Carbon Dioxide Archives

Top: The full spectrum of VHS 1256 b using JWST’s NIRSpec IFU and MIRI MRS observation modes. Bandpasses are highlighted with different colors and error bar are displayed in grey. A single photometric point for MIRI MRS Channel 4A is shown because there is little to no signal in the MIRI MRS 4B, and 4C channels. Error bars are plotted in a light grey. Bottom: The wavelength overlap region between JWST’s NIRSpec IFU (black) and MIRI MRS (red) observation modes with errors plotted in light gray. The flux calibrated NIRSpec IFU spectra agree well with the MIRI MRS extracted spectra in the overlap region. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum of the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a <20 MJup widely separated (∼8 arcsec, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion […]

This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) features the central region of the Chamaeleon I dark molecular cloud, which resides 630 light years away. The cold, wispy cloud material (blue, center) is illuminated in the infrared by the glow of the young, outflowing protostar Ced 110 IRS 4 (orange, upper left). The light from numerous background stars, seen as orange dots behind the cloud, can be used to detect ices in the cloud, which absorb the starlight passing through them. Larger image

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Interstellar, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

JWST Sheds Light On The Structure Of Interstellar Water Ice

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2024July 5, 2024

Using the JWST, a team of researchers including Paola Caselli, Barbara Michela Giuliano and Basile Husquinet from MPE, have probed deep into dense cloud cores, revealing details of interstellar ice […]

Thermal desorption of a mixed H2O:CO2:CO ice film at 100:15:5 ratio recorded during a Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) experiment, where the release of each molecule is measured with a mass spectrometer. Carbon monoxide was traced with the 13CO isotope. Four distinct release events are visible: pure-phase CO (1), pure-phase CO2 with CO co-desorbing (2), volcano desorption of CO and CO2 (3), and water desorption with co-desorption of CO and CO2 (4). Desorption and trapping fractions of volatiles can be determined by integrating the TPD trace over discrete temperature ranges. The data are adapted from Kipfer et al. (2024a). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Mind the Trap: Non-negligible Effect of Volatile Trapping in Ice on C/O Ratios in Protoplanetary Disks and Exoplanetary Atmospheres

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2024June 27, 2024

The ability of bulk ices (H2O, CO2) to trap volatiles has been well studied in any experimental sense, but largely ignored in protoplanetary disk and planet formation models as well […]

The sulfur-laden atmosphere discovered on gaseous exoplanet GJ 3470 b, show here in an illustration orbiting its star in the constellation Cancer, could help researchers figure out how it (and similar planets) were formed. Image: Department of Astronomy, UW–Madison

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Small, Cool And Sulfurous Exoplanet May Help Write The Recipe For Planetary Formation

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2024June 11, 2024

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 […]

Three independent reductions of the NIRCam F322W2 and F444W data agree within their uncertainties The top panel shows the F322W2 and F444W transmission spectra, as reduced using the Pegasus, Eureka, and tshirt pipelines, plotted with their associated 1 σ uncertainties using constant 0.015µm-wide spectral bins. All of the F322W2 spectra have been offset down by 163 ppm to correct for a bias offset in the F322W2 transit depths compared to the F444W and Spitzer data (see Appendix B.3). All three reductions agree on the shape of the transmission spectrum and show features due to H2O (2.5–3.2µm), CH4 (3.2–3.5µm), SO2 (3.9–4.1µm), and CO2 (2.6–2.9µm and 4.2–4.5µm). The absorption cross sections of the prominent species in this wavelength range, many of which are visually identifiable in the bottom panel. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Sulfur Dioxide and Other Molecular Species in the Atmosphere of the Sub-Neptune GJ 3470 b

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2024June 11, 2024

We report observations of the atmospheric transmission spectrum of the sub-Neptune exoplanet GJ 3470 b taken using the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on JWST. Combined with two archival HST/WFC3 transit observations […]

Map of the CO2 clouds detections from the 2.7 μm absorption band from the ACS instrument. Top: Seasonal and latitudinal distribution of solar occultation observations. Circles and triangles correspond to MIR and TIRVIM observations. No CO2 clouds detection is shown in grey, detection at the morning (evening) terminator is in blue (red). Bottom: Latitudinallongitudinal map of the CO2 clouds detections from the ACS instrument with the solar longitude given by the color code. Squares and triangles represent detections made at the morning and at the evening terminators, respectively. Contour lines represent the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) altimetry data. Black lines correspond to negative values taken with 1 km step, red lines — positive values with 3 km step. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report

Unambiguous Detection Of Mesospheric CO2 Clouds On Mars Using 2.7 μm Absorption Band From The ACS/TGO Solar Occultations

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2024June 4, 2024

Mesospheric CO2 clouds are one of two types of carbon dioxide clouds known on Mars. We present observations of mesospheric CO2 clouds made by Atmospheric Chemistry Suit (ACS) onboard the […]

This graphic indicates Earth’s atmospheric concentrations of CO2, expressed in parts per million (ppm), throughout the Cenozoic era from pre-industrial times back 65 million years. These are estimates based on proxies encoded in the geological record. The color-coded bars represent global temperature reconstructed from independent proxy data. The dashed line represents where CO2 concentrations stand today at 420 ppm. -- Credit: Gabe Bowen, University of Utah.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release

Geoscientists Map Changes In Earth’s Atmospheric CO2 Over The Past 66 Million Years

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2024February 6, 2024

Today atmospheric carbon dioxide is at its highest level in at least several million years thanks to widespread combustion of fossil fuels by humans over the past couple centuries.

These towering tendrils of cosmic dust and gas sit at the heart of M16, or the Eagle Nebula. The aptly named Pillars of Creation featured in this stunning image are part of an active star-forming region in the nebula and hide newborn stars in their wispy columns. The chemical building blocks of life may have come from regions like this one and then were further processed inside asteroids formed in our, and possibly other, solar systems. This image was made by combining images from two cameras aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb’s near-infrared image was fused with its mid-infrared image, setting this star-forming region ablaze with new details. -- Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI).

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release

Studying Life’s Origins By Simulating a Cosmic Evolution

by Keith CowingJanuary 12, 2024January 12, 2024

Amino acids make up millions of proteins that drive the chemical gears of life, including essential bodily functions in animals. Because of amino acids’ relationship to living things scientists are […]

atmospheric abundances for Venus, Earth and Mars.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Carbon-lite Atmosphere Could Be A Sign Of Water And Life On Other Terrestrial Planets

by Keith CowingDecember 29, 2023December 29, 2023

Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers’ best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, […]

The gas conversion process by an electrode-based enzymatic reaction. The enzyme extracted from the microbe, bound to a graphite electrode, can be employed to convert the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to formate, a molecule that can be used as safe energy storage or as a basis for chemical synthesis. The two molecules are shown as balls and sticks (carbon atoms in grey, oxygen atoms in red). The structure of the protein from the methanogen Methanothermobacter wolfeii is shown as a light blue surface to illustrate the enzyme. The energy required by the electrode can originate from renewable energy sources. CREDIT O. Lemaire, M. Belhamri and T. Wagner/ Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Capturing CO2 With Electricity: A Microbial Enzyme Inspires Electrochemistry

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2023November 30, 2023

Seeking microorganisms that efficiently capture the greenhouse gas CO2

Carbon Dioxide

The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum of the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b

JWST Sheds Light On The Structure Of Interstellar Water Ice

Mind the Trap: Non-negligible Effect of Volatile Trapping in Ice on C/O Ratios in Protoplanetary Disks and Exoplanetary Atmospheres

Sulfur Dioxide and Other Molecular Species in the Atmosphere of the Sub-Neptune GJ 3470 b

Unambiguous Detection Of Mesospheric CO2 Clouds On Mars Using 2.7 μm Absorption Band From The ACS/TGO Solar Occultations

Geoscientists Map Changes In Earth’s Atmospheric CO2 Over The Past 66 Million Years

Studying Life’s Origins By Simulating a Cosmic Evolution

A Carbon-lite Atmosphere Could Be A Sign Of Water And Life On Other Terrestrial Planets

Capturing CO2 With Electricity: A Microbial Enzyme Inspires Electrochemistry

The Emergence Of Life In The Light Of Evolution

ReactionAtlas: Ab Origine Exploration Of Chemical Reaction Networks With Machine Learning

Mass Constraints For The K2-223 System Planets: An Ultra-short-period sub-Earth, A Short-period Super-Earth, And A Tentative Long-period Giant Planet

Double Gravity-Assist Rendezvous Trajectory to Halley’s Comet Using Deep-Space Low Thrust

Photometric Characterization Of Near-Earth Asteroids: Rotation, Taxonomy, And Candidate Evidence For Internal Cohesion