Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the […]
Brown Dwarfs
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MINDS. Cha Ha 1, A Brown Dwarf With A hydrocarbon-rich Disk
Context. Recent JWST observations have shown that brown dwarfs (BD) are chemically rich, offering valuable insights into giant planet formation.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Status Report
(Re)-Defining Planets — the Fundamental Plane of Planets
6000+ exoplanets are now detected using various techniques, with estimates of billions of planets existing in our Galaxy alone.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Multiplicity Of Young Isolated Planetary Mass Objects In Taurus And Upper Scorpius
Free-floating planetary mass objects-worlds that roam interstellar space untethered to a parent star-challenge conventional notions of planetary formation and migration, but also of star and brown dwarf formation.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Frigid Exoplanet 14 Herculis c Is In A Strange Orbit
A planetary system described as abnormal, chaotic, and strange by researchers has come into clearer view with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), researchers have successfully […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Diversity of Cold Worlds: A Near Complete Spectral Energy Distribution for 2MASS J04151954-0935066 using JWST
We present the a near complete spectral energy distribution (SED) for an extrasolar world: the T8 brown dwarf 2MASS~J04151954−0935066. Spanning from optical to mid-infrared (0.7–20.4 micron) wavelengths, the SED for […]
Posted inAriel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Ten Aligned Orbits: Planet Migration in the Era of JWST and Ariel
Understanding the diverse formation and migration pathways that shape exoplanetary systems requires characterizing both their atmospheric properties and their orbital dynamics.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Evidence For A Polar Circumbinary Exoplanet Orbiting A Pair Of Eclipsing Brown Dwarfs
One notable example of exoplanet diversity is the population of circumbinary planets, which orbit around both stars of a binary star system.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Brown Dwarfs, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MINDS: The Very Low-mass Star And Brown Dwarf Sample — Hidden Water In Carbon-dominated Protoplanetary Disks
Infrared observations of the inner disks around very low-mass stars (VLMS, <0.3M⊙) have revealed a carbon-rich gas composition in the terrestrial planet-forming regions. Contrary to the typically water-rich T Tauri […]
![JWST-MIRI MRS spectrum of the young J0438 disk (black). The spectrum is dominated by amorphous silicate absorption and emission bands typical of a highly inclined disk configuration. A very weak CO2 ice absorption feature is tentatively detected (see Appendix A, Fig. 8) along with inner disk gas reservoir (Table 3) composed by molecular hydrogen (H2), water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), acetylene (C2H2) and the singly ionized cations of argon and neon ([Ar+], [Ne+]; for zoom-ins see Appendices B and C). The comparison between the JWST-MIRI and the Spitzer -IRS low- (SL, LL) and high- (SH) resolution spectra reveal continuum and line variability (grey and teal). The Spitzer -IRS spectra were taken from CASSIS (Lebouteiller et al. 2011, 2015) and Pascucci et al. (2013). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/MINDS-Anatomy-of-a-water-rich.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Brown Dwarfs, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
MINDS. Anatomy Of A Water-rich, Inclined, Brown Dwarf Disk: Lack Of Abundant Hydrocarbons
2MASS J04381486+2611399 (or J0438) is one of the few young brown dwarfs (BD) with a highly inclined (i∼70∘) disk.