We present stellar evolution models for 0.5 – 1.2 \Msol at scaled metallicities of 0.1 – 1.5 Z\sol and O/Fe values of 0.44 – 2.28 O/Fe\sol. The time dependent evolution […]
extrasolar
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
3D Climate Modeling of Earth-like Extrasolar Planets Orbiting Different Types of Host Stars
The potential habitability of a terrestrial planet is usually defined by the possible existence of liquid water on its surface. The potential presence of liquid water depends on many factors […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Water Ice Lines and Mars-mass Exomoons Around Accreting Super-Jovian Planets
Exomoon detections might be feasible with NASA’s Kepler or ESA’s upcoming PLATO mission or the ground-based E-ELT. To use observational resources most efficiently we need to know where the largest, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
NASA's Search for Water and Habitable Planets
NASA Television will air an event from 1 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 7, featuring leading science and engineering experts discussing the recent discoveries of water and organics in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Detecting Biospheres from Thermodynamic Disequilibrium in Planetary Atmospheres
Atmospheric chemical disequilibrium has been proposed as a method for detecting extraterrestrial biospheres from exoplanet observations. Chemical disequilibrium is potentially a generalized biosignature since it makes no assumptions about particular […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Earth-like Tatooines From Star Wars May Be Common
Luke Skywalker’s home in “Star Wars” is the desert planet Tatooine, with twin sunsets because it orbits two stars. So far, only uninhabitable gas-giant planets have been identified circling such […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Hubble Search for Transit of the Earth-mass Exoplanet Alpha Centauri Bb
Results from exoplanet surveys indicate that small planets (super-Earth size and below) are abundant in our Galaxy. However, little is known about their interiors and atmospheres. There is therefore a […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Calculations Show Planets in the Habitable Zone Around Most Stars
Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets in our galaxy, the Milky Way, using the Kepler satellite and many of them have multiple planets orbiting the host star. By analysing these […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Habitability of Water Worlds
There are four different stable climate states for pure water atmospheres, as might exist on so-called “waterworlds”. I map these as a function of solar constant for planets ranging in […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Fourier Spectra From Exoplanets With Polar Caps and Ocean Glint
The weak orbital-phase dependent reflection signal of an exoplanet contains information on the planet surface, such as the distribution of continents and oceans on terrestrial planets. This light curve is […]