[Science] Nitrogen is one of life’s building blocks, but it’s only helpful in the right amounts. Too much nitrogen in water, for example, can lead to poor water quality and […]
Nitrogen
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Resurrected Nitrogenases Recapitulate Canonical N-isotope Biosignatures Over Two Billion Years
Nitrogen isotope fractionation (ε15N) in sedimentary rocks has provided evidence for biological nitrogen fixation, and thus primary productivity, on the early Earth.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Nitrogen Abundance Distribution in the Inner Milky Way
We combine a new Galactic plane survey of Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines (RRLs) with far-infrared (FIR) surveys of ionized Nitrogen, N+, to determine Nitrogen abundance across Galactic radius.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return
An OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Has Surprising Phosphate Content
Scientists have eagerly awaited the opportunity to dig into the 4.3-ounce (121.6-gram) pristine asteroid Bennu sample collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer) […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Status Report
The Earliest Phases of CNO Enrichment in Galaxies
Context. The recent detection of nitrogen-enhanced, metal-poor galaxies at high redshift by the James Webb Space Telescope has sparked renewed interest in exploring the chemical evolution of carbon, nitrogen, and […]
![Reprocessed images of Uranus [L]] and Neptune [R] NASA/JPL-Caltech (Uranus and Neptune); “Modelling the Seasonal Cycle of Uranus’s Colour and Magnitude, and Comparison with Neptune,” by Patrick G. J. Irwin et al., in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 527, No. 4; February 2024 (reprocessed images)](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Insights-on-the-Formation-Condition.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Uranus
Insights on the Formation Conditions of Uranus and Neptune from their Deep Elemental Compositions
This study, placed in the context of the preparation for the Uranus Orbiter Probe mission, aims to predict the bulk volatile compositions of Uranus and Neptune. Using a protoplanetary disk […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Non-LTE Abundances Of Nitrogen In The Sun And Reference A-F Type Stars
A new model atom of nitrogen was developed using the energy levels of N I from laboratory measurements and also predicted in atomic structure calculations and the most up-to-date atomic […]
![Abundance ratios as a function of [O/H] colour coded according to the stellar metallicity. The panels show the [X1/X2] ratios calculated correcting the abundances from the trends with the stellar effective temperature (see discussion in the text). The black dashed lines indicate the solar values. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ariel-stellar-characterisation.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inAriel Mission, Astrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Ariel Stellar Characterisation II. Chemical Abundances of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Oxygen for 181 Planet-host FGK Dwarf Stars
One of the ultimate goals of the ESA Ariel space mission is to shed light on the formation pathways and evolution of planetary systems in the Solar neighbourhood. Such an […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Status Report
Shaping Earth’s Initial Nitrogen Budget
The relative roles of protoplanetary differentiation versus late accretion in establishing Earth’s life-essential volatile element inventory are being hotly debated.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Status Report
Rapidly-rotating Population III Stellar Models As A Source Of Primary Nitrogen
The first stars might have been fast rotators. This would have important consequences for their radiative, mechanical and chemical feedback.