Glaciers are important regulators of the Earth’s climate system, affecting the hydrological cycle, energy balance and the development of downstream ecosystems. Other than the polar regions, the Tibetan Plateau stands […]
Habitable Zone
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Why M-dwarf Flares Have Limited Impact On sub-Neptunes’ Atmospheric Evaporation
M-type stars are prime targets for exoplanet searches within their habitable zones (HZs). M-type stars also exhibit significant magnetic flaring activity, especially during the first billion years, which can potentially […]
![Darkening of the Global Ocean. (A) The rate change (units per year) in the diffuse attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance at 490 nm [ΔKd(490)] measured from MODIS Aqua between 2003 and 2022 in 9 km resolution (CRS: World Mollweide, ESRI:54009). Reds indicate regions where Kd(490) is increasing (oceans are getting darker), while blues indicate regions where Kd(490) is decreasing (oceans are getting lighter). White indicates regions where there was no statistically significant change in Kd(490) over the period 2003–2022. Values of ΔKd(490) were derived for each 9 km resolution pixel using quantile regression to the median performed on the fitted values of an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model of annual averaged Kd(490) data. (B) International Hydrographic Office sea regions ranked according to the percentage of their area over which Kd(490) is increasing. Numbers inset above bars give the absolute area where Kd(490) is increasing in 10,000 km2. Raw data are presented in Table S4. Areas were calculated in CRS World Mercator (ESRI:54004). -- Global Change Biology](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Water-Planet-Dynamics-Darkening.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Planet Dynamics: Darkening Of Earth’s Global Ocean
The photic zones of the oceans—where sunlight and moonlight drive ecological interactions—are one of the most productive habitats on the planet and fundamental to the maintenance of healthy global biogeochemical […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Planet Earth in Reflected and Polarized Light: II. Refining Contrast Estimates for Rocky Exoplanets with ELT and HWO
The characterization of nearby rocky exoplanets will become feasible with the next generation of telescopes, such as the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the mission concept Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO).
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Super-Earth Discovered In The Habitable Zone Of A Sun-Like Star Via TTV Technique
“Are we alone?” This ancient question has occupied humanity’s mind for a long time. In 1995, the discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star opened the door to […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Habitable Worlds Observatory Call for Endorsers And Feedback
The HWO Science Working Groups are excited to share draft science cases that will help shape the top-level science goals, instrument needs, and mission architecture for the Habitable Worlds Observatory […]
![Distribution of simulated EEC yield (solid contours) and underlying planet population (dotted contours) around FGK-type stars within 20 pc. We show the planetary radius over incident flux distribution, where the color shading represents the relative density of planet occurrences in this parameter space. The colored contours enclose 10% to 100% of the total planet counts, with the innermost contour indicating the highest-density regions. Grey dashed lines represent EEC boundaries around a Sun-like star with S/S⊕ ∈ [0.356, 1.107] and R/R⊕ ∈ [0.8 · S 0.25, 1.4] (Kopparapu et al. 2014; Stark et al. 2019; Quanz et al. 2022b). Top and right margin plots show the individual distributions of incident flux and planetary radius of detected and total underlying populations. Underlying synthetic planet populations are based on Kammerer et al. (2022). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Detecting-Atmospheric-CO2-Trends1.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Detecting Atmospheric CO2 Trends as Population-Level Signatures for Long-Term Stable Water Oceans and Biotic Activity on Temperate Terrestrial Exoplanets
Identifying key observables is essential for enhancing our knowledge of exoplanet habitability and biospheres, as well as improving future mission capabilities.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Multiple Habitable Phases On Outer Exosolar Worlds
As stars evolve to higher luminosities during first ascension of the giant branch, previously frozen terrestrial worlds may thaw and host liquid water on their surfaces.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Continuous Habitable Zone Metric for Prioritizing Habitable Worlds Observatory Targets
Future direct imaging space telescopes, such as NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), will be the first capable of both detecting and characterizing terrestrial exoplanets in the habitable zones (HZ) of […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Ice Giant, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Science Fiction, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Formation Of Habitable Moons Around Giant Planets
Of the few thousand discovered exoplanets, a significant number orbit in the habitable zone of their star.