Red dwarf stars—cooler and smaller than our Sun—make up more than 75% of the stars in our Galaxy. Astronomers have shown that small, Earth-like planets are common around this type […]
Habitable Zone
Spectral Signatures From The Habitable Zone
This work describes the context and approach for the detection of spectroscopic signatures from planets in the habitable zone of nearby stars.
The Recovery Of 12,789 Genomes Revealed The Diversity, Function, And Microbial Interactions Of The Geothermal Spring Microbiome
Geothermal springs, characterized by extreme physicochemical conditions, represent ecologically and evolutionarily significant habitats that foster unique microbial communities and drive adaptive evolutionary processes.
The Goldilocks Problem For Detecting Water In Terrestrial Planets: Constraining Water Abundances In The mid-IR With LIFE
We investigate how well the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) mission concept can detect habitable conditions on exoplanets through the presence of atmospheric water vapor as a proxy for surface […]
Super-Earth Masses And Stellar Abundances From NIRPS Reveal Tentative Evidence For Water-rich Formation Around M Dwarfs
Tracing the compositional link between terrestrial super-Earths and their host stars provides clues to their dominant formation pathway. By constraining the stellar abundances of refractory elements, we can predict the […]
The JWST Search For Earth-Luna Analogs: Upper Limits On Exomoons And Refined Ephemerides For TOI 700 d And e
While no conclusive detections of exomoons have been reported to date, planet formation theories predict that satellites should be a common outcome of the collisional dynamics in early extrasolar systems.
Upper Atmosphere Dynamics and Drivers of Volatiles Loss from Terrestrial-Type (Exo)Planets
Volatile loss from exoplanetary atmospheres and its possible implications for the longevity of habitable surface conditions is a topic of vigorous debate currently.
Gemini South Confirms Long-Suspected Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars
Almost 320 light-years away in the Libra constellation lies WASP-189b, an exoplanet known as an ultra-hot Jupiter (UHJ). UHJs have temperatures high enough to vaporize rock-forming elements like magnesium (Mg), […]
Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES). V. Planetary Parameters Derived from Angular Separation Variations
The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) aims to achieve microarcsecond-level astrometry of about one hundred nearby FGK-type stars within 10 parsecs to detect Earth-like planets.
Flare-driven Habitability: Expanding Life’s Potential Around Low-mass Stars
The traditional definition of the circumstellar habitable zone (HZ) focuses on liquid water, but neglects the crucial role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in prebiotic chemistry.
