![Illustration of the TRAPPIST-1 system and the most recent JWST constraints on planetary atmospheres. Planet size and distance roughly to scale. - [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/veiled.png?resize=1200%2C820&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] The TRAPPIST-1 system offers seven terrestrial exoplanets with tight orbits and large radii ratios to the host star. If an atmosphere exists, transmission spectroscopy can be used to detect […]
JWST
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Astrochemistry In Action: JWST View Of The Carina Nebula
[ESA] This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month takes us to a fantastical realm within our home galaxy, where piercing starlight and billowing winds sculpt dust clouds […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Variations in the 3.3 µm Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Feature Across Nearby Galaxies Driven by Metallicity and Radiation Field Spectrum
[astro-ph.GA] We use JWST NIRCam imaging to investigate the 3.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) feature in nearby galaxies. NIRCam observations of the 3.3 μm feature are emerging as a […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Exploration Of Exoplanet Atmospheres With The James Webb Space Telescope
[astro-ph.EP] The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is providing transformative characterization capabilities for the study of both transiting and directly imaged extrasolar planets. Observations deep into the infrared in the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
JWST Transmission Spectroscopy Of TOI-3235 b: Challenges In Constraining Giant Planet Atmospheres Around M Dwarfs Amid Stellar Contamination
[astro-ph.EP] Giant planets orbiting low-mass M dwarfs challenge current planet formation theories, which predict that such planets are unlikely to form. Characterizing their atmospheres can provide key insight into their […]
![The band depths and centers of Callisto’s CO2 as measured at 4.25 µm for three viewing geometries. The trailing hemisphere and Asgard-centered data were previously published by Cartwright et al. (2024). The following geologic units are marked with symbols: Valhalla, ⋆ ; Asgard, ◦; Lofn/Heimdall, △. The sub-observer longitude of the observation is indicated in the panels. The projected angular size of Callisto varies slightly between each observation, so the spaxel scale is slightly different in each panel. The typical uncertainty in the band depth is ± 0.4%, while the band center is ±0.0006µm -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Callisto.png?resize=1200%2C709&ssl=1)
Posted inCallisto
Callisto From JWST: CO2-rich Terrain On The Leading Hemisphere And Global Patterns Of H2O Ice
[astro-ph.EP] We present maps of H2O, CO2, and a 4.57 um spectral feature across Callisto’s surface observed using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
![Life 2.0 mission concept and simulated biosignature spectroscopy. The distributed array observes a common target with many one-meter telescope modules. The example spectra illustrate UV-optical atmospheric signatures and the simulated recovery of O₃, O₂, and H₂O after calibrated spectral co-addition. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Life-2.0.jpg?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Life 2.0: A Scalable Distributed Space-Telescope Array For Biosignature Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.IM] Answering the question “Are we alone?” requires atmospheric spectroscopy of nearby terrestrial planets. For an Earth–Sun analog, even the strongest transmission signals are expected to be of order 1 […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids
A JWST Study of Stardust. I. Infrared Spectroscopy of Comet 81P/Wild 2 and Overall Composition
[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 […]
![Blackbody spectra derived from the 𝑇eff of the Dyson sphere candidates A to J throughout the wavelength range of 10 to 1000 microns together with the detection thresholds of telescopes Akari (Murakami et al. 2007), IRAS (Neugebauer et al. 1984), the ALMA 12∼m array6 and JWST/MIRI. In the case of JWST, both broadband imaging and spectroscopic limits (based on the LRS Slit or MRS7observations) are shown. In the case of JWST and ALMA, all limits refer to 5𝜎 confidence in 1 hour exposure time (where exposure times refer to observations per filter in the case of imaging; per band in the case of ALMA spectroscopy; per channel in the case of JWST/MIRI MRS spectroscopy and for the entire plotted wavelength range in the case of JWST/LRS spectroscopy). As can be seen, all candidates are detectable throughout some part of the wavelength coverage of JWST. The inset shows a zoom-in on the part of the spectral energy distribution that may be detectable with ALMA for four of the candidates (A, G, I and J). -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Project-Hephaistos-1.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inSETI & Technosignatures
Project Hephaistos — III. Characterizing Anomalous Infrared Sources Identified As Dyson-sphere Candidates
[astro-ph.SR] The infrared-flux excess of stars harbouring Dyson spheres represent one potential technosignature of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Planetesimal Formation Across the Stellar Mass Spectrum and its Influence on Exoplanet-Inherited Volatile Budgets
[astro-ph.EP] Protoplanetary discs emerging from collapsing molecular clouds are capable of forming planetesimals at the water snowline during both the cloud collapse and Class II disc phases; such a scenario […]