We used Keck adaptive optics observations to identify the first planet discovered by microlensing to lie in or near the habitable zone. The planet is at projected separation $r_\perp=1.1\pm 0.1\,$AU […]
Astronomy & Telescopes
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Detecting Biomarkers on Faraway Planets
On Earth, life leaves telltale signals in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is ultimately responsible for the high oxygen levels and the thick ozone layer. Microbes emit methane and nitrous oxide into […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Exoplanet Adaptive Optics for the 5-meter Hale Telescope
We describe and report first results from PALM-3000, the second-generation astronomical adaptive optics facility for the 5.1-m Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory. PALM-3000 has been engineered for high-contrast imaging and […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission
Astrometric Detection of Exoplanets from the Ground
Astrometry is a powerful technique to study the populations of extrasolar planets around nearby stars. It gives access to a unique parameter space and is therefore required for obtaining a […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Warm Ice Giant GJ 3470b – a Hazy, Low-methane, and/or Metal-rich Atmosphere?
We report our spectroscopic investigation of the transiting ice giant GJ 3470b’s atmospheric transmission, and the first results of extrasolar planet observations from the new Keck/MOSFIRE spectrograph. We measure a […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Blue Sky of GJ3470b
GJ3470b is a rare example of a “hot Uranus” transiting exoplanet orbiting a nearby M1.5 dwarf. It is of crucial interest for atmospheric studies because it is one of the […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Fluffy Disk Around a Baby Star
The Subaru Telescope’s High Contrast Instrument for the Subaru Next Generation Adaptive Optics (HiCIAO) has been used to observe a disk around the young star RY Tau. An international team […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut
Astronomers Gear Up to Discover Earth-like Planets
As part of an international team of exoplanets hunters, astronomers at the University of Arizona are developing a technique to detect faint dust clouds around other stars, many of which […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, SETI & Technosignatures
ET Detection Method Calls for World's Largest Telescope
Until recently, one of the ultimate mysteries of the universe — how many civilizations may exist on planets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way Galaxy — relied on the […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Press Release
Key to Cosmic Carbon's Molecular Evolution
Scientists at NASA’s Ames Research Center now have the capability to systematically investigate the molecular evolution of cosmic carbon. For the first time, these scientists are able to automatically interpret […]