‘Most habitable worlds in the cosmos will have no remotely detectable signs of life’ is proposed as a biological hypothesis to be tested in studies of exoplanets. Habitable planets could […]
astro-ph.EP
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Warm Ice Giant GJ 3470b – a Hazy, Low-methane, and/or Metal-rich Atmosphere?
We report our spectroscopic investigation of the transiting ice giant GJ 3470b’s atmospheric transmission, and the first results of extrasolar planet observations from the new Keck/MOSFIRE spectrograph. We measure a […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Blue Sky of GJ3470b
GJ3470b is a rare example of a “hot Uranus” transiting exoplanet orbiting a nearby M1.5 dwarf. It is of crucial interest for atmospheric studies because it is one of the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Frequency of Planetary Systems Around G-dwarfs
We determine the fraction of G-dwarf stars that could host stable planetary systems based on the observed properties of binaries in the Galactic field, and in various postulated primordial binary […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Recent Kepler Results On Circumbinary Planets
Ranked near the top of the long list of exciting discoveries made with NASA’s Kepler photometer is the detection of transiting circumbinary planets. In just over a year the number […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Detection, Formation, and Properties of Subterrestrial Worlds
The Solar System includes two planets — Mercury and Mars — significantly less massive than Earth, and all evidence indicates that planets of similar size orbit many stars. In fact, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Detecting Bio-markers in Habitable-zone Earths Transiting White Dwarfs
The characterization of the atmospheres of habitable-zone Earth-mass exoplanets that transit across main-sequence stars, let alone the detection of bio-markers in their atmospheres, will be challenging even with future facilities. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Molecular Detectability in Exoplanetary Emission Spectra
Of the many recently discovered worlds orbiting distant stars, very little is yet known of their chemical composition. With the arrival of new transit spectroscopy and direct imaging facilities, the […]
Posted inTitan
Chemical Composition of Titan's Dry Lakebed Evaporites
Titan, the main satellite of Saturn, has an active cycle of methane in its troposphere. Among other evidence for a mechanism of evaporation at work on the ground, dry lakebeds […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Detection of Exomoons Through Their Modulation of Exoplanetary Radio Emissions
In the Jupiter-Io system, the moon’s motion produces currents along the field lines that connect the moon to the Jupiter’s polar regions, where the radio emission is modulated by the […]