Atmospheres, Climate, Weather Archives

An artistic representation of the Zwan-Wolf effect at Mars, as observed by NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission. While this effect typically helps to deflect the solar wind at Earth, at Mars it is shown to “squeeze” the atmosphere and have implications on how space weather interacts with the planet. The yellow arrows represent the movement of the effect in the Martian atmosphere. LASP/CU Boulder

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mars, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics

MAVEN Discovers Space Weather Atmospheric Effect At Mars

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected — observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

PANEL (A): Diagram of the net tidal accelerations acting on the planetary surface (caused by the host star’s gravity field). The planet is represented with a top view (i.e., as seen from above). Accelerations are computed in the reference frame of the planetary center. PANEL (B): Representation of the tidal bulge. The planet is represented with a top view. Planetary spinning (black arrow) is counterclockwise, as is the orbital motion around the star (red arrow). -- astro-ph.EP

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

Simulation Of The Spin Evolution Of Some Selected Exoplanets And Inferences On Their Climate

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

In this work, using the simulator VPLanet, we analyze the spin evolution of some selected exoplanets due to the tidal interaction with their host star.

H2 broadening coefficient predicted by rCMDS at 600 K and 1000 K, and a comparison with values of HITRAN (Tan et al. 2022). The gray space represents the 10% precision level required for exoplanetary atmosphere studies. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Measurements And Predictions Of H2 Pressure-broadening Coefficients Of CO2 Absorption Lines For Exoplanet Atmosphere Studies

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Accurate and comprehensive H2 pressure-induced broadening data for CO2 infrared lines over a wide temperature range are essential for modeling atmospheric opacity of exoplanets. However, available data are currently limited, […]

A new SwRI study has raised doubts about the existence of water vapor plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa -- NASA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

SwRI Findings Reconsider The Existence Of Europa’s Vapor Plumes

by Keith CowingMay 19, 2026May 19, 2026

Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter’s moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have […]

Compositional analyses of the fog microbiome and partition of the bulk aerobiome. (A) Fog water bacterial community composition in 32 sequential fogs was determined by 16S ribosomal gene sequencing with phylogenetic assignments to the level of genus according to the SILVA database. -- Environmental Microbiology

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return

Bacteria Live In Fog Droplets And Clear Toxins From Earth’s Air

by Keith CowingMay 18, 2026May 18, 2026

What if fog isn’t just misty air, but a living ecosystem?

Kernel density estimates of the bulk elemental mass fractions of the initial planet population. The population is separated into planets that formed inside and outside the water ice line. Planets formed outside the ice line exhibit systematically higher oxygen and hydrogen mass fractions, reflecting enhanced accretion of volatile-rich material, which in turn leads to a relative depletion of refractory elements such as magnesium, iron, sulfur, and silicon. High bulk nitrogen and carbon abundances are exclusively associated with planets that formed outside the ice line. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres

by Keith CowingMay 17, 2026May 17, 2026

Atmospheric compositions of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths are often interpreted as tracers of formation location relative to volatile ice lines.

Surface pressure-temperature (P-T) points for each atmosphere in our work for each planet.

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1

Coupled Photochemical-Climate Modeling of Plausible Tenuous Outgassed Atmospheres on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2026May 16, 2026

Available JWST observations TRAPPIST-1 system have suggested that several of the planets are likely airless, or possess a very tenuous atmosphere.

The path of a fragment ejected from Earth to the clouds of Venus. (a) A life-containing bolide is ejected from Earth's subsurface by an impact event.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report, Venus

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Decades of study have hinted at the astrobiological potential of Venus’s cloud layers. This potential is often cast as stemming from the idea that the Venusian surface was clement in […]

Spatial distribution of dynamically active regions, defined as grid cells exceeding a velocity threshold of 0.3 m s−1 , accumulated over the full simulation period and vertically integrated by altitude. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Desert Worlds, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mars, Status Report

Global Evolution Of Electric Fields During Planet Encircling Dust Storms On Mars

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Planet-encircling dust storms fundamentally reshape Martian weather and the near-surface electrostatic environment.

Habitable Zone diagram for the Ross 318 system. The green band indicates the Conservative Habitable Zone boundaries from Kopparapu et al. (2013). The orange star marks Ross 318; the violet circle marks Ross 318 b at a = 0.159 au with Seff = 0.58 S⊕. For comparison, the positions of Venus (0.72 au), Earth (1.00 au), and Mars (1.52 au) around the Sun are indicated. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Detection and Characterization of the Temperate Super-Earth Ross 318 b

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Ross 318 is an M3.5V red dwarf exhibiting significant magnetic activity and a stellar rotation period of ∼ 51.5 d.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather

MAVEN Discovers Space Weather Atmospheric Effect At Mars

Simulation Of The Spin Evolution Of Some Selected Exoplanets And Inferences On Their Climate

Measurements And Predictions Of H2 Pressure-broadening Coefficients Of CO2 Absorption Lines For Exoplanet Atmosphere Studies

SwRI Findings Reconsider The Existence Of Europa’s Vapor Plumes

Bacteria Live In Fog Droplets And Clear Toxins From Earth’s Air

The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres

Coupled Photochemical-Climate Modeling of Plausible Tenuous Outgassed Atmospheres on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

Global Evolution Of Electric Fields During Planet Encircling Dust Storms On Mars

Detection and Characterization of the Temperate Super-Earth Ross 318 b

Potential Survivable Niches For Microbial Life On The Lunar South Pole

JWST Telemetry Combined With Active Coronagraphy: Raw Contrast Predictions For Exoplanet Imaging With The Habitable Worlds Observatory

Antarctica Is Home To Microbes Found Nowhere Else On Earth

Study: Peptides Can Form Well-defined Structures In Harsh, Venus-like Conditions

Modeling Carbon-Based Planets with MAGRATHEA