Europa’s double ridges often display lower albedo and redder color than their surroundings. Their unique topography may cause sublimation-driven darkening due to illumination and self-heating, a process known as thermal […]
icy world
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Titan
Titan’s Plains Revealed: Evidence For A Layered Surface
Undifferentiated plains are the most common terrain type on Titan, yet their composition and geologic history remain poorly understood.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Ice Planet Cartography: First Cataloguing Of Lakes Beneath The Canadian Arctic
Researchers have created the first map of a network of subglacial lakes in the Canadian Arctic showing 33 bodies of water under glaciers.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Ocean World Recon: How Did Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Form?
It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth’s rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Geant4-IcyMoons: Simulating Electron Interaction Physics in Irradiated Astrophysical Ices
Energetic particles continuously process water ice across astrophysical and planetary environments, from interstellar clouds and comets to icy planetary surfaces. Interpreting the resulting observables requires a physically grounded description of […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Saturn, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Subsurface Ocean Salinity And Dissipation Rate Inferred From Enceladus Ice Shell Morphology
The habitability of Enceladus’ subsurface ocean and the detectability of potential biosignatures depend on efficient ocean circulation and suitable ocean conditions.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Biomarkers on the Icy Jovian Moons: Can Europa Also Provide Insights into Life’s Origin?
Within the payloads of JUICE and Europa Clipper, there are instruments suitable for the search of specific biosignatures that can diagnose life tracks in two ways.
![The green-to-red intensity ratio of [O I] (G/R) in 3I (filled circle), compared with measurements for a sample of Solar System comets: Jupiter-family comets (JFCs; open triangles), Oort Cloud comets (OCCs; open squares), and Halley-type comets (HTCs; crosses) from A. Decock et al. (2013); A. McKay et al. (2015); Y. Shinnaka & H. Kawakita (2016); Y. Shinnaka et al. (2020), as well as C/2016 R2 from C. Opitom et al. (2019) and 2I/Borisov from C. Opitom et al. (2021). -- astro-ph.GA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/A-post-perihelion-constraint.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
A Post-perihelion Constraint On The CO2/H2O Ratio Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS From [O I] Forbidden Lines
We present high-resolution optical spectroscopy of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph mounted on the Subaru Telescope on UT 2026 January 7, when the comet […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Coma Physics Of An Interstellar Object: JWST Spatial-Spectral Mapping Of 3I/ATLAS
We report a survey of molecular emission from cometary volatiles using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) toward interstellar object 3I/ATLAS carried out on UT 2025 December 22 and 23 […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Observations Of Exocomets
Active small bodies in extrasolar systems, the extrasolar analogues of Solar System comets, provide insights into the orbital evolution and physical processes shaping planetary systems.