Context. Astrobiological evolution of the Milky Way (or the shape of its “astrobiological landscape”) has emerged as one of the key research topics in recent years. In order to build […]
habitability
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Impact of Clouds on the Detectability of Oxygen, Water, and Methane with Future Direct Imaging Missions
In the near-future, atmospheric characterization of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone will become possible via reflectance spectroscopy with future telescopes such as the proposed LUVOIR and HabEx missions. While […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Planetary Magnetism as a Parameter in Exoplanet Habitability
Evidence from the solar system suggests that, unlike Venus and Mars, the presence of a strong magnetic dipole moment on Earth has helped maintain liquid water on its surface. Therefore, […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Multiverse Predictions for Habitability: Number of Habitable Planets
How good is our universe at making habitable planets? The answer to this depends on which factors are important for life: Does a planet need to be Earth mass? Does […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Albedos, Equilibrium Temperatures, and Surface Temperatures of Habitable Planets
The potential habitability of known exoplanets is often categorized by a nominal equilibrium temperature assuming a Bond albedo of either 0.3, similar to Earth, or 0. As an indicator of […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Life Could Help Atmospheric Tides Slow Planetary Rotation
Resonating oscillations of a planet’s atmosphere caused by gravitational tides and heating from its star could prevent a planet’s rotation from steadily slowing over time, according to new research by […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Thorium in Solar Twins: Implications for Habitability in Rocky Planets
We have investigated the thorium (Th) abundance in a sample of 53 thin disc solar twins covering a wide range of ages. These data provide constrains on the mantle energy […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Methane in Analogs of Young Directly Imaged Exoplanets
We present detections of methane in R of 1300, L band spectra of VHS 1256 b and PSO 318.5, two low gravity, red, late L dwarfs that share the same […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Revised Exoplanet Radii and Habitability Using Gaia Data Release 2
Accurate stellar properties are crucial for determining exoplanet characteristics. Gaia DR2 presents revised distances, luminosities, and radii for 1.6 billion stars. Here, we report the calculation of revised radii and […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Habitability in the Omega Centauri Cluster
The search for exoplanets has encompassed a broad range of stellar environments, from single stars in the solar neighborhood to multiple stars and various open clusters. The stellar environment has […]