Recent transit observations of K2-18b and TOI-270d revealed strong molecular absorption signatures, lending credence to the idea that temperate sub-Neptunes (Teq=250-400K) have upper atmospheres mostly free of aerosols.
JWST
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Rocky Worlds Status Report 2 Dec 2025
The Rocky Worlds Director’s Discretionary Time (DDT) Program is a joint James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Program.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
XMM-Newton Sees Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS in X-ray Light
The European Space Agency’s X-ray space observatory XMM-Newton observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on 3 December for around 20 hours. During that time, the comet was about 282–285 million km from […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
New Study Sheds Light On The Milky Way’s Mysterious Chemical History
Clues about how galaxies like our Milky Way form and evolve and why their stars show surprising chemical patterns have been revealed by a new study.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
JWST TRAPPIST-1 e/b Program: Motivation and First Observations
One of the forefront goals in the field of exoplanets is the detection of an atmosphere on a temperate terrestrial exoplanet, and among the best suited systems to do so […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
TOI-7166 b: A Habitable Zone Mini-Neptune Planet Around A Nearby Low-mass Star
We present the discovery and validation of TOI-7166b, a 2.01+/-0.05R_Earth planet orbiting a nearby low-mass star.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
PHANGS-JWST: The Largest Extragalactic Molecular Cloud Catalog Traced By Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission
High-resolution JWST images of nearby spiral galaxies reveal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission structures that trace molecular gas, including CO-dark regions.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Study Suggests Ancient Earth Skies Rained Down The Ingredients For Life
Earth’s atmosphere might have contributed to the origin of life more than previously thought.
Posted inAriel, Astrogeology, Callisto, Ceres, Charon, Dione, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Iapetus, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mimas, Miranda, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Oberon, Phoebe, Pluto, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Rhea, Status Report, Tethys, Titan, Titania, Triton, Umbriel, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Worlds: Moons And Dwarf Planets
In the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, water ice is a dominant component of planetary bodies, and most solid objects in this region are classified as icy bodies.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Resolving The Flat-spectrum Conundrum: Clumpy Aerosol Distributions In Sub-Neptune Atmospheres
Transmission spectroscopy of sub-Neptunes was expected to reveal their compositions and hence origins, yet many show flat near- to mid-infrared spectra.