habitable Archives

Astronomers identified icy compounds made of complex organic molecules like alcohol and likely acetic acid, using MIRI, which was managed through launch by JPL.

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Webb Space Telescope Finds Ethanol And Other Organic Molecules Surrounding Young Protostars

by Keith CowingMarch 13, 2024March 13, 2024

What do margaritas, vinegar, and ant stings have in common? They contain chemical ingredients that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified surrounding two young protostars known as IRAS 2A […]

Explosive cryovolcanism in the form of geyser-like plumes on two of our solar system's ocean worlds. Left: Cryovolcanic eruptions at the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus (credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI). Right: Hubble Space Telescope UV observations of cryovolcanic eruptions at the south pole of Jupiter's moon Europa (credit: NASA/L. Roth). By facilitating the transport of liquid water and energy between their interiors and surfaces, similar activity could create habitable environments on cold ocean planets. - NASA/Astrophysical Journal

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Proxima Centauri, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Some Icy Exoplanets May Have Habitable Oceans And Geysers

by Keith CowingDecember 13, 2023

A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential […]

Mass-radius diagram for TOI-1801 b, together with all known exoplanets (grey dots) with a precision better than 8% in radius (through transit) and 20% in mass (from RV). The population of young transiting exoplanets (< 900 Myr) with measured masses is plotted as coloured dots, according to their ages. The uncertainties on TOI-1801 b are shown as coloured shaded regions with 1, 2, and 3σ levels of confidence. In the left panel, the iso-density lines are displayed as dashed grey lines. In the remaining panels where the population of exoplanets is plotted along with TOI-1801 b, coloured lines indicate different composition models without gas (middle panel) and with a gas envelope (right panel) from Zeng et al. (2019). In the right panel, the solid and dotted lines show the models with temperatures of 300 K and 500 K, respectively, of the corresponding specific entropy at 100 bar level in the gas envelope. The Earth and Neptune are also depicted as reference. We include B22 and M22 as references because different results have been published for the same planet, and this refers to Barragán et al. (2022) and El Mufti et al. (2023), respectively. -- astro-ph.EP

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report

TOI-1801 b: A Temperate Mini-Neptune Around A Young M0.5 Dwarf

by Keith CowingOctober 17, 2023October 17, 2023

We report the discovery, mass, and radius determination of TOI-1801 b, a temperate mini-Neptune around a young M dwarf. TOI-1801 b was observed in TESS sectors 22 and 49, and […]

LIFE-detectable exoplanets, as in Fig. 1, but colour-coding each planet according to the integration time (in hours) required to be detected with LIFE’s reference configuration. Appendix D: List of planets only detect -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE). X. Detectability Of Currently Known Exoplanets And Synergies With Future IR/O/UV Reflected-starlight Imaging Missions

by Keith CowingAugust 21, 2023August 21, 2023

The next generation of space-based observatories will characterize the atmospheres of low-mass, temperate exoplanets with the direct-imaging technique.

The architecture of the PDS 70 system. a, Schematic representation of the locations of the inner and outer disk of PDS 70 indicated as teal and blue ellipses. The protoplanets PDS 70 b and PDS 70 c are shown as blue dots. b, Main components of the schematic of the system on top of a MIRI-MRS IFU image at 7.0 µm, illustrating the size of the system with respect to the 2.5-FWHM aperture used for spectro-photometric extraction (white circle). The latter linearly increases with wavelength. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report

Water In The Terrestrial planet-forming Zone Of The PDS 70 Disk

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2023July 25, 2023

Terrestrial and sub-Neptune planets are expected to form in the inner (<10 AU) regions of protoplanetary disks.

An artist's conceptual rendering of interactions between an exoplanet and its star. Plasma emitted from the star is deflected by the exoplanet's magnetic field. That interaction perturbs the star’s magnetic field and generates auroras on the star and radio waves. CREDIT Alice Kitterman/National Science Foundation

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics

Do Earth-like Exoplanets Have Magnetic Fields? Far-off Radio Signal Is Promising Sign

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2023April 4, 2023

Earth’s magnetic field does more than keep everyone’s compass needles pointed in the same direction. It also helps preserve Earth’s sliver of life-sustaining atmosphere by deflecting high energy particles and […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

New Models of Reflection Spectra for Terrestrial Exoplanets: Present and Prebiotic Earth Orbiting Around Stars of Different Spectral Types

by Keith CowingMarch 1, 2023March 1, 2023

In order to recognize a habitable exoplanet from future observed spectra, we present new model reflected spectra and geometric albedo for modern and prebiotic (3.9 Ga) Earth-like exoplanets orbiting within […]

Astrochemistry, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

Webb Telescope Unveils Dark Side of Pre-stellar Ice Chemistry

by Keith CowingJanuary 23, 2023January 23, 2023

If you want to build a habitable planet, ices are a vital ingredient because they are the main source of several key elements — namely carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Effect Of Multiple Scattering On The Transmission Spectra And The Polarization Phase Curves For Earth-like Exoplanets

by Keith CowingJanuary 23, 2023January 23, 2023

It is the most appropriate time to characterize the Earth-like exoplanets in order to detect biosignature beyond the Earth because such exoplanets will be the prime targets of big-budget missions […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Polarized Signatures of a Habitable World: Comparing Models of an Exoplanet Earth with Visible and Near-infrared Earthshine Spectra

by Keith CowingJanuary 17, 2023January 17, 2023

In the JWST, Extremely Large Telescopes, and LUVOIR era, we expect to characterize a number of potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanets.

habitable

Webb Space Telescope Finds Ethanol And Other Organic Molecules Surrounding Young Protostars

Some Icy Exoplanets May Have Habitable Oceans And Geysers

TOI-1801 b: A Temperate Mini-Neptune Around A Young M0.5 Dwarf

Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE). X. Detectability Of Currently Known Exoplanets And Synergies With Future IR/O/UV Reflected-starlight Imaging Missions

Water In The Terrestrial planet-forming Zone Of The PDS 70 Disk

Do Earth-like Exoplanets Have Magnetic Fields? Far-off Radio Signal Is Promising Sign

New Models of Reflection Spectra for Terrestrial Exoplanets: Present and Prebiotic Earth Orbiting Around Stars of Different Spectral Types

Webb Telescope Unveils Dark Side of Pre-stellar Ice Chemistry

Effect Of Multiple Scattering On The Transmission Spectra And The Polarization Phase Curves For Earth-like Exoplanets

Polarized Signatures of a Habitable World: Comparing Models of an Exoplanet Earth with Visible and Near-infrared Earthshine Spectra

Determining The “Biosignature Threshold” For Life Detection On Biotic, Abiotic, or Prebiotic Worlds.

Icy Ocean Planet Research: NASA ROSES-25 Amendment 71: New Opportunity A.16 Cryosphere

Global Carbon Fixation In Earth’s Subsurface Biosphere

tinyRNA-seq: An Optimized Approach To Sequencing Tiny RNAs And Primitive RNA Genomes

Stellar Flares Rather Than High Tint As Possible Cause For the Missing Methane In Young Exoplanets: The Case Study of V1298-Tau b