An international team of scientists have used data collected by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to detect a molecule [1] known as the methyl cation (CH3+) for the first […]
JWST
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Exoplanet LP 890-9c May Reveal Secrets About The Edge Of Habitability
How close can a rocky planet be to a star, and still sustain water and life? A recently discovered exoplanet may be key to solving that mystery.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1
Webb Rules Out Thick Carbon Dioxide Atmosphere for Rocky Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c
An international team of researchers has used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to calculate the amount of heat energy coming from the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 c. The result suggests that […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Interstellar, Status Report
Astrochemical Models Of Interstellar Ices: History Matters
Ice is ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. We model the formation of the main constituents of interstellar ices, including H2O, CO2 , CO, and CH3 OH.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Webb Detects The Universe’s Most Distant Complex Organic Molecules
Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth – the most distant galaxy in which these molecules are now known to […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Prebiosignature Molecules Can Be Detected In Temperate Exoplanet Atmospheres With JWST
The search for biosignatures on exoplanets connects the fields of biology and biochemistry to astronomical observation, with the hope that we might detect evidence of active biological processes on worlds […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Webb Maps and Finds Traces of Water in an Ultra-hot Gas Giant’s Atmosphere
There’s an intriguing exoplanet out there – 400 light-years out there – that is so tantalizing that astronomers have been studying it since its discovery in 2009. A year for […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Awesome SOSS: Atmospheric Characterisation of WASP-96 b using the JWST Early Release Observations
The newly operational JWST offers the potential to study the atmospheres of distant worlds with precision that has not been achieved before.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
JWST Molecular Mapping And Characterization Of Enceladus’ Water Plume Feeding Its Torus
Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in our solar system, having an active plume likely connected to a large liquid water subsurface ocean.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
TOI-1416: A Ssystem With A Super-Earth Planet With A 1.07d Period
TOI 1416 (BD+42 2504, HIP 70705) is a V=10 late G or early K-type dwarf star with transits detected by TESS. Radial velocities verify the presence of the transiting planet […]