[NASA]. For the first time, scientists used the joint power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to study some of the most far-flung bodies in our solar system, […]
astrochemistry
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Two Extremely Irradiated Volatile-rich Sub-Neptunes With Companions In The TOI-426 And TOI-1839 Systems: Insights Into Arrival And Survival Near The Lower Edge Of The Neptunian Desert
[astro-ph.EP] Using TESS photometry and 147 HARPS radial velocities, we confirm two extremely irradiated, volatile-rich sub-Neptunes near the lower edge of the Neptunian desert: TOI-426 b and TOI-1839 b, orbiting […]
Posted inUncategorized
Multi-Wavelength Post-Perihelion Polarimetry of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
[astro-ph.EP] We present new post-perihelion polarimetric observations of the third discovered interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1; hereafter 3I), obtained using FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope, ALFOSC at the Nordic […]
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy
Analytical Platform (Microsampling, Catapulting, Trapping, and LIBS) for the Characterization of Discrete Domains in Samples of Astrochemical Interest
[Analytical Chemistry] The chemical characterization of scarce or heterogeneous solid samples remains a significant analytical challenge due to the high material quantities required by conventional techniques.
![LT solution with 2036 launch. Continuous thick curve: trajectory, Short segments: thrust law, Dashed lines: planet and comet orbits. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Double-Gravity.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Double Gravity-Assist Rendezvous Trajectory to Halley’s Comet Using Deep-Space Low Thrust
[astro-ph.EP] The perihelion of comet 1P/Halley in 2061 is an excellent chance to revisit this object of outstanding scientific and cultural relevance. During its 1986 approach to the Sun, it […]
![Plot of the frequency vs. diameter for all asteroids with known or estimated rotation period with quality code 𝑈 ≥ 1. File data from the ALCDB of 1 Oct 2023, the last release (https://alcdef.org/). The two near-Earth asteroids, 2000 RD34 and 2000 DN8 (both with 𝑈 = 1), are shown together with the five LSFR from Rubin observations (red) and the candidate LSFR or almost candidate (due to borderline diameter as for 2015 RG36 and 2024 WB), which we have characterized at the Loiano Astronomical Station, managed by INAF-OAS in Italy (cyan). The curves for the rubble pile model with cohesion strength are from Eq. 12 (Sánchez and Scheeres, 2014). Our candidates LSFR has a cohesive strength between 102–104 Pa. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Photometric.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Photometric Characterization Of Near-Earth Asteroids: Rotation, Taxonomy, And Candidate Evidence For Internal Cohesion
[astro-ph.EP] We present the results of a survey of previously uncharacterized near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) conducted between the second half of 2024 and the first months of 2026 using broadband BVRcIc […]
![KDE-based mass probability map for the latest solution (0.8 h before impact) of 2023 CX1, corresponding to the smallest positional uncertainty. Colors represent the spatial mass probability density, contours denote the highest posterior density regions, and crosses mark recovered meteorites (size and color proportional to mass). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sample-Return-Tech.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
Sample Return Tech: Pre-impact Meteorite Strewn Field Predictions For Imminent Impactors And Meteorite Recovery
[astro-ph.EP] The flux of meteoroids reaching the Earth is continuous, ranging from microscopic grains to occasional metre and decametre scale bodies. The smallest ones fully ablate in the upper atmosphere, […]
![Schematics of a HAeBe star accreting material from its protoplanetary disc with an ongoing giant planet formation. The giant planet opens a disc gap, preventing the larger dust grains from moving inwards. The HAeBe star has a convective core (red), a radiative envelope (blue), and the stellar photosphere (yellow).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-refractory.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
The Refractory Fraction Of Phosphorus In Planet-forming Discs
[astro-ph.EP] Context. Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life on Earth and a potential tracer of planet formation history. However, there has been no detection of P-bearing molecules in […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Comets May Have Transported Water To A Young Planetary System
[Lund University] Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets – comets in other solar systems – orbiting a young star similar to our Sun. The observations […]
Posted inTitan
Experimental Measurements of Benzene Ice Critical Saturation Ratios on Titan Tholins and Impact on the Microphysical Modeling of Titan’s South Polar Benzene Cloud
[The Planetary Science Journal] The Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer revealed the presence of a benzene (C6H6) ice cloud in Titan’s autumn south polar stratosphere following the northern spring equinox in […]