Stellar Cartography Archives

Periodic Table of the Elements color-coded to depict the primary formation channels that give rise to a given element. Note that this is a first-order simplification of a research field with many open questions, as well as a rough approximation of the data collected by Jennifer A. Johnson. While beryllium (Be) was produced in trace amounts during the Big Bang, the vast majority of Be is produced via cosmic ray fission (the splitting of an atomic nucleus by high-energy cosmic rays). Image credit: Jennifer Johnson, OSU. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Host Stars and How Their Compositions Influence Exoplanets

by Keith CowingApril 29, 2024April 29, 2024

It has become a common practice within the exoplanet field to say that “to know the star is to know the planet.” The properties of the host star have a […]

Infrared sources towards Sgr B2(N) reported by the GLIMPSE IRC 4 Band at 8.0µm (Left) and the 2MSAA Ks Band at 2.2µm (Right). The 84 GHz CH3OH maser emission at 58.5 km s−1 is shown with contours, as in Figure 2(r). -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Maser Activity of Organic Molecules toward Sgr B2(N)

by Keith CowingApril 24, 2024April 24, 2024

At centimeter wavelengths, single-dish observations have suggested that the Sagittarius (Sgr) B2 molecular cloud at the Galactic Center hosts weak maser emission from several organic molecules, including CH2NH, HNCNH, and […]

Variable stars of the catalog in the “period–amplitude” plane classified by type: eclipsing EA, EW, EB|EW, EP|BD|EA; pulsating RR, DSCT|GDOR|SXPHE (designated DGS), LPV; rotating rot, as well as a group of unambiguously unidentified types EW|rot|DGS|RR (see text for description). -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Catalog Of Variable Stars In The WD 0009+501 and GRW +708247 Fields Based On Photometric Survey Data On Transiting Exoplanets

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2024April 18, 2024

We present a catalog of 150 variable stars, including 13 stars with exoplanet candidates. 37 stars were identified as variables for the first time.

Emblematic direct imaging discoveries (not exhaustive): 2M1207 & AB Pic [24,25], RXJ 1609 [26], κ And [27], HR 8799 [28], β Pic [29], HD 95086 b [30], GJ 504 [31], 51 Eri b [32], HIP 65426 b [33], TYC 8998-760-1 b [34], and b Cen b [35]. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Direct Imaging Of Exoplanets: Legacy And Prospects

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2024

Understanding how giant and terrestrial planets form and evolve, what is their internal structure and that of their atmosphere, represents one of the major challenges of modern astronomy, which is […]

Empirical, non-parametric radius distribution of planets hosted by late K- and early M-type dwarfs observed by Kepler and assigned ages based on rotation, corrected for detection efficiency. The black line is the total distribution (113 planets), while the red and blue lines are the distributions for the halves of the sample with rotation-based ages younger and older than the median age of 3.86 Gyr, respectively. Shaded regions denote 68% confidence interval determined from Monte Carlo sampling with replacement. The vertical magenta lines mark the location (and uncertainty) of the radius valley using Eqn. 11 in Ho & Van Eylen (2023) for the sample’s median mass of 0.59 M⊙ and median period of 7.1 days. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

The Radius Distribution Of M dwarf-hosted Planets And Its Evolution

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2024April 18, 2024

M dwarf stars are not only the most promising hosts for detection and characterization of small and potentially habitable planets, they provide leverage relative to solar-type stars to test models […]

Solid lines plot the outer planet inclination evolution relative to the binary orbital plane determined by rebound simulations with different binary mass ratios. The outer planet orbit is initially coplanar with the binary orbital plane. The binary mass ratios are: 𝑞b = 1 (blue, Model C1), 0.5 (green, Model D1), 0.1 (orange, Model D2), and 0.01 (red, Model D3). For each case, the value of the initial semi-major axis is 𝑎4 = 𝑎m = 0.616𝑎o given by Equation (25). The horizontal dashed line is the predicted maximum inclination given by Equation (20) that has the same value for all these cases. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Inclination Instability Of Circumbinary Planets

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2024April 17, 2024

We analyze a tilt instability of the orbit of an outer planet in a two planet circumbinary system that we recently reported.

Infrared image of the shockwave (red arc) created by the massive giant star Zeta Ophiuchi in an interstellar dust cloud. The tenuous winds of sun-like main-sequence stars are much more difficult to observe C: NASA/JPL-Caltech; NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); C. R. O'Dell, Vanderbilt University

Astronomy & Telescopes, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Stellar Cartography

Stellar Winds Of Three Sun-like Stars Detected For The First Time

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2024August 13, 2025

An international research team led by a researcher from the University of Vienna has for the first time directly detected stellar winds from three Sun-like stars by recording the X-ray […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Differences Between Stable and Unstable Architectures of Compact Planetary Systems

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2024April 11, 2024

We present a stability analysis of a large set of simulated planetary systems of three or more planets based on architectures of multiplanet systems discovered by Kepler and K2.

First evidence of gravitational instability clumps with planetary masses. On the left, the ALMA band 6 continuum image of the protoplanetary disk around the FUor star V960 Mon, and on the right the SPHERE/IRDIS polarized light image. Contours of the ALMA continuum are overlaid on both images, corresponding to levels of 3, 4, and 5 times σ. The ALMA signal showing the clumps share the same location of the spiral arms around the star. Image from Weber et al. (2023). -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Direct Imaging Of Exoplanets

by Keith CowingApril 10, 2024April 10, 2024

Over the past 4 decades, the exploration of planets beyond our solar system has yielded the discovery of over 5,600 exoplanets orbiting different stars. Continuous advancements in instrumentation and cutting-edge […]

Figure (a) and (c) show the initial light curve and the river plot for TOI-4622, respectively. The light curve is folded over seven transits and the river plot shows the evolution of the noisy periodic transit signals over the course of the entire light curve. Figure (b) and (d) show the denoised versions of these plots after the implementation of SSA. The SNR of the transit has increased from 13.37 to 15.59. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Singular Spectrum Analysis of Exoplanetary Transits

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2024April 9, 2024

Transit photometry is currently the most efficient and sensitive method for detecting extrasolar planets (exoplanets) and a large majority of confirmed exoplanets have been detected with this method.

Stellar Cartography

Host Stars and How Their Compositions Influence Exoplanets

Maser Activity of Organic Molecules toward Sgr B2(N)

Catalog Of Variable Stars In The WD 0009+501 and GRW +708247 Fields Based On Photometric Survey Data On Transiting Exoplanets

Direct Imaging Of Exoplanets: Legacy And Prospects

The Radius Distribution Of M dwarf-hosted Planets And Its Evolution

Inclination Instability Of Circumbinary Planets

Stellar Winds Of Three Sun-like Stars Detected For The First Time

Differences Between Stable and Unstable Architectures of Compact Planetary Systems

Direct Imaging Of Exoplanets

Singular Spectrum Analysis of Exoplanetary Transits

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