The crystallinity of water ice not only records the thermal history experienced by an astronomical body, but also affects the composition of forming planets by controlling the trapping of volatile […]
JWST
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astronomers Observe Exoplanet Atmospheres With New Cloud-detecting Method
Every morning, clouds roll in, and by evening, they have cleared off. This sounds like a weather forecast for a coastal city here on Earth — but it’s for WASP-94A […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Atmosphere Of Saturn-sized Planet With Earth-like Temperature Contains Methane
A planet that is about the size of Saturn, but with a temperature more like Earth’s, has an atmosphere rich in methane, according to a new study using NASA’s James […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Hycean Interpretation of K2-18b Supported by Photochemical Atmospheric Compositional
The nature of the sub-Neptune K2-18b is debated between Hycean and mini-Neptune interpretations.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mars As An Exoplanet: Lessons From A Planet At The Edge Of Habitability
Mars is the Solar System’s canonical small, rocky planet that transitioned from early geologic activity and surface liquid water to a cold and arid planet with a thin, cold, CO2-dominated […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The First Remotely Detected Biosignature May Not Be the Most Common: Implications for JWST and HWO
The first detected member of a new astronomical class is often not representative of the underlying population, but instead reflects the selection effects of the observing technique that found it.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report
A Climate-Constrained Bayesian Inverse Method for JWST Rocky Exoplanet Eclipse Spectra: A Case Study of LTT 1445A b
Determining whether temperate rocky exoplanets orbiting M stars retain atmospheres is currently a central goal of exoplanet astronomy. To this end, the James Webb Space Telescope has begun searching for […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
Coupled Photochemical-Climate Modeling of Plausible Tenuous Outgassed Atmospheres on the TRAPPIST-1 Planets
Available JWST observations TRAPPIST-1 system have suggested that several of the planets are likely airless, or possess a very tenuous atmosphere.
![The H2 and [Ne II] emission detected towards DoAr 25 on top of the ALMA 240 GHz continuum emission (shown in the background as a reddish-yellow image). The white central circle shows the inner working angle from JWST. In this case, the disk itself is seen in absorption against line emission from the Ophiuchus PDR for H2 S(1)-S(3) (17.03-9.66 µm). -- astro-ph.SR)](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Characterizing-The-Extended.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Characterizing The Extended Molecular Hydrogen Winds In Protoplanetary Disks From The JWST Disk Infrared Spectroscopic Chemistry Survey
We present a comprehensive analysis of extended H2 emission from 34 protoplanetary disks observed with the JWST Disk Infrared Spectroscopic Chemistry Survey (JDISCS), supplemented by archival data.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
A Single Power Law For The TRAPPIST-1 Flare Distribution Across Four Orders Of Magnitude In Energy
TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool dwarf that flares frequently. These flares shape the surrounding planets’ high-energy irradiation environments, with consequences for atmospheric chemistry and escape, and they can contaminate transmission spectroscopy […]