atmosphere Archives

Density scatter plots comparing estimated versus observed OCO-2 and OCO-3 XCO₂ concentrations for the Stage-1 baseline model (left) and the Stage-2 full Goes model (right). The color gradient denotes local data point density, with warmer colors (yellow/green) indicating regions of higher data concentration. In each panel, the dashed gray line represents the 1:1 line of perfect agreement. -- physics.ao-ph

Quantification Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide From The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES East)

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2026May 27, 2026

Editor’s note: One way to search for habitable – and possibly inhabited – worlds in our solar system and in other star systems is to examine planetary atmospheres for chemical […]

Super-Earth and a Sub-Neptune - Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

A New Global Chemical Equilibrium Code: Refractory Element Signatures in Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

The atmospheres of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes can be strongly modified by chemical exchange with their molten interiors during long-lived magma ocean phases. Interpreting atmospheric observations requires fast models that self-consistently […]

Integrated flux for ALMA’s CO(3-2) line measurement. Superposed as black circles on Neptune’s map are the beam positions observed onto the planet and used for the spatially resolved retrievals. The filled red circle in the lower-left corner indicates the size and orientation of the beam. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Ice Giant, Neptune, Status Report

Latitudinal Variations In Neptune’s Temperature Profile Observed With ALMA

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

Despite the low solar irradiation it receives, Neptune shows a very active atmosphere with some of the most intense dynamics observed in Solar System atmospheres. Characterizing the atmospheric temperature profiles […]

A northern polar projection of Jupiter indicating the latitude and longitude ranges adopted for coaddition of individual spectra. The circumference latitude is 40◦ (planetocentric), enclosed concentric circles are spaced by 4◦ in latitude. The magenta line represents the statistical mean position of the auroral oval (Bonfond et al., 2017). Spatial bins in black represent regions that do not overlap in latitude with the auroral oval, blue and red spatial bins represents areas outside and inside the auroral oval, respectively. TEXES achieves diffraction-limited spatial resolutions of 0.7” to 1.4” over the wavelength range adopted in this study, which corresponds to a latitude-longitude footprint of 5-10◦ at 60◦N. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report

Detection Of Propadiene (CH2CCH2), Propene (C3H6) And Non-detection Of Propane (C3H8) In Jupiter’s Northern Polar Stratosphere

by Keith CowingMay 25, 2026May 25, 2026

We report the first detection of stratospheric propadiene (CH2CCH2) and propene (C3H6) at Jupiter’s mid-to-high northern latitudes using IRTF-TEXES measurements recorded on March 5-6, 2025.

Upper panels: Equatorial rotational velocity (veq) vs. projected rotational velocity (v sin i) for stars in Tiers 1, 2, and 3. The v sin i values are taken directly from the ARC and the veq values are calculated using Prot from the ARC and R⋆ from the HPIC. Several stars in each tier fall in a region of parameter space that is mathematically forbidden, i.e., requiring sin i > 1. Lower Panels: Expected and observed inclination distributions for stars in Tiers 1, 2, and 3. The observed distributions are systematically distinct from the expected distributions. Not only do they predict undefined stellar inclinations, but the results favor face-on orbits (i = 0◦ ) rather than edge-on orbits (i = 90◦) as one would expect if stellar spin axes were drawn from an isotropic distribution. -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

HWO Target Stars and Systems: Activity and Rotation Catalog (ARC) of Potential Target Stars for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2026May 24, 2026

A major goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is to precisely characterize exoplanets and their atmospheres.

ExoCAM simulations of Earth from the present up to 2.0 Gyr in the future, assuming CO2 remains fixed at 400 ppm. The top row shows surface temperature, the middle row shows precipitation minus evaporation, and the bottom row shows the habitability metric developed by Woodward et al. (2025) (Eqs. (D1) and (D2)). All quantities are 20-year averages after the model has reached a steady-state. Increases in temperature due to a brightening sun cause an increase in habitability up to 1.5 Gyr due to the greening of the poles, but habitability decreases significantly by 2.0 Gyr as Earth becomes too hot for complex vegetative life. This corresponds to a weak temperature dependence of weathering, in which Earth’s CO2 levels do not change even as the climate warms (c.f., Graham et al., 2024). -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Agriculture, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Maximum Lifetime Of The Vegetative Biosphere

by Keith CowingMay 23, 2026May 23, 2026

We use a three-dimensional model to calculate steady-state climates at various intervals in Earth’s future, across a parameter space of increasing insolation and decreasing CO2 mixing ratio.

Artistic representation of WASP-94 A b. Clouds build as air flows over the dark side of the planet, reaching a large swell by daybreak. The clouds dissipate on the dayside, leaving clear skies in the early evening. Image courtesy of Hannah Robbins/Johns Hopkins University

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astronomers Observe Exoplanet Atmospheres With New Cloud-detecting Method

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

Every morning, clouds roll in, and by evening, they have cleared off. This sounds like a weather forecast for a coastal city here on Earth — but it’s for WASP-94A […]

This system integrates Akatsuki observation data and AFES-Venus numerical simulation forecast data using the LETKF data assimilation method. The release of ALERA-V, objective analysis data that spatiotemporally reconstructs a more "probable" state of the Venusian atmosphere, marks the world's first open data release of data on the Venusian atmosphere. (Credit: Keio University, ISAS/JAXA)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus

ALERA-V Version 1.0: An Objective Analysis Dataset of the Venus Atmosphere

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

An objective analysis dataset of the Venus atmosphere, ALERA-V version 1.0, has been released. This objective analysis provides the best estimate of the state of the Venus atmosphere produced by […]

Artist's impression of a gas giant planet orbiting its distant host star. New research, led by astronomers at Penn State and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to analyze the atmosphere of a gas giant planet about the size of Saturn but with Earth-like temperatures and found it to be rich in methane. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Atmosphere Of Saturn-sized Planet With Earth-like Temperature Contains Methane

by Keith CowingMay 21, 2026May 21, 2026

A planet that is about the size of Saturn, but with a temperature more like Earth’s, has an atmosphere rich in methane, according to a new study using NASA’s James […]

Diagram of the dominant chemical reaction pathways in our photochemical network.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Hycean Interpretation of K2-18b Supported by Photochemical Atmospheric Compositional

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

The nature of the sub-Neptune K2-18b is debated between Hycean and mini-Neptune interpretations.

atmosphere

Quantification Of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide From The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES East)

A New Global Chemical Equilibrium Code: Refractory Element Signatures in Super-Earths and Sub-Neptunes

Latitudinal Variations In Neptune’s Temperature Profile Observed With ALMA

Detection Of Propadiene (CH2CCH2), Propene (C3H6) And Non-detection Of Propane (C3H8) In Jupiter’s Northern Polar Stratosphere

HWO Target Stars and Systems: Activity and Rotation Catalog (ARC) of Potential Target Stars for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

Maximum Lifetime Of The Vegetative Biosphere

Astronomers Observe Exoplanet Atmospheres With New Cloud-detecting Method

ALERA-V Version 1.0: An Objective Analysis Dataset of the Venus Atmosphere

Atmosphere Of Saturn-sized Planet With Earth-like Temperature Contains Methane

A Hycean Interpretation of K2-18b Supported by Photochemical Atmospheric Compositional

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 9 November 2026: Lake Untersee Basecamp Update

Astrochemistry: Hubble and JWST Observe Star Formation in The Carina Nebula

Mapping the Historical Roots of Astrobiology: A Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) Analysis

The Agentic Observer Hackathon: Autonomous Decision-making in Simulated Astronomical Surveys

Tracking The Evolution of sub-Neptunes. I. Gyrochronology of Planet Hosting Stars