![A schematic showing the key abitoic (black dashed boxes) and biotic (white dashed box) processes occurring in the model (reproduced from Nicholson et al. 2022). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/A-generalised-microbial.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] The majority of potentially habitable planets detected to date are likely quite different to Earth, for example, being larger in radius and mass, differing rotation rates and with host […]
Habitable planet
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE): XIII. The Value of Combining Thermal Emission and Reflected Light for the Characterization of Earth Twins
Following the recommendations to NASA and ESA, the search for life on exoplanets will be a priority in the next decades. Two direct imaging space mission concepts are being developed: […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Exoplanet Climate: It Takes Nothing To Switch From Habitable To Hell
The Earth is a wonderful blue and green dot covered with oceans and life, while Venus is a yellowish sterile sphere that is not only inhospitable but also sterile. However, […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Understanding Planetary Life Signs From Orbit Prior To Away Team Visits
Editor’s note: when we begin to conduct Away Team visits to other worlds that host life we will need to do an assay of how everything on these worlds works […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
How Planetary Surfaces Can Shape The Climate Of Habitable Exoplanets
Large ground- and space-based telescopes will be able to observe Earth-like planets in the near future. We explore how different planetary surfaces can strongly influence the climate, atmospheric composition, and […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Inner Edge of Habitable Zones for Earth-sized Planets with Various Surface Water Distributions
When planets receive insolation above a certain critical value called the runaway threshold, liquid surface water vaporizes completely, which forms the inner edge of the habitable zone. Because land planets […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
TESS Habitable Zone Star Catalog
We present the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Habitable Zone Stars Catalog, a list of 1822 nearby stars with a TESS magnitude brighter than T = 12 and reliable distances […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
What Recipes Produce a Habitable Planet?
NASA’s interdisciplinary Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) project has awarded Rice University $7.7 million for a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research program aimed at finding many different recipes nature might follow […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
A Comprehensive Understanding of Planet Formation is Required for Assessing Planetary Habitability and for the Search for Life
Dozens of habitable zone, approximately earth-sized exoplanets are known today. An emerging frontier of exoplanet studies is identifying which of these habitable zone, small planets are actually habitable (have all […]