astro-ph.IM Archives

Schematic overview of the data-processing workflow in this work. After splitting the 2C data into three antenna spectra, we first conduct a general comb diagnostics for each antenna, then perform per-antenna PCA decomposition, basis alignment, and periodogram/FT/ACF analysis. The component-level results are finally combined to distinguish non-shared periodic signals from shared or comb-like RFI. -- astro-ph.IM

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

First Lunar Farside SETI Observations for Periodic Signals With The Low-frequency Radio Spectrometer Of Chang’E-4 Mission

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

Chang’E-4 (CE4), the first mission to soft-land on the lunar farside, provides a unique opportunity for astronomical observations from an environment shielded from terrestrial radio interference, and thus serves as […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

A TESS Test of the Hybrid Ring Strategy for Technosignature Searches Using GRB 221009A

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026

We present the first observational test of the hybrid ring strategy, a general coordinated signaling scheme proposed by Seto (2025), which provides a practical Schelling-point realization for interstellar signaling.

Sky plot of nine cPIC targets that are present in all stellar reference samples. Their PIC names are indicated with labels. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Missions & Hardware, PLATO, Status Report

Planet Finder PLATO Input Catalogs For Technical Calibration And Fine Guidance

by Keith CowingApril 6, 2026April 27, 2026

A few weeks after launch, the PLATO spacecraft is expected to start its payload commissioning, which will be completed within the first three months of the mission. This phase includes […]

Artist’s impression showing possible choices for the scale of human involvement in the future of Mars.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Beta Pictoris, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Research Roadmap For Assessing The Feasibility Of Warming Mars

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

This roadmap outlines research pathways to determine whether Mars could be warmed with non-biological methods. It does not presuppose that warming Mars is desirable; its purpose is to identify what […]

Four diagnostics of electron bombardment on Europa’s leading hemisphere: (a) total deposited-energy flux, (b) deposited-energy fraction, (c) mean secondary-electron energy, and (d) e-folding (≈ 63%) deposition depth. Cells with no electron flux in the relevant energy range are shown in gray. -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Geant4-IcyMoons: Simulating Electron Interaction Physics in Irradiated Astrophysical Ices

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

Energetic particles continuously process water ice across astrophysical and planetary environments, from interstellar clouds and comets to icy planetary surfaces. Interpreting the resulting observables requires a physically grounded description of […]

Simultaneously collected raw spectral images in array coordinates from band 2 (left) and band 5 (right) collected during the first practice survey and the first crossing of the Galactic plane. Bands 2 and 5 view the same sky across the DBS. Each image spans the full 3.5◦ FOV of the array with wavelength increasing from bottom to top. The horizontal banding structure observed observed in band 5 corresponds to diffuse Bracket Alpha emission in the Galaxy at 4.05 µm. -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The SPHEREx Instrument: Calibration, Testing And Performance Measurements Of The NIR 2 Spectroscopic Surveyor From The Laboratory To In-orbit Commissioning

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026June 10, 2026

The SPHEREx near-infrared space telescope is an all-sky spectroscopic survey mission launched on March 12th, 2025 UTC.

A region in Ursa Major with maps of individual simulation components and their sum; these have been evaluated for a spectral channel centered on 0.803 µm. The color schemes vary in order to best illustrate the features of the individual signals. Notice how the scan pattern manifests in several of the components. The contributing images were generated with the Sky Simulator described in B. P. Crill et al. (2025). Real flag masks (Sec. 3.2) have been applied and are most noticeable at the centers of bright stars. -- astro-ph.IM

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Spectral Map Making With SPHEREx

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2026March 30, 2026

We present map-making methodologies and preliminary spectral data cubes for SPHEREx, a NASA Explorer mission that launched in March 2025 and has been performing an all-sky near-infrared spectral survey.

Overview of the 3 m Lazuli Space Observatory and its three instruments, the Widefield Context Camera (WCC), the Integral Field Spectrograph (IFS), and the ExtraSolar Coronagraph (ESC). Main properties and characteristics of the telescope and the instruments are highlighted. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Citizen Science / Open Science, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture & Capabilities

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Editor’s note: The Lazuli Space Observatory is part of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System, the proposed Lazuli Space Observatory is a 3-meter telescope designed to capture fast-changing cosmic […]

Scatter plots of potential candidate in frequency, drift rate and signal-to-noise ratio for each polarization channel. The color and the size for each point represent the value of SNR in log space. The green and red color bar is the frequency ranges of civil aviation and navigation satellites, respectively. The black dashed lines represent the expected drift rates for each observation date. -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

Narrowband Radio Technosignature Search Toward 3I/ATLAS With FAST

by Keith CowingMarch 21, 2026March 21, 2026

3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object passing through the Solar System. In this work, we conduct narrowband radio technosignature search toward 3I/ATLAS using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) […]

The strength of indirect detection signals from an Earth-like exoplanet as a function of stellar effective temperature. Bands encompassing main sequence spectral classes A through M color coded by temperature are indicated at the top. Here, Earth-like is defined as a 1-Earth mass object in an orbit receiving irradiance equivalent to 1 AU from our Sun (the solar constant). Radial Velocity signals (solid blue line) are seen to exhibit a rapid rise in signal strength (given on the right-hand abscissa) for cooler, M dwarf systems where they become detectable with present submeter per second RV precision. On the other hand, astrometric deflection signals (colored diamond symbols) rise with host star temperature, and decline linearly with distance from values of up to several microarcseconds for the nearest stars. For convenience the plot also indicates the size of the temperate orbit modeled (in AU, left abscissa) and its corresponding orbital period (in years, also left abscissa). -- astro-ph.IM

Alpha Centauri, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cubesats and smallsats, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

The TOLIMAN Mission: A Low-cost Space Telescope For High Precision Narrow-angle Astrometry

by Keith CowingMarch 18, 2026March 18, 2026

The TOLIMAN project is engaged with the construction, launch and operation of a low-cost space telescope of unorthodox optical design. Its primary science goal targets an exhaustive search for temperate-orbit […]

astro-ph.IM

First Lunar Farside SETI Observations for Periodic Signals With The Low-frequency Radio Spectrometer Of Chang’E-4 Mission

A TESS Test of the Hybrid Ring Strategy for Technosignature Searches Using GRB 221009A

Planet Finder PLATO Input Catalogs For Technical Calibration And Fine Guidance

A Research Roadmap For Assessing The Feasibility Of Warming Mars

Geant4-IcyMoons: Simulating Electron Interaction Physics in Irradiated Astrophysical Ices

The SPHEREx Instrument: Calibration, Testing And Performance Measurements Of The NIR 2 Spectroscopic Surveyor From The Laboratory To In-orbit Commissioning

Spectral Map Making With SPHEREx

The Lazuli Space Observatory: Architecture & Capabilities

Narrowband Radio Technosignature Search Toward 3I/ATLAS With FAST

The TOLIMAN Mission: A Low-cost Space Telescope For High Precision Narrow-angle Astrometry

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: Preview: Fall 2026 Lake Untersee Field Season

ALMA Reveals Planetary Formation Structures In Small Disks

Compatible Comma-Free Codes and the Origin of the Genetic Code

Simulations Of The Evolving Ozone Layer: Implications For The Early Earth, Exoplanets, And The Search For Life

VUV And mid-UV Photoabsorption Cross Sections Of Thin Films Of Glycine And Alanine: Application To Their Photochemistry In The Solar System