Fullerene C60, the molecule that looks like a soccer ball, had already been identified in the planetary nebula Tc 1 by the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2010. Now a team […]
JWST
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Oxygen And Nitrogen Isotopologues On Cold COCONUTS-2b Observed With MIRI/MRS
Linking the composition of gas giant planets to their formation paths has long been a goal in exoplanet science. Especially, cold gas giants with temperatures below ∼500K have been out […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
The Tale Of The 3 Planets: 3D Cloud Feedback Enhances The Spectral Diversity Of Warm Jupiters
JWST has shown a large diversity in warm Jupiter spectra, despite only small variations in the planetary parameters. However, the main driver of this diversity remains unclear. We aim to […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
JOYS+ Analyses Of OCN−, N2O, NO, And Complex Cyanides In Ices — Thermal Processing Results In Modest Enhancement Of OCN− Ice
Nitrogen-bearing molecules are more difficult to observe than oxygen-bearing ones, mainly due to the lower abundance of nitrogen in the interstellar medium.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Direct Imaging Constraints on Binary Planets and Exomoons around Epsilon Indi A b
Epsilon Indi A b is a directly imaged ∼6MJup exoplanet orbiting a nearby (3.6 pc) K-dwarf at ∼30 AU.
![WASP-39b transmission spectra and cloud scenarios. Spectra are observed with JWST (orange), HST (magenta), and VLT (green) in comparison to models with different Fe content: full IWF Graz cloud model (black line), Fe[s] replaced (dark gray), FeS[s] replaced (middle gray), and all Fe-binding materials replaced (light gray). The Fe-free mixed-material cloud compositions provide a good fit in the near-IR but not in the optical. — astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Exoplanet-climate.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Status Report
Exoplanet Climate Characterization With Transit Asymmetries
Context. Space missions such as CHEOPS, JWST, and PLATO facilitate detailed characterization of exoplanets, particularly close-in gas giants and their wide range of global temperatures and climate regimes.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Toward Inferring the Surface Fluxes of Biosignature Gases on Rocky Exoplanets from Telescope Spectra
The James Webb Space Telescope and the future Habitable Worlds Observatory aim to discover exoplanet atmospheric spectra that detect life. Currently, most existing spectral “retrieval” algorithms focus on inferring the […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Conferences and Meetings, Intelligence & Language, Interstellar, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures
The Dyson Minds 2025 Workshop: SETI around Black Holes
The Dyson Minds 2025 Workshop, held at the Center for Brains, Minds & Machines at MIT and organized by Penn State, MIT, and The Ultraintelligence Foundation, brought together researchers in […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Press Release
Astronomers Find An Exo-Jupiter, And It Seems To Have Clouds
A team of astronomers led by Elisabeth Matthews at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has made a discovery that highlights the limits of most current models of exoplanet […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Beyond The Mass-radius Plane: Integrated Radiative-convective And Interior Structure Simulations Of The Exoplanet Continuum
Static structure models, which map mass-radius constraints to bulk planet composition, are frequently used to categorise exoplanets due to their computational efficiency and the high-level insight they offer into planetary […]