[astro-ph.EP] The PLATO mission will observe its first long-pointing field, LOPS2 (Long-duration Observation Phase, South field), for at least two years, bringing the habitable zones (HZ) of its M-dwarf sample […]
exoplanet
![Planets that will be observed with MIRI in transit, in JWST Cycles 1-5. As mentioned in section 5, we see a wide variety of planet sizes and equilibrium temperatures. The currently published planets are shown in black dots, and listed in Table 1 and Figure 1. We have ommitted the white dwarf planet WD 1856 b (Teq = 160K, Rp = 10.2R⊕, cycle 4), as well as the disintergrating planets K2-22 b (see section 2.1) and BD+05 4868 A b (Teq = 1820K, unknown Rp, cycle 4). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/A-Homogeneous.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Homogeneous Survey Of JWST MIRI Transmission Spectra Of 10 Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] The launch of JWST has enabled unprecedented atmospheric characterization of exoplanets. In particular, the JWST-MIRI instrument in the mid-infrared enables probing of molecular species that are harder to detect […]
![Phase-dependent (colors) apparent albedo spectra from our updated rfast model for an ocean-covered Earth and assuming 75% cloud coverage (left). The equivalent figure adapted from the high-fidelity Earth simulation data of Ryan & Robinson (2022) are shown for comparison (right). All spectra are at a resolving power (λ/∆λ) of 140. Deeper water bands in the rfast simulations are due to this model only including lower-atmospheric clouds, whereas the Ryan & Robinson (2022) simulations include high-altitude clouds that have lower contrast in gas absorption bands (as they obscure the deep atmosphere). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Retrieving.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Retrieving Ocean Glint Reflectance Signatures From Directly Imaged Earth-like Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Future space telescopes searching for extraterrestrial life require methods to detect environments that can potentially support life.
![The separation of β Pictoris b and β Pictoris c from the star in terms of their Hill sphere. β Pictoris b has a longer orbital period (∼20 yr), with a Hill sphere primary transit at MJD ∼58000 and a Hill sphere radius of 1.1 au. β Pictoris c has a shorter orbital period (∼3.3 yr), with two primary transits at MJD 58195+11 −20 and 59415+8 −8 and a secondary transit at 58707+3 −7 . The § Hill sphere radius is approximately 0.3 au. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-Hill.png?resize=1200%2C712&ssl=1)
Posted inBeta Pictoris
The Hill Sphere Transits of Beta Pictoris c and The Search for Another 1981-like Event
[astro-ph.EP]. Beta Pictoris is a young and nearby planetary system hosting an edge-on debris disk and at least three gas-giant planets. Their circumplanetary environments could host exomoons and rings, a […]
![Dereddened Gaia CMD with PARSEC isochrones overplotted. Black points show Gaia DR3 stars corrected for extinction and reddening using band-specific coefficients. Solid curves show isochrones spanning ages from 1 to 13 Gyr at the reference metallicity. The dotted curves highlight 1 Gyr isochrones computed at the lower (-0.4 dex) and upper (+0.4 dex) metallicity values in the sample, illustrating the range of CMD permitted by the observed metallicity distribution. This comparison demonstrates the impact of metallicity on isochrone placement relative to the data. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Precise.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Precise Stellar Age Constraints and Habitable Zone Evolution in Exoplanet Systems
[astro-ph.EP] Accurate stellar ages are fundamental to interpreting the evolutionary histories of habitable zone (HZ) planets. Because stellar luminosity evolves over time, HZ boundaries migrate outward, meaning that present-day HZ […]
![Schematic of the flow-map encoder–operator–decoder architecture used to emulate chemical kinetics. The encoder maps the current normalized input state (and global parameters) to a latent space. The latent dynamics operator evolves this latent state using the time step and global parameters, and the decoder reconstructs the predicted future normalized species state. Optional residual connections can be applied in latent space and/or on the normalized model outputs.-- astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Accelerating.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Accelerating Chemical Kinetics For Exoplanet Atmospheres Using Neural Networks
[astro-ph.EP] Observations increasingly reveal the coupled radiative, chemical, and dynamical processes that shape exoplanet atmospheres. Interpreting these atmospheres requires models that can capture this complexity.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
NASA SMD ROSES-25 Amendment 68: New Opportunity: D.8 Habitable Worlds Observatory Precursor Science Investigations [UPDATE 2]
[NASA]. The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is a large-aperture ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared observatory concept recommended by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine decadal survey, “Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and […]
![Schematics of a HAeBe star accreting material from its protoplanetary disc with an ongoing giant planet formation. The giant planet opens a disc gap, preventing the larger dust grains from moving inwards. The HAeBe star has a convective core (red), a radiative envelope (blue), and the stellar photosphere (yellow).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-refractory.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
The Refractory Fraction Of Phosphorus In Planet-forming Discs
[astro-ph.EP] Context. Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life on Earth and a potential tracer of planet formation history. However, there has been no detection of P-bearing molecules in […]
Posted inLava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds
Atmosphere Detected On The Coldest Lava World To Date
[University of Chicago] In the search for extraterrestrial life, it makes sense to first look for rocky planets with an atmosphere, like Earth. Without an atmosphere, a planet can’t have […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Comets May Have Transported Water To A Young Planetary System
[Lund University] Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets – comets in other solar systems – orbiting a young star similar to our Sun. The observations […]