astrochemistry Archives - Page 29 of 232 - Astrobiology

Declination of the 50 targets presenting the largest RSM′ values as a function of their respective score.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Spinning Out Of Focus: The Challenge Of Rotational Line Broadening In Exoplanet Reflection Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

Detecting light reflected off the dayside of an exoplanet in high-resolution spectroscopic data has proved to be a notoriously difficult endeavour. Despite several attempts, the faint signal has yet to […]

Kernel density estimates of the bulk elemental mass fractions of the initial planet population. The population is separated into planets that formed inside and outside the water ice line. Planets formed outside the ice line exhibit systematically higher oxygen and hydrogen mass fractions, reflecting enhanced accretion of volatile-rich material, which in turn leads to a relative depletion of refractory elements such as magnesium, iron, sulfur, and silicon. High bulk nitrogen and carbon abundances are exclusively associated with planets that formed outside the ice line. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Role of Formation Location in Shaping Sulfur-, Nitrogen-, and Carbon-Bearing Species in Super-Earth and Sub-Neptune Atmospheres

by Keith CowingMay 17, 2026May 17, 2026

Atmospheric compositions of sub-Neptunes and super-Earths are often interpreted as tracers of formation location relative to volatile ice lines.

Schematic drawing of the modified 22-pole radio frequency ion trap setup. The ions are produced between the first two plates of the ion guide by electron impact ionization and repelled towards the QMS-1. Mass-selected ions are injected into the 22-pole trap. The trap is equipped with neutral and pulsed buffer gas input ports. A neutral density measurement gauge (Pfeiffer CMR 375) is also connected to the trap volume. After a specified trapping time, the ions are mass-analyzed by QMS-2 and counted in the CEM detector. -- astro-ph.GA

Analog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Titan

Observation Of Spontaneous N-bearing PAH Formation Using Ion Trap: A New Formation Pathway In The Interstellar Medium

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2026May 16, 2026

Nitrogen-bearing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (N-PAHs) are key precursors to complex organic molecules in both the interstellar medium and the nitrogen-rich planetary atmospheres.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Away Teams & Field Reports, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Sample Return

Astrochemistry: Surrounded by Stardust: Iron-60 Discovery In Antarctic Ice Reveals: Local Interstellar Cloud Leaves Its Mark

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2026May 16, 2026

Our Solar System is currently passing through the Local Interstellar Cloud, a region of highly diluted gas and dust between the stars.

Kiel diagram of analysed stars. Stars analysed in this work are shown as blue dots, those from M22 as orange stars, and those from T25 as green symbols. The two grids correspond to PARSEC isochrones with ages from 0.1 to 14 Ga, in steps of 0.05 Ga, at solar metallicity (Z = 0.013, in purple) and at super-solar metallicity (Z = 0.06, in pink). The cross in the lower left corner indicates representative 1σ uncertainties for this work ( ∆Teff = 110 K and ∆ log g = 0.04 dex). -- astro-ph.SR

Ariel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Ariel Stellar Characterisation IV. Fundamental Parameters Of 18 Hot Stars In The Ariel Mission Candidate Sample

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

The characterisation of exoplanetary systems depends on the accurate determination of host star parameters.

Figure a) shows the final geometry of the cluster scenario, after all 10 CO2 molecules have been adsorbed, Figure b) shows the final geometry of the far scenario, after all 10 CO2 molecules have been adsorbed. Colour-coding: white, H atoms; grey, C atoms; red, O atoms. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Fizzy Water Ice In Space: CO2 Adsorption, Binding Energies And Its Fate In A Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Context: CO2 is the third most abundant ice component found on dust grains in star-forming regions and a common ingredient of exoplanet atmospheres. Characterization of its adsorption properties on ices […]

Molecular abundances as a function of the H2 column density. Each panel shows one molecule, with bars representing the derived abundances for the different cores and widths corresponding to half the uncertainty in N(H2). Hatched bars with a downward-facing triangle indicate upper limits (non-detections). Each panel also shows the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ) and the corresponding p-value. -- astro-ph.GA

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

Tracing The Sulfur Depletion In Starless And Pre-stellar Cores

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, yet the sulfur budget inferred from the observed sulfur-bearing molecules in dense cores is significantly lower than expected.

Juice-UVS saw gas and dust elements stretching up to more than 5 million km from 3I/ATLAS’s nucleus on November 25, 2025, when the comet had dimmed considerably relative to November 2 observations. Black spots are where stars appeared in the scanned image, removed here for clarity. Credit: NASA/ESA/Southwest Research Institute

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Two Spacecraft Observed Both Hemispheres Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Simultaneously

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instruments aboard ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) spacecraft and NASA’s Europa Clipper made unique observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in late 2025. […]

Diagnostic band ratio diagrams extracted from the PAH diagnostic grids (Figure 4), illustrating the influence of varying aliphatic content (0%, 33.3%, 50%, and 100%) at five fixed ionization fractions (Neutral, N67C33, N50C50, N33C67, and Cation). Each panel presents data points representing individual PAH species or mixtures color-coded by their number of carbon atoms (Nc). Linear fits (solid and dashed lines) connect points within each ionization fraction to quantify trends in diagnostic ratios with increasing aliphatic content. The bottom-right panel summarizes these trends by showing the slope distribution histogram of the linear fits across different ionization states, highlighting the systematic increase in slope with aliphatic fraction for all cases except the fully ionized state. -- astro-ph.GA

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

The Influence of Aliphatic Components on the Aromatic Emission Characteristics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Intensity ratios of aromatic emission features are widely used to diagnose the size and ionization state of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in astronomical environments.

Velocity-integrated intensity maps and spatial averaged spectra

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

The Evolution Of C4H And c-C3H2 In Molecular Cores

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

Linear C4H and cyclic c-C3H2, as small unsaturated hydrocarbons, are the key precursors to complex organic molecules and are critical components of the interstellar medium. We present on-the-fly mapping observations […]