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 […]
JWST
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Ariel Mission, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
A Public Dataset Of Ariel Simulated Observations For Developing Exoplanetary Atmosphere Data Reduction Pipelines
Detecting and characterising exoplanet atmospheres remains challenging because atmospheric signals can be comparable to residual noise and instrumental/astrophysical systematics. Spectral features span from a few ppm for small planets up […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
JWST Unveils A High Mean Molecular Weight Atmosphere For Mini-Neptune TOI-1130b: Evidence For Formation Beyond The Water Ice Line
We present the combined JWST/NIRSpec G395H and NIRISS SOSS transmission spectrum of a warm mini-Neptune, TOI-1130b (3.66 R⊕, 19.8 M⊕, Teq∼825 K). It is part of a rare and unique […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Astronomers Pin Down The Origins Of A Planetary Odd Couple
Across the Milky Way galaxy, a planetary odd couple is circling a star some 190 light years from Earth. A normally “lonely” hot Jupiter is sharing space with a mini-Neptune, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
JWST Studies The Surface Composition Of Super-Earth LHS 3844 b
Using MIRI (Mid Infrared Instrument) on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of researchers led by former MPIA (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany) PhD student […]
![The measured planet-to-star flux ratio as a function of wavelength compared to a range of solid slab surfaces. The observations were taken using Spitzer (blue square-shaped marker) and JWST (red circle-shaped markers). The error bars on the data are 1σ. A selection of models, taken from Ref. [12], represent solid slab surfaces with varying compositions. Solid orange line: an ultramafic, olivine clinopyroxenite EG-19-63 sample (∼ 47 wt% SiO2) recovered from Emigrant Gap, California, USA, which shows good agreement with the observations. Dashed blue line: a mafic, basaltic sample from the 1919 Kilauea eruption in Hawaii, USA (∼ 51 wt% SiO2) that is also consistent with the data. Dashed, dotted green line: a felsic sample representing the highest SiO2 content model (∼ 73 wt% SiO2) published in Ref. [12]. The legend lists the rejection significances of these models. With a solid black line, we also show a 1000 K black body curve for the planet, which is the best fit value using the combined Spitzer and JWST dataset. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-dark-and-featureless.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report
The Dark And Featureless Surface Of Rocky Exoplanet LHS 3844 b From JWST Mid-infrared Spectroscopy
JWST has opened a new era in the study of rocky exoplanets, enabling direct characterization of their surfaces with mid-infrared spectroscopy. Different types of rock have distinct spectral features that […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Pluto, Press Release
Trans-Neptunian Object (612533) 2002 XV93 Has An Atmosphere – But Shouldn’t
A team of professional and amateur Japanese astronomers found evidence for a thin atmosphere around a small body in the outer Solar System. The object is so small that it […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Horizontal Transport As A Source Of Disequilibrium Chemistry On The Nightside Of A Hot Exoplanet
Hot Jupiters have temperature gradients of several hundreds of degrees between their permanent daysides and nightsides. Such a strong gradient creates winds with speeds of the order of kilometres per […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
CORINOS V: Radiative Transfer Effects In Protostellar Ice Observations
Recent observations of protostars with the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed unprecedented chemical complexity from their ice absorption features.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Formation And Trapping Of CO2 From Cryogenic Irradiation Of Carbonate
The detection of CO2 on the Jovian satellite Europa by Galileo NIMS and recent mapping of the leading side by JWST has revealed that it is most concentrated in geologically […]