The official number of exoplanets — planets outside our solar system — tracked by NASA has reached 6,000. Confirmed planets are added to the count on a rolling basis by […]
habitabiility
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The Pale Blue Dot: Using the Planetary Spectrum Generator to Simulate Signals from Hyper Realistic Exo-Earths
The atmospheres and surfaces of planets show tremendous amount of spatial variation, which has a direct effect on the spectrum of the object, even if this may not be spatially […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Climate Regimes Across The Habitable Zone: A Comparison Of Synchronous Rocky M- And K-dwarf Planets
M- and K-dwarf stars make up 86% of the stellar population and host many promising astronomical targets for detecting habitable climates in the near future. Of the two, M dwarfs […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Status Report
On The Impact of the Vertical Structure of Martian Water Ice Clouds on Nadir Atmospheric Retrievals from Simultaneous EMM/EXI and TGO/ACS-MIR Observations
Retrieving the optical depth of the Martian clouds (τcld) is a powerful way to monitor their spatial and temporal evolution. However, such retrievals from nadir imagery rely on several assumptions, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Detectability of Surface Biosignatures for Directly Imaged Rocky Exoplanets
Modeling the detection of life has never been more opportune. With next-generation space telescopes, such as the currently developing Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) concept, we will begin to characterize rocky […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
Searching For Concentrated Biosignatures In An Ancient Martian Mud Lake
A landmark discovery by a collaborative team led by the Planetary Science Institute’s Alexis Rodriguez has unveiled evidence of sedimentary plains created by aquifer drainage within Martian collapse formations termed […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Double Trouble: Two Transits of the Super-Earth GJ 1132 b Observed with JWST NIRSpec G395H
The search for rocky planet atmospheres with JWST has focused on planets transiting M dwarfs. Such planets have favorable planet-to-star size ratios, enhancing the amplitude of atmospheric features. Since the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Neptune
TOI-712: A System Of Adolescent Mini-Neptunes Extending To The Habitable Zone
As an all-sky survey, NASA’s TESS mission is able to detect the brightest and rarest types of transiting planetary systems, including young planets that enable study of the evolutionary processes […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
The HOSTS survey: Evidence For An Extended Dust Disk And Constraints On The Presence Of Giant Planets In The Habitable Zone Of β Leo
The young (50-400 Myr) A3V star β Leo is a primary target to study the formation history and evolution of extrasolar planetary systems as one of the few stars with […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
How does Background Air Pressure Influence The Inner Edge Of The Habitable Zone for Tidally Locked Planets in a 3D View?
We examine the effect of varying background N2 surface pressure (labelled as pN2) on the inner edge of the habitable zone for 1:1 tidally locked planets around M dwarfs, using […]