Context. Detecting and characterizing the atmosphere of rocky planets in the habitable zone is a key objective of exoplanet research in the era of JWST and the upcoming E-ELT. Spectroscopy […]
Earth
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release
Impact History Of Early Earth Created Conditions Conducive To Life
Southwest Research Institute scientists modeled the early impact history of Earth, seeking insight into potential origins of life. These models show that asteroid impacts on the early Earth plowed up […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Venus
New Experiments And Modeling On Iron Meteorites Provide Insight Into Young Solar System And Earth’s Building Blocks
Habitable planets require life-essential elements, like nitrogen and phosphorus. Understanding how those elements ended up in a planetary body can give insight into the formation of the solar system and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
NASA’s Roman Mission Preps to Unveil New Populations of Faraway Worlds
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is poised to make a major leap in the hunt for worlds outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Scientists expect the mission to […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report
The Role Of The Hubble Space Telescope In Advancing Our Understanding Of Atmospheric Escape In Exoplanets
An important evolutionary pathway for planetary atmospheres is escape to space, which has been studied on Earth and Mars for several decades and more recently in exoplanets.
Posted inAtmospheres, 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
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.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Seasonal Insolation Variability On Early Venus: Implications For Energy Budget
Venus and Earth are similar in bulk properties yet followed dramatically different climatic trajectories.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return
Bacteria Live In Fog Droplets And Clear Toxins From Earth’s Air
What if fog isn’t just misty air, but a living ecosystem?
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report, Venus
A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life
Decades of study have hinted at the astrobiological potential of Venus’s cloud layers. This potential is often cast as stemming from the idea that the Venusian surface was clement in […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Active Responses Of Cyanobacterial Crusts Directly Exposed To The Extreme Stratospheric Environment
The stratosphere’s highly hostile environment offers a unique and relatively accessible setting to evaluate extremophilic adaptation for extraterrestrial colonization. The accelerating pace of the Martian project has underscored the need […]