played a pivotal role in both radio astronomy and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

Spectrograph configuration -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

MOSES — The MONET Star and Exoplanet Spectrograph

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2026June 10, 2026

We introduce MOSES, the new High-Resolution Echelle Spectrograph designated for the 1.2m MONET telescope at McDonald Observatory, Texas, USA.

Summary of our observations and detrending process.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

The Roasting Marshmallows Program with IGRINS on Gemini South V: Atmosphere of MASCARA-1b is Enriched in Refractory Elements

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2026June 10, 2026

Ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs; Teq≳2000 K) enable simultaneous detection of volatile (ice-forming) and refractory (rock-forming) species in planetary atmospheres, providing a powerful diagnostic of planet formation and atmospheric processing.

Simulated Ariel single-epoch spectral observations of 3 targets from our sample.

Ariel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Assessing Ariel’s Capabilities To Observe Free-floating Brown Dwarfs

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2026June 10, 2026

The primary goal of the Ariel space telescope is to conduct the biggest spectroscopic survey of transiting exoplanets to characterize their atmospheres and weather.