![Vertical cut through the best-fit disk model on a logarithmic radial scale. Shown are temperatures, where the gas density, ϱdisk, exceeds an assumed ISM density of ϱISM = 2.7 × 10−24 g cm−3 (Ferrière 2001) by a factor of 1000. The snowline at Tsnow = 170 K and the 100 K-line, as well as the unity optical depth lines at a wavelength of 3.1 µm (computed for the best-fit model described in Sect. 5.2.2) measured from the star to the observer and from observer to the star, illustrate the temperature and dust density structure of the disk. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Spatial.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] The composition of rocky planets depends on the dust in their natal protoplanetary disk (PPD), potentially containing water ice. Crystalline water ice was detected in the PPD d216-0939 in […]
Hubble Space Telescope
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia Mission, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Astrometric Reconnaissance of Exoplanetary Systems (ARES). I. Methodology Validation With HST Point-source Images Of Proxima Centauri
We present the first results of the Astrometric Reconnaissance of Exoplanetary Systems (ARES) project, aimed at validating and characterizing candidate exoplanets around the nearest systems using multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Direct Imaging For The Debris Disk Around epsilon Eridani With The Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph
We analyze the inner debris disk around ϵ Eridani using simulated observations with the Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C).
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Discovery Of An Icy And Nitrogen-rich Extrasolar Planetesimal
White dwarfs accreting planetary debris provide detailed insight into the bulk composition of rocky exo-planetesimals. However, only one Kuiper-Belt analogue has been identified in that way so far.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Hydrocarbon Hazes On Temperate Sub-Neptune K2-18b Supported By Data From The James Webb Space Telescope
K2-18b, a sub-Neptune orbiting in the habitable zone of an M dwarf, has attracted significant interest following observations with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and, more recently, with the James […]
Posted inAriel, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Oberon, Press Release, Titania, Umbriel, Uranus
The Moons of Uranus Surprise Scientists
Scientists using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope went looking for evidence of one phenomenon and found quite another. The research team studied the four largest moons of the ice giant Uranus, […]
Posted inAriel Mission, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Refractory Phosphorus In The HD 100546 Protoplanetary Disk
The phosphorus budget of planets is intertwined with their formation history and is thought to influence their habitability.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Astrochemistry: Webb Investigates A Dusty And Dynamic Disc
Herbig-Haro objects are small nebulae found in star formation regions, marking the locations where gas flowing out from young stars is heated into luminescence by shockwaves. HH 30 is an […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Exoplanet Ephemerides Change Observations (ExoEcho). I. Transit Timing Analysis of Thirty-Seven Exoplanets using HST/WFC3 Data
The ExoEcho project is designed to study the photodynamics of exoplanets by leveraging high-precision transit timing data from ground- and space-based telescopes.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Astrochemistry: Hubble Studies the Tarantula Nebula’s Outskirts
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a dusty yet sparkling scene from one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a […]