![Representative spectral energy distribution fits for four HWO ExEP target stars: HD 2151 (upper left), HD 3651 A (upper right), HD 4813 (lower left), and HD 10700 (lower right). In each panel, the solid curve represents the best-fitting Pickles (1998) template spectrum, and the filled circles show the broadband photometry with associated uncertainties. Photometric error bars are shown in the y-direction, and filter widths in the x-direction. Fractional residuals between the template flux averaged over each bandpass and the literature photometry are shown in the lower sub-panels. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Spectral-Energy.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will directly image and characterize planets potentially similar to Earth orbiting nearby stars.
Astronomy & Telescopes
![Observed spectra compared to laboratory data for CO (left), 13CO2 (middle), and H2O (right) ices on carbonaceous dust analogs. -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Molecule-specific.png?resize=1200%2C606&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Molecule-specific Diffusion And Desorption Of Interstellar Ices On Carbonaceous Dust
[astro-ph.GA] Interstellar ices form on dust grains in the coldest regions of molecular clouds and preserve key volatile reservoirs that could be incorporated into protoplanetary disks during star and planet […]
![Monte Carlo period simulations for each target. The v sin i values derived from species are used for randomly oriented (sinusoidally distributed) axial inclinations (green) and for a fixed i = 90o (light grey). The respective curves using the M16 v sin i estimates are also shown (orange and dark grey). The modal periods, Pˆ, are shown for each distribution. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Three-new.png?resize=1200%2C622&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Three New Exoplanet Systems From The Dispersed Matter Planet Project
[astro-ph.EP] We present a radial velocity analysis of three bright, low-activity stars identified by the Dispersed Matter Planet Project (DMPP).
Posted inAstrochemistry
A Stellar Envelope Near The Black Hole Sgr A* Contains Water
[University of Cologne] Studies of the star IRS 3, located near the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, suggest that the star is emitting large quantities of gas […]
![Penalty incurred when phase is unknown, with polarimetry. The true phase set is α = (150◦, 120◦, 90◦, 60◦, 30◦, 5◦). Left: known-phase radius consequence, in which trial phases are fixed to the true set. Middle: unknown-phase radius consequence, in which trial phase tuples are marginalized over the sampled grid while the normalized I400 lightcurve shape is included with the intensive observables. Right: unknown-phase to known-phase penalty ratio. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Multiepoch.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Multi-epoch Ultraviolet Observables For Breaking The Radius-albedo Degeneracy In Directly Imaged Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Direct imaging measures how bright a planet appears in reflected starlight, but brightness alone cannot tell whether the planet is large and dark or small and bright. This radius-albedo […]
![CAD layout of the MANTIS spacecraft showing how the instrument unit and spacecraft unit are distinct, with a single 37-pin micro-D connector between the two. This is a significant reduction in complexity to prior CU-LASP CubeSats where the instrument and spacecraft by necessity are integrated. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Optomechanical.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inCubesats and smallsats
Optomechanical Design of the MANTIS SmallSat: An Extreme-, Far- and Near-Ultraviolet Spectrograph for Exoplanet Host Stars
[astro-ph.IM] The MANTIS (Monitoring Activity of Nearby sTars with uv Imaging and Spectroscopy) observatory is a compact, multi-instrument small satellite designed for simultaneous extreme- (EUV; 100 – 560 Angstrom), far- […]
![Chemical structure of the aromatic nitriles cyanobenzene, d5-cyanobenzene, 1,2-dicyanobenzene, 1,3- dicyanobenzene and 1,4-dicyanobenzene -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Infrared.png?resize=1200%2C714&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Infrared Spectroscopy and Photochemistry of Aromatic Nitriles in Para-Hydrogen Matrices
[astro-ph.SR] Motivated by recent detections of several aromatic nitriles in Taurus Molecular Cloud-1, we report laboratory and theoretical investigations of the vibrational spectroscopy and photochemistry of singly and doubly cyano-substituted […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
First Detection Of C2H+ In The Interstellar Medium
[astro-ph.GA] Despite the detection of nearly 350 molecules in the interstellar medium, almost half of which are carbon chains, the pathways that build molecular complexity remain poorly understood.
Posted inAstrochemistry
Astrochemistry: Dust And Water Spotted Close To A Giant Black Hole
[ESA]. Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers have discovered that dust and water can form and survive surprisingly close to the supermassive black hole […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Photochemistry Of Interstellar Ice Forming Complex Organic Molecules
[astro-ph.GA] Astrochemistry is a well-established multidisciplinary field devoted to study molecules in space. While most astrochemists are oriented to observe molecules in the gas phase and reproduce their abundances by […]