A fleeting visit of the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission to Venus has revealed surprising insights into how gases are stripped away from the upper layers of the planet’s atmosphere.
oxygen
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Juno Measures Oxygen Production On Europa
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has directly measured charged oxygen and hydrogen molecules from the atmosphere of one of Jupiter’s largest moons, Europa. According to a new study co-authored by SwRI scientists […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Press Release
Juno Measures The Rate Of Oxygen Production At Europa
Scientists with NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be substantially less than most previous studies.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Searching For Clues In The History Book Of Earth’s Oceans
Oxygen is fundamental to sustaining life on Earth. The ocean gets its oxygen from its uppermost layers in contact with the atmosphere. As our planet continues to warm, the ocean […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Biosignature False Positives In Potentially Habitable Planets Around M Dwarfs: The Effect Of UV Radiation From One Flare
Many past studies have predicted the steady-state production and maintenance of abiotic O2 and O3 in the atmospheres of CO2-rich terrestrial planets orbiting M dwarf stars.
![Planets capable of supporting high O2 concentrations and, hence, technological civilizations. This figure shows the likely composition of planetary atmospheres based on mass and equilibrium temperature. For planets whose temperature and mass would lead to primarily CO2/N2/H2O atmospheres, high oxygen levels require a biological origin, i.e. photosynthesis. For higher equilibrium temperatures, high O2 levels can occur via the runaway greenhouse effect and the photolysis of water vapor at high altitudes. (Figure adapted from [7].) -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TheOxygen.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
The Oxygen Bottleneck For Technospheres
On Earth, the development of technology required easy access to open air combustion, which is only possible when oxygen partial pressure, P(O2), is above 18\%.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
First On-sky Results Of A FIOS Prototype, A Fabry Perot Based Instrument For Oxygen Searches
The upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) are expected to have the collecting area required to detect potential biosignature gases such as molecular oxygen, O2, in the atmosphere of terrestrial planets […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy
There’s More To Life Than O2: Simulating the Detectability Of A Range Of Molecules For Ground-based high-resolution Spectroscopy Of Transiting Terrestrial Exoplanets
Within the next decade, atmospheric O2 on Earth-like M dwarf planets may be accessible with visible–near-infrared, high spectral resolution extremely large ground-based telescope (ELT) instruments.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Detection of Carbon Monoxide’s 4.6 Micron Fundamental Band Structure In WASP-39b’s Atmosphere With JWST NIRSpec G395H
Carbon monoxide (CO) is predicted to be the dominant carbon-bearing molecule in giant planet atmospheres, and, along with water, is important for discerning the oxygen and therefore carbon-to-oxygen ratio of […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
ASU-led Team Defends Molecular Oxygen Findings
When did molecular oxygen, the gas that all large and complex forms of life on Earth today require to function, first appear on Earth?