A surprising yellow haze of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere of a gas “dwarf” exoplanet about 96 light years away from our own solar system makes the planet a prime […]
astrogeology
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Pluto, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Triton and Pluto: Same Origin But Separated At Birth [Two Possible Ocean Worlds]
Assessing the origin of Pluto and Triton has profound implications for the bigger picture of Solar System formation and evolution.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Planet-forming Disks Around Very Low-mass Stars Are Different
Planets form in disks of gas and dust, orbiting young stars. The MIRI Mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS), led by Thomas Henning from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) in […]
![The [Fe/H] versus C/O distribution for this work sample, as well as other M dwarfs studied by Souto et al. (2017), Souto et al. (2018), Souto et al. (2020). The orange circles represent the results for the four JWST targets studied here; Results for M dwarfs from our previous studies (all based on the same methodology as here) are also shown: orange triangles are M dwarfs with exoplanets detected, while the gray squares are M dwarfs without exoplanets detected so far. We also present results for FGK dwarfs from Nissen (2013) (green triangles; all with detected exoplanets), Teske et al. (2014) with (light blue diamonds) detected exoplanets, and Delgado Mena et al. (2021) with (pink circles), and without detected exoplanets (yellow cross). Additionally, four curves represent the linear regressions of the [Fe/H] vs. C/O distribution for M dwarfs with planet detected (solid orange line), M dwarfs without planet detected (solid gray line), FGK dwarfs with detected planets (dashed orange line), and FGK dwarfs without detected planets (dashed gray line). -- astro-ph.SR](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Stellar-Characterization-and.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Stellar Characterization and Chemical Abundances of Exoplanet Hosting M dwarfs from APOGEE Spectra: Future JWST Targets
Exoplanets hosting M dwarfs are the best targets to characterize Earth-like or super-Earth planetary atmospheres with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We determine detailed stellar parameters (Teff, logg, and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Recipes For Forming A Carbon-rich Giant Planet
The exploration of carbon-to-oxygen ratios has yielded intriguing insights into the composition of close-in giant exoplanets, giving rise to a distinct classification: carbon-rich planets, characterized by a carbon-to-oxygen ratio ≥ […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release
Sulfur Molecules From Space Seeded Early Life On Earth
Important nutrients for the first living organisms on Earth may have come from space, according to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Phobos, Press Release, Sample Return
Phobos Photometric Properties From Mars Express HRSC Observations (Comet Capture?)
This study aims to analyze Phobos’ photometric properties using Mars Express mission observations to support the Martian Moons eXploration mission.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa Clipper Astrobiology Probe Arrives At Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s Europa Clipper, a spacecraft designed to investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and its potential to support life, arrived in Florida on Thursday, May 23. The spacecraft, assembled at NASA’s […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A High Internal Heat Flux and Large Core in a Warm Neptune Exoplanet
Interactions between exoplanetary atmospheres and internal properties have long been hypothesized to be drivers of the inflation mechanisms of gaseous planets and apparent atmospheric chemical disequilibrium conditions.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The Empirical and Radiative Transfer Hybrid (EaRTH) Disk Model: Merging Analyses of Protoplanetary Dust Disk Mineralogy and Structure
Our understanding of how exoplanets form and evolve relies on analyses of both the mineralogy of protoplanetary disks and their detailed structures; however, these key complementary aspects of disks are […]