habitability Archives

In the clean room – PLATO in OHB's integration facility - The 'optical bench' with its 26 cameras is lifted onto the service module of the spacecraft. The service module houses all the components required for spaceflight, control, operation of the space telescope and the transmission of scientific data to Earth. Image: 1/4, Credit: ESA – M. Pédoussaut

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, PLATO, Press Release

PLATO Space Telescope’s Cameras Have Been Integrated

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2025April 27, 2026

Are there planets similar to Earth? Do they orbit stars like our Sun? How do planetary systems form and evolve? To answer these and other questions, the European Space Agency […]

To understand where the measured flux from the planet is coming from we need to capture both reflected and thermal components of the light from the planet. This requires broad wavelength coverage from 1 micron. Predicted planetary reflected signal vs. thermal emission for archetypal planets (letters correspond to planet properties shown in the inset plot) identified by Mayorga et al. (2019). Top: the total planetary flux as measured in flux units. Bottom: the percent contribution of reflected light to the total flux as a function of wavelength (R 300). Colored bands in the top panel show the photometric (hashed) and spectroscopic (solid) coverage from current and future facilities over this wavelength range. Figure courtesy of L. C. Mayorga. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Characterizing the Dynamics and Chemistry of Transiting Exoplanets with the Habitable World Observatory

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2025July 2, 2025

The primary scientific objective of this Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Science Case Development Document (SCDD) is to measure planetary rotation rates of transiting exoplanets to determine the structure, composition, circulation, […]

Average sensitivity of HGCA astrometric acceleration method to companions across mass and separation space, calculated from non-significant accelerations. 90%, 50%, and 10% contours are shown. All known companions of HWO targets in the HGCA are plotted. Red circles and stars represent planets and stars, respectively, that account for their host star’s acceleration; white circles and stars represent planets and stars that do not account for the acceleration. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrometric Accelerations of Provisional Targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

by Keith CowingJuly 1, 2025July 1, 2025

NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will be the first space telescope capable of directly imaging Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of Sun-like stars to probe their atmospheres for signs […]

(a): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at different SNR with 50% cloud coverage. Given these conditions, an SNR of 20 is required for land detection. (b): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at an SNR of 20 with varying cloud fractions from 30% to 100%. 100% results in a clear non-detection, and for an SNR of 20, cloud fractions of approximately 50-60% or less are necessary for a land detection. (c): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at an SNR of 20 for more restrictive wavelength ranges. A wavelength coverage of at least 0.3 − 1.1 µm is required for detection (dark blue contour). Restricting to 0.4 − 1.1 µm (red contour) results in a non-detection. (d): Long wavelength cutoff tests for SNR of 20. We find the total land constraint to be relatively unaffected by the cutoff as long as it is beyond 1.1 µm (red contour). The pink contour, 0.2 − 0.7 µm does not permit land detection. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Detecting Land With Reflected Light Spectroscopy To Rule Out Waterworld O2 Biosignature False Positives

by Keith CowingJuly 1, 2025July 1, 2025

The search for life outside our solar system is at the forefront of modern astronomy, and telescopes such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) are being designed to identify biosignatures.

Clavascidium lacinulatum (basionym Placidium lacinulatum) Source: Consortium of Lichen Libraria

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2025August 23, 2025

Many of the recently discovered Earth-like exoplanets are hosted by M and F stars, stars that emit intense UVC, especially during a flare.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

An Earth-like Density For The Temperate Earth-sized Planet GJ 12b

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2025June 27, 2025

While JWST has provided us with the opportunity to probe the atmospheres of potentially-habitable planets, observations of the TRAPPIST-1 system have shown us that active stars severely complicate efforts at […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Characterizing Exoplanets For Assessing Their Potential Habitability

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2025June 27, 2025

The Statistical-likelihood Exoplanetary Habitability Index (SEPHI) serves as a valuable tool for prioritizing targets for further study and identifying potentially habitable environments.

Predictions of our multi-zone chemical evolution model presented in Section 2.1 as a function of the evolutionary time t and the Galactocentric distance. Left Panel: evolution of the total (CC+Type Ia) SN rates. The red and green dashed horizontal lines indicate (case 1) and 2× (case 2) values, respectively, representing the minimum SN rate thresholds tested for SN explosion-induced destruction effects in this study. Right Panel: Predicted age-metallicity relation. The redshaded region marks [Fe/H] < -1 dex where, as suggested by Johnson & Li (2012), conditions are considered unfavourable for the formation of terrestrial planets. -- astro-ph.SR

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

Shaping Galactic Habitability: The Impact Of Stellar Migration And Gas Giants

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2025June 26, 2025

In exoplanet research, the focus is increasingly on identifying Earth analogs, planets similar in density and habitability potential.

Planet mass-radius and mass-density distributions of literature and TGLC-fitted values. a, Mass-radius distribution of small TESS planets. b, Mass-density distribution of small TESS planets. Both panels include the high-precision planet sample with TESS-free literature values (gray diamond) and TESS-dependent TGLC-fitted values (black empty circle). The error bars represent 1σ Gaussian standard deviations. For each TESS-dependent TGLC-fitted value, a line connects it to the corresponding literature value, where the color of the line shows whether it increased (green) or decreased (orange) from the literature value. We also include theoretical models of planet compositions for the Earth-like (red), water worlds (blue), and rocky planets with atmospheres (brown). The last model accounts for the boil-off initial conditions (solid brown) and a range of agnostic initial conditions (region between dashed brown). Earth and Neptune are included for reference. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Hundreds Of TESS Exoplanets Might Be Larger Than We Thought

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2025

The radius of a planet is a fundamental parameter that probes its composition and habitability. Precise radius measurements are typically derived from the fraction of starlight blocked when a planet […]

Clavascidium lacinulatum, or brown stipplescale lichen, is a common sight in the Mojave Desert – credit: Bob O’Kennan via iNaturalist

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Desert Lichen Offers New Evidence For The Possibility Of Life On Other Planets

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2025August 23, 2025

Lichen from the Mojave Desert can survive, and replicate, under levels of extreme solar radiation found on Earth-like planets in other solar systems.

habitability

PLATO Space Telescope’s Cameras Have Been Integrated

Characterizing the Dynamics and Chemistry of Transiting Exoplanets with the Habitable World Observatory

Astrometric Accelerations of Provisional Targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

Detecting Land With Reflected Light Spectroscopy To Rule Out Waterworld O2 Biosignature False Positives

UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen

An Earth-like Density For The Temperate Earth-sized Planet GJ 12b

Characterizing Exoplanets For Assessing Their Potential Habitability

Shaping Galactic Habitability: The Impact Of Stellar Migration And Gas Giants

Hundreds Of TESS Exoplanets Might Be Larger Than We Thought

Desert Lichen Offers New Evidence For The Possibility Of Life On Other Planets

The First Selection Of Optimal Targets For The Lazuli ExtraSolar Coronagraph’s Reflected Starlight Exoplanet Campaign

Paleo-heat Flux Estimates Across Enceladus Derived From Flexural Response Of The Ice Shell

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 26 October 2026: Flying South

Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS): I. Overview of the ALMA Large Program

A Technical Reanalysis Of The Viking Carbon Assimilation-Pyrolytic Release Experiment