Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography Archives

Cassini’s antenna is pointed at the predicted specular point where the angle of incidence (θi) equals the angle of reflection (θr), measured from the local vertical. Right circularly polarized (RCP) signals were transmitted, and at least one of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas on Earth captured the echo. At the surface of Titan, a left circularly polarized (LCP) component of the echo signal was generated, requiring the presence on the ground of two receiving channels. Complex samples of each receiver output were collected at 16,000 samples/s and stored for later processing. The purpose of this figure is to illustrate the geometry of the observations and distances on the coordinate axes that are not drawn to scale. -- Nature Communications

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Analysis Of Cassini Data Yields Insights Into Titan’s Seas

by Keith CowingJuly 29, 2024July 29, 2024

A new study of radar experiment data from the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn has yielded fresh insights related to the makeup and activity of the liquid hydrocarbon seas near the […]

An Artist's impression of the European Space Agency's PLATO spacecraft. -- ESA/ATG medialab

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, PLATO, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The PLATO Terrestrial Planet Hunter Telescope Will Begin Searching For Another Earth In 2026

by Keith CowingJuly 29, 2024April 27, 2026

Europe’s next big space mission – a telescope that will hunt for Earth-like rocky planets outside of our solar system – is on course to launch at the end of […]

Many microbial structures on the shores of Lake Salda in Turkey are exposed as water levels drop, allowing scientists to study relationships between life and the surrounding environment. CREDIT Tim Lyons/UCR

Analog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Exponentially Increasing Our Understanding Of Early Life On Earth

by Keith CowingJuly 29, 2024July 29, 2024

Despite decades of research, there’s still much scholars don’t understand about life’s beginnings and early evolution. A UC Riverside paper has opened the door to understanding more and to framing […]

ALVIN takes water samples from a hydrothermal vent producing black “smoke.” The water is black because it contains particulate metal sulfides. These precipitate when the hot fluids mix with cold seawater. (Photo by HOV ALVIN/Woods Hole Oceanographic/Mandy Joye)

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Away Team Update: Exploring Hydrothermal Vents In The Gulf Of California

by Keith CowingJuly 29, 2024July 29, 2024

When Samantha Joye and her fellow researchers once again set sail into the Gulf of California, they weren’t sure what to expect.

Ariel, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Webb Observes Carbon Oxides On Uranus’ Moon Ariel That Hint At A Hidden Ocean

by Keith CowingJuly 26, 2024July 26, 2024

The surface of Uranus’ moon Ariel is coated with a significant amount of carbon dioxide ice, especially on its “trailing hemisphere” that always faces away from the moon’s direction of […]

Left column: Both colorbar and isolines show fit quality as a function of planetesimal radius R and accretion time for CR1-3 chondrites (first row) and the Flensburg chondite (second row). Best-fit accretion times correspond from top to bottom to Ma and Ma. The exemplary parent bodies from the respective minimum fit quality regions with km and Ma and km and Ma, from top to bottom, are indicated with red dots. Right column: Thermal evolution at the best-fit depths d of respective meteorites for representative best-fit parent bodies indicated by red dots in the left column. Dashed red lines show the maximum metamorphic temperature estimates from petrological constraints (see also supplementary material). Color patches show PB accretion time intervals. The accretion time of the CR clan Tafassite PB is included for completeness. -- Scientific Reports

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Building Materials For Water-rich Planets In The Early Solar System

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2024July 25, 2024

Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These so-called […]

Additional bright deposits in shadowed craters proposed by Platz et al. (2016) shown at the highest available resolution in clear filter LAMO images, with the FC image number indicated. Images are shown as unprojected 150 × 150 pixel-sized crops with the contrast enhanced in shadowed areas. (a), (b), and (c) deposit #4. (d) and (e) #5. (f) #7. (g) #8. (h) #9. (i) #10. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ceres, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Spectral Properties Of Bright Deposits In Permanently Shadowed Craters On Ceres

by Keith CowingJuly 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Bright deposits in permanently shadowed craters on Ceres are thought to harbor water ice. However, the evidence for water ice presented thus far is indirect.

Annual mean climate across 2003-2018 derived from ERA5 for (a) surface air temperature Ts [K], (b) biotemperature Tbio [K], (c) precipitation P [mm day−1 ⊕ ], (d) evaporation E [mm day−1 ⊕ ]-- astro-ph.EP

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Novel Metric For Assessing Climatological Surface Habitability

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Planetary surface habitability has so far been, in the main, considered in its entirety. The increasing popularity of 3D modelling studies of (exo)planetary climate has highlighted the need for a […]

This view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The picture is a composite of JunoCam's second, third, and fourth images taken during the flyby, as seen from the perspective of the fourth image. North is to the left. The images have a resolution of just over 0.5 to 2.5 miles per pixel (1 to 4 kilometers per pixel). As with our Moon and Earth, one side of Europa always faces Jupiter, and that is the side of Europa visible here. Europa's surface is crisscrossed by fractures, ridges, and bands, which have erased terrain older than about 90 million years. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the images to enhance the color and contrast. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Biosignatures Could Survive Near The Surfaces of Enceladus and Europa

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have evidence of oceans beneath their ice crusts. A NASA experiment suggests that if these oceans support life, signatures […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Resilience of Snowball Earth to Stochastic Events

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Earth went through at least two periods of global glaciation (i.e., “Snowball Earth” states) during the Neoproterozoic, the shortest of which (the Marinoan) may not have lasted sufficiently long for […]