A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life.
habitability
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Impact of Changing Stellar and Planetary Magnetic Fields on (Exo)planetary Environments and Atmospheric Mass Loss
The magnetic activity of a star — which modulates the stellar wind outflow — shapes the immediate environments of orbiting planets and induces atmospheric loss thereby impacting their habitability.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Characterisation Of Stellar Activity Of M dwarfs. I. Long-timescale variability In A Large Sample And Detection Of New Cycles
M dwarfs are active stars that exhibit variability in chromospheric emission and photometry at short and long timescales, including long cycles that are related to dynamo processes.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
The Planet That Could End Life On Earth
A terrestrial planet hovering between Mars and Jupiter would be able to push Earth out of the solar system and wipe out life on this planet, according to a UC […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Multiverse Predictions For Habitability: Stellar And Atmospheric Habitability
Stellar activity and planetary atmospheric properties have the potential to strongly influence habitability. To date, neither have been adequately studied in the multiverse context, so there has been no assessment […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
The Influence Of Tidal Heating On The Habitability Of Planets Orbiting White Dwarfs
In recent years, there have been a growing number of observations indicating the presence of rocky material in short-period orbits around white dwarfs. In this Letter, we revisit the prospects […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Superhabitability Of High-Obliquity And High-Eccentricity Planets
Planetary obliquity and eccentricity influence climate by shaping the spatial and temporal patterns of stellar energy incident at a planet’s surface, affecting both the annual mean climate and magnitude of […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report
Multiverse Predictions For Habitability: Origin Of Life Scenarios
If the origin of life is rare and sensitive to the local conditions at the site of its emergence, then, using the principle of mediocrity within a multiverse framework, we […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
The Dynamical Consequences Of A Super-Earth In The Solar System
Placing the architecture of the Solar System within the broader context of planetary architectures is one of the primary topics of interest within planetary science. Exoplanet discoveries have revealed a […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Presence Of Liquid Water During The Evolution Of Exomoons Orbiting Ejected Free-floating Planets
Free-floating planets (FFPs) can result from dynamical scattering processes happening in the first few million years of a planetary system’s life.