Amid the Jovian system, Europa is of particular interest to scientists because of the strong evidence for nutrients, water and energy to potentially provide a habitable environment for some form […]
astrogeology
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mercury, Status Report
First Observationally-Constrained Estimates Of Carbon In Mercury’s Near Surface
A striking feature of the surface of Mercury is the low-reflectance material (LRM), areas exhibiting 20-30% lower average reflectance that are often associated with impact craters, especially the ejecta and […]
![Elemental abundance ratios for the Hypatia catalog stars in dex. Throughout, the white star shows solar values. A) [Mg/H] vs. [Fe/H], showing growth of an α nuclide compared with Fe. [Fe/H] is broadly taken as an indicator of time. The influence of Type Ia supernovae on galactic chemical evolution is indicated by the two arrows. B) Same data as [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H]. The solid negatively sloping line shows the effect of induced ratio correlation due to Fe appearing on both axes. C) Same as B) but with contours showing 50, 80 and 95% levels for the chondritic (solid contours) and non-chondritic (dashed contours) populations of stars based on χ 2 ν tests. The larger points indicate stars that pass as chondritic and the smaller points do not pass. The non-chondritic population generally extends to lower metallicities than the chondritic stars. D) Ratios of lithophile elements only, showing no clear trend. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AChondritic.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
A Chondritic Solar Neighborhood
A persistent question in exoplanet demographics is whether exoplanetary systems form from similar compositional building blocks to our own.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Space Telescope Reveals The Complexity Of Fomalhaut’s Evolving Asteroid Belt
Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to image the warm dust around a nearby young star, Fomalhaut, in order to study the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Press Release
Redness Of Neptunian Asteroids Sheds Light On The Early Solar System
Asteroids sharing their orbits with the planet Neptune have been observed to exist in a broad spectrum of red colour, implying the existence of two populations of asteroids in the […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Comparisons Of The Core And Mantle Compositions Of Earth Analogs From Different Terrestrial Planet Formation Scenarios
The chemical compositions of Earth’s core and mantle provide insight into the processes that led to their formation. N-body simulations, on the other hand, generally do not contain chemical information, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Press Release
A Newly Discovered Form Of Salty Ice Could Exist On The Surface Of Icy Moons
The red streaks crisscrossing the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, are striking. Scientists suspect it is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature is […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
An Unknown Class Of Water-rich Asteroids Has Been Identified
New astronomical measurements in the infrared range have led to the identification of a heretofore unknown class of asteroids
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
Takeout And Delivery: Erasing The Dusty Signature Of Late-stage Terrestrial Planet Formation
The formation of planets like Earth is expected to conclude with a series of late-stage giant impacts that generate warm dusty debris, the most anticipated visible signpost of terrestrial planet […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Do Rocky Planets Really Form?
A new theory for how rocky planets form could explain the origin of so-called “super-Earths”—a class of exoplanets a few times more massive than the Earth that are the most […]