JWST has recently detected the first robust photochemical product on an exoplanet: sulfur dioxide (SO2) on WASP-39b (Rustamkulov et al. 2023; Alderson et al. 2023; Tsai et al. 2023b).
Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Scientists Discover A Lost World Of Early Ancestors In Billion-year-old Rocks
The discovery of a “lost world” of ancient organisms that lived in Earth’s waterways at least 1.6 billion years ago could change our understanding of our earliest ancestors.
![Elemental abundance ratios for the Hypatia catalog stars in dex. Throughout, the white star shows solar values. A) [Mg/H] vs. [Fe/H], showing growth of an α nuclide compared with Fe. [Fe/H] is broadly taken as an indicator of time. The influence of Type Ia supernovae on galactic chemical evolution is indicated by the two arrows. B) Same data as [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H]. The solid negatively sloping line shows the effect of induced ratio correlation due to Fe appearing on both axes. C) Same as B) but with contours showing 50, 80 and 95% levels for the chondritic (solid contours) and non-chondritic (dashed contours) populations of stars based on χ 2 ν tests. The larger points indicate stars that pass as chondritic and the smaller points do not pass. The non-chondritic population generally extends to lower metallicities than the chondritic stars. D) Ratios of lithophile elements only, showing no clear trend. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AChondritic.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
A Chondritic Solar Neighborhood
A persistent question in exoplanet demographics is whether exoplanetary systems form from similar compositional building blocks to our own.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Stratospheric Dayside-to-nightside Circulation Drives The 3-D Ozone Distribution On Synchronously Rotating Rocky Exoplanets
Determining the habitability and interpreting future atmospheric observations of exoplanets requires understanding the atmospheric dynamics and chemistry from a 3-D perspective.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How a Methanogen Creates Its Own Sulfate Reduction Machinery
Sulfur is a fundamental element of life and all organisms need it to synthesize cellular materials. Autotrophs, such as plants and algae, acquire sulfur by converting sulfate into sulfide, which […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Titan
Humid Evolution of Haze in the Atmosphere of Super-Earths in the Habitable Zone
Photochemical hazes are expected to form and significantly contribute to the chemical and radiative balance of exoplanets with relatively moderate temperatures, possibly in the habitable zone of their host star.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Formation of Amino Acids and Carboxylic Acids in Weakly Reducing Planetary Atmospheres by Solar Energetic Particles from the Young Sun
Life most likely started during the Hadean Eon; however, the environmental conditions which contributed to the complexity of its chemistry are poorly known.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
JWST Molecular Mapping And Characterization Of Enceladus’ Water Plume Feeding Its Torus
Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in our solar system, having an active plume likely connected to a large liquid water subsurface ocean.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Webb Space Telescope Maps Surprisingly Large Plume Jetting From Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
A water vapour plume from Saturn’s moon Enceladus spanning more than 9600 kilometres — long enough to stretch across the Eurasian continent from Ireland to Japan — has been detected […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Iron-rich Rocks Unlock New Insights Into Earth’s Planetary History
Visually striking layers of burnt orange, yellow, silver, brown and blue-tinged black are characteristic of banded iron formations, sedimentary rocks that may have prompted some of the largest volcanic eruptions […]