Made famous in 1995 by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the Pillars of Creation in the heart of the Eagle Nebula have captured imaginations worldwide with their arresting, ethereal beauty.
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Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Laboratory Characterization Of Hydrothermally Processed Oligopeptides In Ice Grains Emitted By Enceladus And Europa
The Cassini mission provided evidence for a global subsurface ocean and ongoing hydrothermal activity on Enceladus, based on results from Cassini’s mass spectrometers. Laboratory simulations of hydrothermal conditions on icy […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Dust-Trapping Ring in the Planet-Hosting Disk of Elias 2-24
Rings and gaps are among the most widely observed forms of substructure in protoplanetary disks.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Astrochemistry Update: Hubble Observes Infant Stars In Molecular Cloud RCW 7
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image presents a visually striking collection of interstellar gas and dust. Named RCW 7, the nebula is located just over 5,300 light-years from Earth in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Chemistry Across Dust and Gas Gaps in Protoplanetary Disks: Modelling the Co-spatial Molecular Rings in the HD 100546 Disk
High-resolution observations show that typically both the dust and the gas in nearby extended protoplanetary disks are structured, possibly related to radial and azimuthal variations in the disk density and/or […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
The Solar System: Structural Overview, Origins and Evolution
Understanding the origin and long-term evolution of the Solar System is a fundamental goal of planetary science and astrophysics.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
SPHERE RefPlanets: Search For Epsilon Eridani b And Warm Dust
We carried out very deep VLT/SPHERE imaging polarimetry of the nearby system Eps Eri based on 38.5 hours of integration time with a 600 – 900 nm broadband filter to […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Pluto, Press Release
Astrogeology/Astrochemistry/Astrobiology Update: New Horizons Detects Dusty Hints Of An Extended Kuiper Belt
New observations from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft hint that the Kuiper Belt – the vast, distant outer zone of our solar system populated by hundreds of thousands of icy, rocky […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Panspermia, Status Report
The Possibility Of Panspermia In The Deep Cosmos By Means Of The Planetary Dust Grains
By obtaining the assumption that planetary dust particles can escape from the gravitational attraction of a planet, we consider the possibility for the dust grains to leave the star’s system […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
chemcomp: Modeling The Chemical Composition Of Planets Formed In Protoplanetary Disks
Future observations of exoplanets will hopefully reveal detailed constraints on planetary compositions. Recently, we have developed and introduced chemcomp (Schneider & Bitsch 2021a), which simulates the formation of planets in […]