We have found that Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun, will pass close to a pair of faint background stars in the next few years. Using Hubble Space […]
extrasolar
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Habitability around F-type Stars
We explore the general astrobiological significance of F-type main-sequence stars with masses between 1.2 and 1.5 Msun. Special consideration is given to stellar evolutionary aspects due to nuclear main-sequence evolution. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
New Technique Measures Mass and Possible Habitability of Exoplanets
To date, scientists have confirmed the existence of more than 900 exoplanets circulating outside our solar system. To determine if any of these far-off worlds are habitable requires knowing an […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Origin & Evolution of Life
The Effect of CO on Planetary Haze Formation
Organic haze plays a key role in many planetary processes ranging from influencing the radiation budget of an atmosphere to serving as a source of prebiotic molecules on the surface. […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Puzzling Chemical Composition of GJ 436b's Atmosphere
The dissipation of the tidal energy deposited on eccentric planets may induce a heating of the planet that affects its atmospheric thermal structure. Here we study the influence of tidal […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Terrestrial Planet Formation at Home and Abroad
We review the state of the field of terrestrial planet formation with the goal of understanding the formation of the inner Solar System and low-mass exoplanets. We review the dynamics […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Origin & Evolution of Life
Influence of Galactic Cosmic Rays on Ion-Neutral Hydrocarbon Chemistry in Upper Atmospheres of Free-Floating Exoplanets
Cosmic rays may be linked to the formation of volatiles necessary for prebiotic chemistry. We explore the effect of cosmic rays in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, as a proof-of-concept that ion-neutral […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Search for Methane in the Atmosphere of GJ 1214b via GTC Narrow-Band Transmission Spectrophotometry
We present narrow-band photometric measurements of the exoplanet GJ 1214b using the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the OSIRIS instrument. Using tuneable filters we observed a total of […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones
Final Signs of Life on Terrestrial Planets Near the End of Their Habitable Lifetimes
The biosignatures of life on Earth do not remain static, but change considerably over the planet’s habitable lifetime. Earth’s future biosphere, much like that of the early Earth, will consist […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Sunny Outlook for NASA Kepler's Second Light
You may have thought that NASA’s Kepler spacecraft was finished. Well, think again. A repurposed Kepler Space telescope may soon start searching the sky again. A new mission concept, dubbed […]