![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)
[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 […]
astrochemistry
![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 […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Clearer View of HAT-P-1 b: JWST NIRSpec G395H Reveals Water, Carbon Dioxide, and Possibly Hydrogen Sulfide
[astro-ph.EP] As part of JWST’s Exoplanet Grand Tour Survey, we use panchromatic transmission spectroscopy to connect HAT-P-1 b’s previously studied optical and near-infrared atmosphere to the longer-wavelength molecular bands accessible […]
![HAADF image and quantified EDX map (at%) of a GEMS-like assemblage in UCAMM DC06- 18, which is located at the top of the FIB section, probably close to the external surface of the UCAMM. - [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/STXM-XANES.png?resize=1200%2C711&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
STXM-XANES And TEM Analysis Of UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs)
[astro-ph.EP] The Concordia micrometeorite collection contains UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs) of probable cometary origin. Eight FIB sections of UCAMMs were studied by Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy – X-ray Absorption Near […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Interstellar Aromatic Infrared Bands: IR Absorption Spectroscopy Of The Lowest Triplet State Of Naphthalene
[astro-ph.GA] The aromatic infrared bands (AIBs), emission features observed ubiquitously across a wide variety of interstellar objects, are commonly attributed to radiative cooling of highly-excited ground-state vibrational levels of polycyclic […]
![Images acquired on 2019 October 4 (left) and 27 (right) with LDT. The top row show stacks of r and CN images, respectively. The bottom row shows the same images enhanced by subtraction of an azimuthal median profile. The enhanced CN images have been smoothed with a Gaussian profile to better reveal the faint underlying structure. A compass indicating north (N), east (E), the anti-sunward direction (−⊙), and the anti-velocity vector (−v) are overlaid on the r panels, while a scale bar showing a distance at the comet of 20,000 km is given on the CN panels (1 arcsec corresponds to 2134 km on October 4 and 1814 km on October 27). All four panels for a given night have the same orientation and physical scale at the comet. The October 4 image is a single frame and shows several artifacts that could not be removed without a median combination include several bright pixels in the CN frame (yellow) and a bad column in all frames (black diagonal line). On October 4, a bright star is seen near the left edge of the r frames and as a diagonal (yellow) line in the upper right in CN. Two faint trailed stars are visible in the r images on October 27. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-Highly.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inComets and Asteroids
The Highly Unusual Behavior And Chemical Composition Of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
[astro-ph.EP]. We report on imaging, spectroscopy, and narrowband photometry of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov obtained at Lowell Observatory from 2019 September 13 to December 16.