For decades, agronomists have used remote sensing to monitor key crop parameters like biomass, fractional cover, and plant health. Vegetation indices (VIs) are popular for this purpose, primarily leveraging the […]
biosignature
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Webb Space Telescope Identification Of Carbon Dioxide In An Exoplanet Atmosphere
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a key chemical species that is found in a wide range of planetary atmospheres. In the context of exoplanets, CO2 is an indicator of the metal […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Is Ozone A Reliable Proxy For Molecular Oxygen? I. The O2-O3 Relationship For Earth-like Atmospheres
Molecular oxygen (O2) paired with a reducing gas is regarded as a promising biosignature pair for the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets. In circumstances when O2 may not be detectable […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Neptune, Press Release
Revising Properties of Planet-host Binary Systems II: Apparent Near-Earth Analog Planets in Binaries Are Often Sub-Neptunes
Left: Planetary radius if the primary star is the planet host, plotted against the instellation flux for the planet. The open circles denote the Kepler values, while the closed circles […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Press Release
URI Professors Win NASA-EPSCoR Grant To Study Methane Emissions From Rocks Common To Earth, Mars
Image: From left, Soni Pradhanang and Dawn Cardace, associate professors of geosciences, and Serena Moseman-Valtierra, an associate professor of biological sciences. Over the next three years, three University of Rhode […]
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
Spectropolarimetry Of Life: Airborne Measurements From A Hot Air Balloon
Does life exist outside our Solar System? A first step towards searching for life outside our Solar System is detecting life on Earth by using remote sensing applications. Does life […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Sulfur Residue Mapped On Europa
A Southwest Research Institute-led team used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Jupiter’s moon, Europa, at ultraviolet wavelengths, filling in a “gap” in the various wavelengths used to observe this […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
The Role of Atmospheric Exchange in False-Positive Biosignature Detection
Saturn’s Moon Titan receives volatiles into the top of its atmosphere-including atomic oxygen-sourced from cryovolcanoes on Enceladus. Similar types of atmosphere exchange from one body to another, such as O2 […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
An Integrative Analysis of the Rich Planetary System of the Nearby Star e Eridani: Ideal Targets For Exoplanet Imaging and Biosignature Searches
e Eridani, the fifth-closest Sun-like star, hosts at least three planets and could possibly harbor more. However, the veracity of the planet candidates in the system and its full planetary […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Disruption Of A Planetary Nitrogen Cycle As Evidence Of Extraterrestrial Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the oldest forms of technology on Earth. The cultivation of plants requires a terrestrial planet with active hydrological and carbon cycles and depends on the availability […]