Purported chemotrophic microfossils from the Palaeoarchaean, from the 3.45 Gyr Kitty’s Gap Chert, Pilbara.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

What The Earliest Evidence For Life Tells Us About The Early Evolution Of The Biosphere

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026

Life emerged on Earth in an ultramafic world under anaerobic conditions and conditioned by particular environmental characteristics for which no record remains.

Scanning electron microscopy images of AMP in (a–c) dry condition and (d–f) hydrated condition prior to and following treatment through HPT at ambient and boiling water temperatures. -- Astrobiology via Sage

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report

High-Pressure Torsion-Induced Transformation of Adenosine Monophosphate: Insights into Prebiotic Chemistry of RNA by Astronomical Impacts

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026

The origin of life is yet a compelling scientific mystery that has sometimes been attributed to high-pressure impacts by small solar system bodies such as comets, meteoroids, asteroids, and transitional […]

A bacterial ferredoxin FeS cluster -- Ferredoxin is a type of protein found across biology with a key role in the movement of electrons. In this figure iron is shown in red and sulfur in yellow (protein database code 1clf). It is the co-occurrence of both Fe and S that allow the special electron transfer properties of ferredoxin which enable many reactions in metabolism and may have been crucial to life’s emergence. Credit: Shawn McGlynn

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release

Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere May Have Rained Down The Key Ingredients For Life

by Keith CowingJanuary 26, 2026January 26, 2026

New research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that Earth’s ancient atmosphere may have acted as a global chemical factory, naturally producing sulfur-containing molecules that would […]

Examples of metabolic networks (gray nodes and edges) and seed sets (blue circles).

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report

Potential Metabolic Viability On Asteroid Chemistry

by Keith CowingJanuary 26, 2026January 26, 2026

While it has been long supposed that asteroids played a role in the delivery of important prebiotic compounds to early Earth, the exact nature of the interactions between asteroidal material […]

A scanning electron micrograph of the planktic foraminifer Parvularugoglobigerina eugubina. The evolution of this species ~6,400 years after the Chicxulub impact marks the top of the first plantkic foraminifer biozone after the K/Pg extinction. Scan by Chris Lowrey. Credit Scan by Chris Lowrey.

Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Evidence Of ‘lightning-fast’ Evolution Found After Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Impact

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2026January 22, 2026

The asteroid that struck the Earth 66 million years ago devastated life across the planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and other organisms in a hail of fire and catastrophic climate […]

Still from an animated view of the Sun and the Earth as seen from the Moon's South Pole NASA source

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Our Moon’s 4-Billion-Year Impact Record Suggests Meteorites Didn’t Supply Earth’s Water

by Keith CowingJanuary 21, 2026January 21, 2026

A long-standing idea in planetary science is that water-rich meteorites arriving late in Earth’s history could have delivered a major share of Earth’s water. A new study by Universities Space […]

Cumulative crater count as a function of crater diameter. Each symbol and line depicts a fit to a different methane-clathrate thickness (see legend). The darkblue dotted line shows Titan’s observed crater count (Hedgepeth et al., 2020). The shaded region indicates craters less than 22 km, which is the lower limit of our results. Note that those craters are affected by Titan’s atmosphere, hence the drop off from the trend line. Panel b shows the inset of Panel a (a black box), so the details near the change in slope can be seen more clearly. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Status Report, Titan

A Youthful Titan Implied By Improved Impact Simulations

by Keith CowingJanuary 15, 2026January 15, 2026

The small number of impact craters found on Titan suggests that its surface is relatively young. Previous work estimated its surface age to be between 200 and 1000 Myr. This […]

A looming planetary impact -- Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Status Report

Planetary Impacts: Friend Or Foe?

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2025December 17, 2025

Planetary impact events have profoundly influenced the origin of life and the habitability of Earth in both constructive and destructive ways.

A composite view of Europa’s spider-like Manannán Crater (right), taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in May 1998. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life

by Keith CowingDecember 5, 2025December 5, 2025

From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life.

A panoramic aerial drone image of the Jinlin crater with the approximate location of the crater rim labeled, with an insert of the crater floor, which shows a mix of granite weathered soil and granite fragments. The yellow ruler is 20 centimeters long. Credit Ming Chen

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release

Earth’s Largest Modern Crater Discovered In Southern China

by Keith CowingNovember 13, 2025November 13, 2025

A newly discovered, remarkably well-preserved impact crater is shedding fresh light on how extraterrestrial bodies collide with Earth.

Impact events

What The Earliest Evidence For Life Tells Us About The Early Evolution Of The Biosphere

High-Pressure Torsion-Induced Transformation of Adenosine Monophosphate: Insights into Prebiotic Chemistry of RNA by Astronomical Impacts

Earth’s Ancient Atmosphere May Have Rained Down The Key Ingredients For Life

Potential Metabolic Viability On Asteroid Chemistry

Evidence Of ‘lightning-fast’ Evolution Found After Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Impact

Our Moon’s 4-Billion-Year Impact Record Suggests Meteorites Didn’t Supply Earth’s Water

A Youthful Titan Implied By Improved Impact Simulations

Planetary Impacts: Friend Or Foe?

Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life

Earth’s Largest Modern Crater Discovered In Southern China

The Role Of Minerals In Prebiotic Evolution: Implications For Identifying Worlds With The Potential For Life’s Origin

Gen-EBM: An Energy Balance Model For Terrestrial Planets. Climate Multistability From Snowball To Post-runaway Greenhouse Climates

Astrometric Planet Search Around Southern Ultracool Dwarfs: V. Discovery Of The Exoplanet Candidate PALTA-1 b

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Active Asteroid (101955) Bennu

SOPHIE And TESS Characterization Of Fourteen TESS Objects Of Interest: Nine Planetary Systems And Five Low-mass Stellar Companions

European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting 2027

2027 Sagan Summer Workshop Exoplanet Masses: In the Era of Gaia and Extreme Precision Radial Velocities