![Left panel: Toomre diagram for the stars in our sample, color-coded by the TD/D value. Right panel: cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the TD/D values for stars with planetary systems classified into different categories. A system with at least one planet pair that is identified as plausible 1st-order (2nd-order) resonance by HS24 is labeled “w/ 1st MMR” (“w/ 2nd MMR”). The category, “w/ 1st MMR & Pin < 3 d”, corresponds approximately to the stars with plausibly 1st-order resonant and tidal decay timescale τe < 20 Myr in HS24. “USP” is the sample of planetary systems hosting ultra-short-period planets as identified in Schmidt et al. (2024).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Are-Near.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] Recent studies have claimed that Kepler multi-planet systems hosting near-resonant planet pairs—particularly those near second-order mean-motion resonances (MMRs)—exhibit smaller stellar velocity dispersions than the general population of Kepler planet […]
Astronomy & Telescopes
Posted inAstrochemistry
Dust And Water Found Around The Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
[ESA] The new observations provide the most detailed mid-infrared view yet of the highly evolved star IRS 3, which is located just 0.55 light-years from Sagittarius A*, the Milky Way […]
![CH Ind timing and inference. Top: the six differential nodes 𝐷 from equation (1); subtracting primary and secondary O–C values removes their common ephemeris or LTTE trend and isolates the first-order apsidal signal. Bottom: Monte Carlo posteriors for the displayed 0.08-dex common log 𝑘2 systematic; horizontal segments show central 68 per cent intervals.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Stellar-Tidal.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inStellar Cartography
Stellar Tidal Systematics In Apsidal-motion Searches For Circumbinary Planets: CH Ind And SW CMa
[astro-ph.EP] Thornton et al. (2026) reported 27 non-transiting circumbinary-planet candidates from excess apsidal motion in TESS eclipsing-binary timings. The classical stellar contribution is sensitive to target-specific radii, apsidal constants k2, […]
Posted inPress Release
Habitable Worlds Observatory’s Concept and Technology Maturation: Initial Feasibility and Trade Space Exploration
[astro-ph.IM] The Habitable Worlds Observatory is the first telescope ever designed to search for life and will be a powerhouse of discovery across topics in astrophysics.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
First Look at a Time-Series Observation with New NIRISS SOSS Multistripe Subarrays
[STScI] Beginning in Cycle 5, NIRISS SOSS enabled four new “multistripe” subarrays that facilitate faster readouts of the standard SUBSTRIP256 subarray footprint. At their limit, these subarrays enable unsaturated observations […]
![TiO absorption variation during 8 years on surface of proxima centauri. Vertical lines depicts regions were used to measure B index. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Titanium-Oxide.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
Posted inProxima Centauri
Titanium Oxide Absorption as a Proxy to Detect Long term Variation and Activity Cycle in Proxima Centauri
[astro-ph.SR] Stellar activity cycles on magnetically active stars can be estimated by molecular absorption bands.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
NASA ROSES-25 Amendment 69: New Opportunity: D.9 Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrument Concept Assessments
[NASA] Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) program element D.9 of ROSES-25, solicits proposals to support maturation of the HWO mission concept. The objective of HWO-ICA is to […]
![Mapping of the science cases proposed by the Science Working Groups (center) to the questions and discovery areas identified by Astro2020 (left and right). The transparencies of the lines indicate the number of connections with darker lines indicating stronger links between the SWG and the Astro2020 topic. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Early-Exploration.png?resize=1200%2C711&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Early Exploration Of The Scientific Discovery Space For The Habitable Worlds Observatory
[astro-ph.IM] The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a future NASA flagship mission concept identified by the Astro2020 Decadal Survey as the highest priority for large space missions. HWO should conduct […]
![Where the Dyson sphere on and off fits of M77 differ most, and how new photometry changes the comparison. In each panel, the upper sub-panel shows the median posterior AGENT-on (solid red) and AGENT-off (dashed blue) model spectra with shaded 16–84% posterior bands and the fitted photometry overplotted (open black circles), while the lower sub-panel shows the percent deviation of the AGENT-on model relative to the AGENT-off model, with the shaded band giving the 1σ uncertainty propagated in quadrature from the two independent fits. -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-G.png?resize=1200%2C713&ssl=1)
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
The Ĝ Infrared Search for Extraterrestrial Civilizations with Large Energy Supplies. V. When Galaxies Glow with Industry
[astro-ph.GA] We present the most robust stellar population synthesis (SPS)-based search for galaxy-spanning technological waste heat to date, applied to 129 nearby galaxies spanning a wide range of spectral energy […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Astrochemistry: A Cosmic Recycling System In Action In The Helix Nebula
[Northwestern University] An international team of scientists, including Northwestern University astrophysicists, has captured an unprecedented view of a dying star’s remains in the act of being recycled.