Triton and Pluto are believed to share a common origin, both forming initially in the Kuiper Belt but Triton being later captured by Neptune. Both objects display similar sizes, densities, […]
Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
RedDots: Limits on Habitable and Undetected Planets Orbiting Nearby Stars GJ 832, GJ 674, and Ross 128
Aims. Using HARPS spectroscopic data obtained by the RedDots campaign, as well as archival data from HARPS and CARMENES, supplemented with ASH2 and T90 photometry, we aim to search for […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Time Evolution Of The Ultraviolet Habitable Zone
For stars hosting Circumstellar Habitable Zone (CHZ) exoplanets, we investigate the time-evolution of their ultraviolet habitable zone (UHZ), the annular region around a star where an exoplanet could experience a […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Impact of Vegetation Albedo on the Habitability of Earth-like Exoplanets
Vegetation can modify the planetary surface albedo via the Charney mechanism, as plants are usually darker than the bare surface of the continents.
Posted inAstrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Jupiter, Pluto, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Gigantic Asteroid Impact Shifted The Axis Of Ganymede
Around 4 billion years ago, an asteroid hit the Jupiter moon Ganymede. Now, a Kobe University researcher realized that the Solar System’s biggest moon’s axis has shifted as a result […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean World Exploration: A New Seamount And Previously Unknown Species Discovered
A team of oceanographers led by Schmidt Ocean Institute have discovered and mapped a new seamount on the Nazca Ridge in international waters, 900 miles off the coast of Chile. […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Iceworld Exploration: Underwater Droids Venture Deep Below Polar Ice
Called IceNode, the project envisions a fleet of autonomous robots that would help determine the melt rate of ice shelves.
![A] Example Keck NIRSPEC slit obtained on February 24, 2016, when 18.6◦W (labeled with the black dot) is in the morning (∼13 hours prior to local noon in Europa’s ∼85-hour day, estimated ∼103 K). [B] Example Keck NIRSPEC slit obtained on February 25, 2016, when the same region (18.5◦W; labeled with the red dot) is in the afternoon (∼16 hours after local noon in Europa’s ∼85-hour day, estimated ∼115 K). [C] Corresponding reflectance spectra for this location in the morning (in black) and in the afternoon (in red). Dashed gray lines outline the H2O2 band. Second-order polynomial continua are indicated by the dashed curves of the same color as the spectrum. Continuum-removed absorptions are included and show nearly overlapping absorptions. A ∼12 K temperature increase over 24 hours is estimated from the thermal model of Trumbo et al. (2017a). This temperature change results in a negligible -3.1% change in the integrated band areas. Leading chaos regions are outlined in black (Leonard et al. 2024). Background basemap credit: USGS (2002). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Europas-H2O2-Temperature-Insensitivity.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa’s H2O2: Temperature Insensitivity and a Correlation with CO2
H2O2 is part of Europa’s water-ice radiolytic cycle and a potential source of oxidants to Europa’s subsurface ocean. However, factors controlling the concentration of this critical surface species remain unclear.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiology Fleet Update: Video: Juice’s Lunar-Earth Flyby
On 19–20 August 2024, Juice successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, with flight controllers guiding the spacecraft first past the Moon, then past Earth. The gravity of the two changed […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiology Fleet Update: Video: Europa Clipper’s Super-Size Solar Arrays
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft recently got outfitted with a set of enormous solar arrays at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Each measuring about 46½ feet (14.2 meters) long […]