[University of Michigan] New research led by the University of Michigan is helping set the stage for future observatories to characterize rocky planets outside our solar system, planets that could […]
Habitable World Observatory
![Phase-dependent (colors) apparent albedo spectra from our updated rfast model for an ocean-covered Earth and assuming 75% cloud coverage (left). The equivalent figure adapted from the high-fidelity Earth simulation data of Ryan & Robinson (2022) are shown for comparison (right). All spectra are at a resolving power (λ/∆λ) of 140. Deeper water bands in the rfast simulations are due to this model only including lower-atmospheric clouds, whereas the Ryan & Robinson (2022) simulations include high-altitude clouds that have lower contrast in gas absorption bands (as they obscure the deep atmosphere). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Retrieving.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Retrieving Ocean Glint Reflectance Signatures From Directly Imaged Earth-like Exoplanets
[astro-ph.EP] Future space telescopes searching for extraterrestrial life require methods to detect environments that can potentially support life.
![Best-fit model spectra and residuals for the HWO and LIFE datasets (grey and black data points with error bars). Shaded regions show posterior predictive intervals, and the lower panel shows residuals in units of σ. Bottom: Residual between the data and model as measured by 1-σ uncertainty. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/on-the.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
On The Impact Of Correlated Noise and Spectral Resolution On The Retrieval Analysis Of The Habitable World Observatory
[astro-ph.EP] Finding signs of life elsewhere in the universe is the holy grail of the field of exoplanets. Future space missions such as the Habitable World Observatory (HWO) are under […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Towards the Habitable Worlds Observatory: 1D CNN Retrieval of Reflection Spectra from Evolving Earth Analogs
However, traditional atmospheric retrieval frameworks are too computationally intensive to explore the high-dimensional parameter spaces such missions will generate.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Detecting Alien Living Worlds And Photosynthetic Life Using Imaging Polarimetry With The HWO Coronagraph
Our Earth, being the only living planet that we know, provides us with clues that photosynthetic life-forms may be dominant on other exoplanets for billions of years.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Probing The Variations Of Interstellar Dust Abundance And Properties Within And Between Galaxies With HWO UV Spectroscopy In The Local Volume
The cycle of metals between the gas and the dust phases in the neutral interstellar medium (ISM) is an integral part of the baryon cycle in galaxies.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Testing Origin-of-Life Theories with the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to telescopically constrain the frequency and abundance of biospheres in the solar neighborhood.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) As An Extraterrestrial Atmospheric Technosignature
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons are prevalent in the universe and interstellar medium but are primarily attributed to anthropogenic sources on Earth, such as fossil fuel combustion and firewood burning.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Citizen Science / Open Science, Education and Outreach, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
How NASA Citizen Science Fuels Future Exoplanet Research
NASA’s upcoming flagship astrophysics missions, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and the Habitable Worlds Observatory, will study planets outside our solar system, known as exoplanets. Over 5,000 exoplanets have […]