astrogeology Archives

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Press Release

Atmospheric Isotopes Reveal 4.5 Billion Years Of Volcanism On Io

by Editor PostedApril 18, 2024August 19, 2024

Sulfur and chlorine isotopes in the atmosphere of Jupiter’s moon Io indicate that it has been volcanically active for the entire 4.57 billion-year history of the Solar System, according to […]

JWST NIRCam albedos of Proteus and Puck compared to the spectra of 2004 EW95 (Plutino) and 2007 VL305 (Neptune Trojan) from JWST Programs 2418 and 2550 respectively. Also shown are Voyager-derived visual geometric albedos, with the Puck albedo selected to be at the same phase angle as the JWST observations (see Figure 6 of Karkoschka (2001) and Table 2 of Karkoschka (2003)). The spectrophotometry for Proteus and Puck closely matches the shape and albedo for the selected objects, both of which have less red/neutral spectral slopes, and perihelia also near 30AU. Higher resolution spectra for Puck and Proteus are needed to reveal surface composition. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Miranda, Neptune, Oberon, Status Report, Titania, Triton, Umbriel, Uranus

JWST Spectrophotometry of the Small Satellites of Uranus and Neptune

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2024April 11, 2024

We use 1.4-4.6 micron multi-band photometry of the small inner Uranian and Neptunian satellites obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope’s near-infrared imager NIRCam to characterize their surface compositions.

a, Oxygen cycle, where the two boxes separate the deep ocean (bottom) from the well-mixed upper surface ocean and atmosphere (top). Resp., respiration. b, Organic carbon (Corg) cycle. Prod., primary productivity; Remin., remineralization. Fluxes to A denote exchange to the inorganic carbon reservoir, where A is the inorganic carbon reservoir. The primary production of organic carbon is taken from a singular reservoir of inorganic carbon. c, Inorganic carbon cycle, defined by a single box containing the atmosphere and oceans. Oxidw, oxidative weathering; carbw, carbonate weathering; locb, land organic carbon burial; mocb, marine organic carbon burial; mccb, marine carbonate carbon burial; sfw, seafloor weathering; ocdeg, organic carbon degassing; ccdeg, carbonate carbon degassing; rgf, reduced gas flux. d, Phosphorus cycle, where P exists as soluble reactive phosphorus (Preac) and organic bound phosphorus (Porg). Burial sinks of reactive phosphorus include iron bound P (PFe) and authigenic P phases (Pauth). The boxes with background blue background show hydrospheric reservoirs. The grey arrows denote mixing between them, and the black arrows denote biogeochemical fluxes. -- Nature

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release

Earth’s Global Carbon Cycle Could Help Assess Liveability Of Other Planets

by Keith CowingApril 10, 2024

Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth – and it could help assess which other […]

Schematic visualization of heat flows in rock cracks. | © Christof Mast

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Heat Flows Are The Secret To Order In Prebiotic Molecular Kitchen

by Keith CowingApril 5, 2024April 5, 2024

Life is complicated. What is true for our everyday existence also holds for the many complex processes that take place inside cells. Proteins constantly have to be synthesized, cell walls […]

A top-down view of one of the containers holding rocks and dust from asteroid Bennu, with hardware scale marked in centimeters. Erika Blumenfeld, creative lead for the Advanced Imaging and Visualization of Astromaterials (AIVA) and Joe Aebersold, AIVA project management lead, captured this picture using manual high-resolution precision photography and a semi-automated focus stacking procedure. The result is a sample image that can be zoomed in on to show extreme detail. Credit: NASA/Erika Blumenfeld and Joseph Aebersold Larger image

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Samples Now Available to World’s Scientists

by Keith CowingApril 1, 2024April 1, 2024

Scientists outside of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx team are getting their first close look at the asteroid Bennu samples available for independent research just six months after their delivery to Earth.

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Conferences and Meetings, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

Second Workshop On Terrestrial Analogs For Planetary Exploration

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2024August 12, 2024

Workshop Dates and Location The Second Workshop on Terrestrial Analogs for Planetary Exploration is scheduled for August 12–14, 2024, at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff, Arizona with virtual participation available.

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on Jan. 31, 2015. ESA/Rosetta/NAVCAM – CC BY-SA IGO 3.0

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

A Link Between The Size And Composition Of Comets

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2024March 26, 2024

All cometary nuclei that formed in the early Solar System incorporated radionuclides and therefore were subject to internal radiogenic heating. Previous work predicts that if comets have a pebble-pile structure […]

An artist’s rendition of Saturn’s moon Enceladus depicts hydrothermal activity on the seafloor and cracks in the moon’s icy crust that allow material from the watery interior to be ejected into space. New research shows that instruments destined for the next missions could find traces of a single cell in a single ice grain contained in a plume. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Signs Of Life Are Detectable In A Single Ice Grain Emitted From Icy Moons

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2024March 23, 2024

The ice-encrusted oceans of some of the moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter are leading candidates in the search for extraterrestrial life. A new lab-based study led by the University of […]

This artist's illustration depicts how the gas leaving the nascent planet-forming disk might look. Such gas dispersal can also happen around supermassive black holes, however, the physics may not be the same as those discussed here.ESO/M. Kornmesser

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release

The End Of Planet Formation

by Keith CowingMarch 22, 2024March 22, 2024

Scientists believe that planetary systems like our solar system contain more rocky objects than gas-rich ones. Around our sun, these include the inner planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars […]

Astrogeology, Callisto, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Large Impact Features on Ganymede and Callisto as Revealed by Geological Mapping and Morphometry

by Keith CowingMarch 22, 2024March 22, 2024

We have performed topographic and geological mapping of 19 large impact features on Ganymede and Callisto in order to gather morphometric and crater age data that allow us to quantify […]