A critical early stage for the origin of life on Earth may have involved the production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) in a reducing, predominantly H2 atmosphere. HCN is crucial for […]
astro-ph.EP
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
The Kinematics And Excitation Of Infrared Wwater Vapor Emission From Planet-forming Disks: Results From Spectrally-resolved Surveys And Guidelines For JWST Spectra
This work presents water emission spectra at wavelengths covered by JWST (2.9-12.8 μm) as spectrally-resolved with high resolving powers (R = 30,000-100,000) using ground-based spectrographs.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Variability Due To Climate And Chemistry In Observations Of Oxygenated Earth-analogue Exoplanets
The Great Oxidation Event was a period during which Earth’s atmospheric oxygen (O2) concentrations increased from ∼10−5 times its present atmospheric level (PAL) to near modern levels, marking the start […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
The Impending Opacity Challenge in Exoplanet Atmospheric Characterization
With a new generation of observatories coming online this decade, the process of characterizing exoplanet atmospheres will need to be reinvented.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Global Dynamics And Architecture Of The Kepler-444 System
Segment-level wavefront tolerance maps required to maintain a mean dark hole contrast of 10−11 for the narrow-angle APLC at a wavelength of 500 nm. Each segment shows the limit of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Modelling The Water And Carbon Dioxide Production Rates Of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko
The European Space Agency Rosetta/Philae mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014-2016 is the most complete and diverse investigation of a comet carried out thus far. Yet, many physical and chemical […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Thermal Evolution And Magnetic History Of Rocky Planets
We present a thermal evolution model coupled with a Henyey solver to study the circumstances under which a rocky planet could potentially host a dynamo in its liquid iron core […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
The Demographics Of Kepler’s Earths And super-Earths Into The Habitable Zone
Understanding the occurrence of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars is essential to the search for Earth analogues. Yet a lack of reliable Kepler detections for such […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
The KOBE experiment: K-dwarfs Orbited By habitable Exoplanets. Project goals, target selection and stellar characterization
The detection of habitable worlds is one of humanity’s greatest endeavors. So far, astrobiological studies show that one of the most critical components for life development is liquid water. Its […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Density, Not Radius, Separates Rocky And Water-rich Small Planets Orbiting M Dwarf Stars
Exoplanets smaller than Neptune are common around red dwarf stars (M dwarfs), with those that transit their host star constituting the bulk of known temperate worlds amenable for atmospheric characterization. […]