atmosphere Archives

Two new spaceborne Earth-observing instruments will help scientists better understand how global forests and ecosystems are affected by changes in climate and land use change. This image of the Amazon rainforest is from a 2010 global map of the height of the world’s forests based on multiple satellite datasets. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory

White Paper On Phototrophic Biosignatures: Research Priorities For The Search For Life On Other Worlds

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2026July 8, 2026

[astro-ph.IM] Photosynthesis is of prime interest in the telescopic search for life beyond the Solar System, because, on Earth, oxygenic photosynthesis produces two strong “biosignatures,” global scale signs of life […]

The mid-infrared transmission spectrum of TOI-270 d obtained with the JWST MIRI LRS instrument and the JExoRES pipeline. The data points with error bars (in dark red) show the observed spectrum. The horizontal error bars correspond to the spectral bin width. The dark blue curve denotes the median retrieved spectral fit to this MIRI dataset using the canonical retrieval discussed in Section 3.2, while the two lighter shaded regions denote the 1σ and 2σ intervals. The yellow points denote the binned median model. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

The Mid-Infrared Transmission Spectrum of the Temperate Sub-Neptune TOI-270 d

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Observations of temperate sub-Neptunes with JWST have ushered in a new era for atmospheric characterization of small exoplanets.

A selection of the data products that can be generated using 2D-CARMApy.

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

CARMApy: An Open-Source Python Framework for Simulating Microphysical Clouds in Planetary Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJuly 8, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] CARMApy is a new open-source python code that performs bin-scheme microphysical modeling of clouds in exoplanet atmospheres.

Surveying the Trade Space with Engineering Architecture Concepts (EACs) From right to left, these are EACs 1, 2, and 3. EAC-1 is a 6m, segmented, off-axis telescope. EAC-2 is the same but uses a round keystone mirror and surrounding segments. EAC-3 is an 8m on-axis telescope with round segments. Each model has an extendable barrel, not pictured here, to protect its primary mirrors from impact damage with micrometeorites. NASA Goddard/Conceptual Image Labs -- astro-ph.IM

Astronomy & Telescopes

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Technology Development Plan

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.IM] The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s next large space telescope, selected by the 2020 Decadal Survey in Astronomy and Astrophysics to search for and characterize habitable exoplanets while […]

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Photochemical Production of CS2 in Temperate-to-Warm Gas Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Sulfur chemistry has emerged as an important probe of exoplanet atmospheres in the JWST era, although observational constraints have thus far been largely limited to SO2 and H2S in […]

The transmission spectrum of TOI-1231 b. The observed JWST spectrum and retrieved model fits are shown for the fiducial retrieval using the JexoPipe data, considering the six prominent CNO molecules, with a single offset and no stellar heterogeneity, as discussed in Section 3. For visual clarity, the data shown here have been binned to R∼50. A retrieved offset of 79.38 ppm has been added to the NIRSpec data. The dark blue line indicates the median retrieved spectrum, with the shaded regions indicating the 1σ and 2σ uncertainties. The yellow points show the median retrieved spectrum binned at the same resolution as the plotted data. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Transmission Spectrum of the Benchmark Temperate Exo-Neptune TOI-1231 b

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2026July 7, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] The JWST is revolutionizing our understanding of the temperate sub-Neptune population through atmospheric spectroscopy.

Envelope compositions obtained in this study.

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Planet Formation In Chemically Diverse And Evolving Discs II. Chemical Fingerprints In Planetary Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJuly 6, 2026July 6, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Giant planets form in protoplanetary discs, where the coupled dynamical and chemical evolution of gas and solids determines the composition of the material they accrete. We investigate how planet […]

Artist concept of the gas giant planet WD1856b orbiting a white dwarf star. The planet is 7 times larger than the Earth-sized white dwarf it orbits. WD1856b has methane and hazes in its atmosphere, which would give it a similar colour to Saturn's moon Titan. The white dwarf formed from a star that died 5 billion years ago and has been cooling ever since, giving it an orange colour similar to the sun. Credit NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

How A Giant Planet Survived Its Star’s Death

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[Northwestern University] When astronomers discovered a giant planet orbiting a dead star in 2020, they wondered how it survived its star’s violent demise. Now, observations from NASA’s James Webb Space […]

Radial velocities for TOI-1055 (TIC 320004517), with green circles for HARPS03, orange circles for HARPS15 and blue circles for HARPS20. Error bars show observed uncertainties, with lighter extensions indicating the contribution from the 𝜎jit jitter terms added in quadrature. The white noise CW0 (upper panels) and GP CG0 (lower panels) models are shown as the black curve and grey shaded region, representing the median and 68% credible interval of the RV signal from the posterior samples. Both models have circular orbit planets and no trend, differing only in the noise model. The lower panels show residuals relative to each RV model above. The GP model is strongly preferred over the white noise model with log Bayes factor Δ ln Z = 14.4, and has less scatter in the residuals (RMS of 2.05 ms−1 versus 4.99 ms−1). -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Improving Exoplanet Mass Characterisation With Bayesian Model Selection Using The Learned Harmonic Mean Estimator

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Radial velocity (RV) analyses require modelling choices (such as eccentricity treatment, noise model, velocity trends, and number of planets) that can significantly affect derived planetary masses.

Left panel: Sketch of the V883 Ori outbursting protostar: the luminosity increase of the central source pushes the snowline outwards (from 80 au in the midplane to 160 au in the disk surface layers), releasing iCOMs in gas-phase at dust temperatures > 100 K. However, the dust continuum optical depth in the inner 40 au screens the emission from complex organics despite their expected high column densities after sublimation (adapted from Lee et al., 2019b). Right panel; ALMA observations towards V883 Ori shows a ring of CH3OH emission, because methanol is observed in the region where 𝑇 > 100 K (i.e. inside the snowline) and where the dust optical depth becomes lower than 1, as shown in the sketch. The lower frequencies covered by the SKAO will allow us to probe iCOMS emission in the innermost 40 au region of these disks thanks to the low dust optical depths at cm wavelengths (adapted from Tobin et al., 2023). -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry

Unveiling Complex Chemistry In Planet-forming Disks With The SKAO

by Keith CowingJuly 4, 2026July 4, 2026

[astro-ph.SR] The chemical composition of planets is inherited from that of the natal protoplanetary disk at the time of planet formation.

atmosphere

White Paper On Phototrophic Biosignatures: Research Priorities For The Search For Life On Other Worlds

The Mid-Infrared Transmission Spectrum of the Temperate Sub-Neptune TOI-270 d

CARMApy: An Open-Source Python Framework for Simulating Microphysical Clouds in Planetary Atmospheres

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Technology Development Plan

Photochemical Production of CS2 in Temperate-to-Warm Gas Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres

Transmission Spectrum of the Benchmark Temperate Exo-Neptune TOI-1231 b

Planet Formation In Chemically Diverse And Evolving Discs II. Chemical Fingerprints In Planetary Atmospheres

How A Giant Planet Survived Its Star’s Death

Improving Exoplanet Mass Characterisation With Bayesian Model Selection Using The Learned Harmonic Mean Estimator

Unveiling Complex Chemistry In Planet-forming Disks With The SKAO

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,209 24 July 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

NASA SMD ROSES-25 Amendment 68: New Opportunity: D.8 Habitable Worlds Observatory Precursor Science Investigations

The Viking’s 50 Year Landing Anniversary Astrobiology Special Collection: Reexamining the Revolutionary Impact of Viking on Mars Exploration

Extraordinary Creatures: Tardigrades

Venus: Dead? Far From It