The Hubble Space Telescope inaugurated the era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. While the James Webb Space Telescope has largely taken up the mantle of infrared atmospheric characterization, Hubble’s unique short-wavelength […]
Habitable Worlds Observatory
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Predictive Rankings of the Probability for Temperate Terrestrial Worlds for the HWO ExEP Mission Star List
The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is NASA’s flagship mission design from the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020, meant to observe temperate terrestrial planets via direct imaging and use […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The Unique Ability Of The Hubble Space Telescope To Characterize Young Exoplanet Environments
The chemical and mass evolution of exoplanet atmospheres is shaped by their specific X-ray through ultraviolet (5 – 3200 Angstroms) irradiance history. X-ray and EUV (5 – 911 Angstroms) radiation […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Dynamical Stability and Habitability in the HD 20794 System
The Keplerian orbit of a terrestrial planet can be a significant driver in the evolution of surface conditions, as well as influencing the overall dynamics of the system.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Exploring Space Weather From Young Solar-like Stars as Windows to Exoplanetary Habitability
Young solar-like stars are efficient generators of magnetic activity, superflares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and stellar energetic particles. These phenomena drive the early evolution of stars and shape the habitability […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
From Hubble to HWO: Bridging the Frontier of White Dwarf Exoplanet Science
White dwarf stars, the endpoint of stellar evolution for 97% of stars in our Milky Way, offer a unique and powerful window into the bulk elemental composition of rocky exoplanetary […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Status Report
The Role Of The Hubble Space Telescope In Advancing Our Understanding Of Atmospheric Escape In Exoplanets
An important evolutionary pathway for planetary atmospheres is escape to space, which has been studied on Earth and Mars for several decades and more recently in exoplanets.
Posted inAlpha Centauri, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Near UV Stellar Activity and Brightness Fluctuations of the Alpha Centauri AB Star System from Weeks to Decades — Inputs for Reflected Light Spectroscopy with HWO
We present the most comprehensive near-ultraviolet (NUV: 2550-3255 Angstrom) activity record to date for the Alpha Centauri AB system, combining archival IUE and HST observations spanning nearly five decades with […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
HWO Target Stars and Systems: Activity and Rotation Catalog (ARC) of Potential Target Stars for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
A major goal of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is to precisely characterize exoplanets and their atmospheres.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The First Remotely Detected Biosignature May Not Be the Most Common: Implications for JWST and HWO
The first detected member of a new astronomical class is often not representative of the underlying population, but instead reflects the selection effects of the observing technique that found it.