[University of Bristol] Until now the alien white-hot worlds of exoplanets have been depicted as circular, but new research has revealed the true shape of their atmospheres to be a […]
JWST
![Full JWST spectrum of HOPS-68. We indicate the molecular absorption bands of oxygen-bearing molecules as studied in this work (SiO, H2O, CO2 and CO) and of carbon-bearing molecules as studied in paper B, as well as the most notable ice and silicate absorption features. Not indicated are 13CCH2, CS, and CH4 in the 7.3-7.8 µm region, and CH3, C4H2 and C6H2 around ∼ 16 µm, which will all be studied in paper B. Some prominent H2 emission lines are highlighted with a black arrow. HOPS-68 is not detected in continuum at wavelengths lower than 2.2 µm. The inset shows a zoom-in to the 7.8-8.6 µm region, which highlights the detection of SiO. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/A-breath.png?resize=1200%2C558&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
A Breath Of Fresh Air: Oxygen Enhancement From Silicate Sublimation During Early Protostellar Evolution
[astro-ph.SR] Recently, an analog to the t = 0 moment of our Solar System’s meteoritic record was identified for the first time around the Class I protostar HOPS-315.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Call For White Papers On Multi-Cycle Treasury Concepts With JWST
[ESA Hubble] STScI has issued a call for White Papers for compelling scientific ideas for Multi-Cycle Treasury (MCT) programmes that require large allocations of JWST time to complete.
![Column density maps of 13CO2, CO and OCN− ice (panel I, II and III, respectively). 12CO2 column densities are derived from 13CO2 column densities. Panel IV shows the ratio between the 4.38 µm and 4.39 µm peak of the 13CO2 ice feature. A higher ratio indicates higher degree of CO2 ice segregation. The axes are shown on astronomical unit scales. Pixelated areas especially in the north and south of the maps as well as the edges are caused by low signal-to-noise levels. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Mapping.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Mapping Of Interstellar Ices With JWST In Protostellar Envelopes: Spatial Variations Of 13CO2, 12CO2, CO, OCN− and H2O ice
[astro-ph.SR] The composition of planets and their atmospheres is largely determined by the formation environment of the planet. This environment is pre-determined during early stages when the protostar is still […]
Posted inAstrogeology
A JWST Study Oof Stardust. II. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Comet 81P/Wild 2 And Implications For Primitive Solar System Carbon
[astro-ph.EP] We report observations of comet 81P/Wild 2, target of the Stardust sample return mission, on UT 2023 March 20 and 24 at a heliocentric distance (rH) of 1.85 au […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Hybrid Worlds Are The Commonest Outcome Among The M-dwarf Sub-Neptunes Characterised With JWST
[astro-ph.EP] The sub-Neptunes orbiting M dwarfs are usually assigned to one of two classes: rocky cores beneath primordial hydrogen, or volatile-rich bodies formed beyond the water-ice line.
Posted inAstrochemistry
The JWST Proto-PAH Project: Aromatic Backbones With Extensive Aliphatic Substitution Account For Both The Aromatic And Aliphatic mission
[astro-ph.GA] We find that the aromatic and aliphatic emission bands in four carbon-rich post-asymptotic giant branch stars with class D emission arise from a single carrier population: extensive aliphatic decoration […]
![Transmission spectra of TRAPPIST-1 c from the four JWST/NIRSpec PRISM epochs (4-pixel bins, 0.8–5.0 𝜇m), offset vertically by 200 ppm per epoch for clarity and colour-coded by date, with the inverse-variance-weighted mean spectrum (black, plotted at its true depth). Grey bands mark the stellar H2O features near 1.4 and 1.85 𝜇m. The dotted line marks 2.0 𝜇m, the boundary of the region where the contamination is strongest (Section 3). The 2023 November 8 visit contains a flare during transit and the 2024 July 9 visit shows activity outside transit (Section 2.5). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Detecting.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Detecting Atmospheres In The Presence Of Stellar Contamination: An Empirically Calibrated Framework Applied To Four JWST/NIRSpec PRISM Transits Of TRAPPIST-1c
[astro-ph.EP] Transmission spectroscopy of rocky exoplanets orbiting late M dwarfs is limited by stellar contamination rather than photon noise.
![Rest-frame equivalent widths of C iii] 𝜆𝜆1907, 1909 (left) and C iv 𝜆𝜆1548, 1550 (right) against the direct 𝑇e-based ([O III]𝜆4363) metallicity. Curves are the star-forming photoionisation grids of Nakajima et al. (2018) at a burst age of 1 Myr and log(𝑛H/cm−3 ) = 3. Solid curves represent the POPSTAR single-star models (Mollá et al. 2009), and dashed curves indicate the BPASS binary models (Eldridge et al. 2017), coloured by ionisation parameter as shown in the colour-bar. -- [astro-ph.GA]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Precise.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Precise C-N-O Abundances of Individual Galaxies In The First Billion Years From Ultra-Deep, Rest-UV-to-Optical JWST Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.GA] We present ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec 𝑅 ∼ 1000 spectroscopy of nine star-forming galaxies at 𝑧 = 6.0 − 8.3 in the GOODSN field, drawn from the Origins of Metal Enrichment […]
Posted inImpact events
JWST Studies Of Planet-shattering Collisions
[ESA]. In the early history of our Solar System, a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vapourising massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some […]