[Purdue University] From orbit, a carbonate-rich band of rock along the inside edge of Mars’ Jezero Crater looked like it might be the remains of an ancient lakeshore. Then NASA’s […]
Habitable Zones
![Top-down, to-scale view of the TOI-789 architecture. The four planetary orbits are drawn around the M3 host (center); symbol size scales with planetary radius and symbol color with equilibrium temperature (color bar). The candidate .04 is drawn with a dashed outline. Shaded annular bands mark, from the inside out, the Venus zone (Kane et al. 2014), the temperate region defined by Teq = 273– 400 K, and the inner edge of the Kopparapu et al. (2014) habitable zone. The four planets form a sequence of decreasing insolation that crosses the Venus zone, with the candidate .04 near the inner edge of the habitable zone.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Characterization.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Characterization of the Compact Multi-planet System TOI-789: Validation of Three Terrestrial Planets, Dynamical Characterization, and Detection of a Fourth Temperate Candidate
[astro-ph.EP] We present the validation and dynamical characterization of TOI-789 (TIC 300710077), a compact multi-planet system around an M3 dwarf at 43 pc.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
New Study Pinpoints When Early Earth May Have Become Ready for Life’s Chemistry
[PSI] Conditions on the early Earth may have become stable enough to sustain the chemistry associated with the origins of life around 4.33 billion years ago, according to new research […]
Posted inGaia - Planetary Perspectives
Planetary Health Check 2026 Finds Mounting Pressures Across Earth’s Life Support Systems – Reports And Proceedings
[Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)] Seven breached Planetary Boundaries continue to worsen as record ocean heat, droughts, floods, wildfires and extreme heat reveal an Earth system under strain, […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Prebiotic Peptide Formation Triggered By Urea-rich Warm Little Ponds On Early Earth
[Bioorganic Chemistry]. In the study of the origin of life, the polymerization of amino acids into peptides in water faces significant thermodynamic barriers, often referred to as the “water problem.”
Posted inCryobiology
Unveiling Microbial Communities And Biogeochemical Cycles In Antarctic Colored Snow
[BMC Microbiology]. Snow cover, the extensive terrestrial habitat in Antarctica, sometimes exhibits vivid coloration, yet the structure and function of its microbial communities remain poorly characterized.
![Radial velocity timeseries of K2-3 used in the analysis. Here the second dimension for the multi-dimensional quasi-periodic gaussian process kernes used the D2V activity indicator to disentangle the stellar activity from the Keplerian signals. The Keplerian models for all three planets are assumed to be circular orbits for this figure (Model 1 in Table C.3). The various instruments used in the analysis are colour coded. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Uncovering.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Uncovering Temperate Worlds: An Updated Look At The K2-3 System With ESPRESSO
[astro-ph.EP] The K2-3 system is one of the most unique planetary systems as it features three transiting sub-Neptunes in decreasing order of radii, spanning the radius valley.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
The Abiotic Background: Challenges and Opportunities in the Search for Evidence of Life Beyond Earth
[Astrobiology (Journal) via PubMed]. The “Exploring the Abiotic Background for Life Detection“ workshop was convened between March 31, 2025, and April 3, 2025, at the Carnegie Institution for Science in […]
![Illustration of the astro-calibration method. The four reference frames are represented. The three models (s, a, and c) that link them and constitute the parameter vector x are also represented. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Calibrations.png?resize=1200%2C714&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Calibrations For High Precision Differential Astrometry Onboard Theia And HWO
[astro-ph.IM] Future space astrometry missions such as Theia and an astrometric mode of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) require detector calibration and instrumental characterization at an unprecedented level to achieve […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
A Framework for Evaluating Forward Contamination Risk for Bio-ISRU Microorganisms
[astro-ph.IM]. NASA planetary protection policy seeks to avoid inadvertent forward contamination of celestial bodies and backward contamination of Earth during space exploration.