We use the TRAPPIST-1 system as a model observation of Earth-like planets. The densities of these planets being 1-10% less than the Earth suggest that the outer planets may host […]
habitability
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
What If We Find Nothing? Bayesian Analysis Of The Statistical Information Of Null Results In Future Exoplanet Habitability And Biosignature Surveys
Future telescopes will survey temperate, terrestrial exoplanets to estimate the frequency of habitable (ηHab) or inhabited (ηLife) planets.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Molecular Clock Analysis Shows Bacteria Used Oxygen Long Before Widespread Photosynthesis
Microbial organisms dominate life on Earth, but tracing their early history and evolution is difficult because they rarely fossilize. Determining when exactly a particular group of microbes first appeared is […]
Posted inAriel Mission, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Refractory Phosphorus In The HD 100546 Protoplanetary Disk
The phosphorus budget of planets is intertwined with their formation history and is thought to influence their habitability.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Supercooling, Glass Formation, and Mineral Assemblages upon Freezing of Salty Ice Grains from Enceladus’s Ocean
The analysis of micrometer-sized ice grains emitted into space by Saturn’s moon Enceladus suggests that the moon’s subsurface ocean may be habitable. However, the formation conditions of these ice grains […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Polarized Signatures of the Earth Through Time: An Outlook for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
The search for life beyond the solar system remains a primary goal of current and near-future missions, including NASA’s upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Planetary Albedo Is Limited By The Above-cloud Atmosphere: Implications For sub-Neptune Climate (K2-18b)
Energy limits that delineate the habitable zone’ for exoplanets depend on a given exoplanet’s net planetary albedo (or Bond albedo’). We here demonstrate that the planetary albedo of an observed […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Deciphering Sub-Neptune Atmospheres: New Insights from Geochemical Models of TOI-270 d
The nature of sub-Neptunes is one of the hottest topics in exoplanetary science. Temperate sub-Neptunes are of special interest because some could be habitable.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Neptune, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Deciphering The Mysterious Atmosphere Of ‘Rosetta Stone’ Exoplanet TOI-270 d
A Southwest Research Institute-led study modeled the chemistry of TOI-270 d, an exoplanet between Earth and Neptune in size, finding evidence that it could be a giant rocky planet shrouded […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Earth-like Planet Predictor: A Machine Learning Approach
Searching for planets analogous to Earth in terms of mass and equilibrium temperature is currently the first step in the quest for habitable conditions outside our Solar System and, ultimately, […]