[Photochemistry and Photobiology] Experiments conducted in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since the 1990s have investigated the evolution of organic matter in solid-phase (including amino acids) under solar photon irradiation to […]
Photochemistry
![Pressures determined by ruby fluorescence measurements at different locations within the sample chamber: (a) during powder compaction, (b) after decompression. No ruby fluorescence spectrum was obtained on the sphere marked with an asterisk, likely due to insufficient Cr doping, resulting in an undetectable fluorescence signal. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Elastic.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inTitan
Elastic Properties of Titan Tholins Revealed by Brillouin Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.EP] Titan tholins, complex organic solids synthesized by simulating photochemical processes in Titan’s atmosphere, are widely regarded as analogs to organic surface materials on the Saturnian moon.
![LDPI–ReTOF mass spectrum obtained after the deposition of 40 ML pure NH3 ice at 15 K (red), without VUV irradiation. A reference mass spectrum obtained for a bare, clean substrate is presented for comparison (black). The spectra are offset for clarity -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Quantifying.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Quantifying The Temperature-dependent Yields Of N2 And N2H4 Formation In Vacuum-ultraviolet-irradiated NH3 Ice
[astro-ph.IM] Gas–grain astrochemical models predict that a substantial fraction of elemental nitrogen in dense cores and protoplanetary disks is locked in molecular nitrogen (N2), in the gas or ice phase, […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Optical Constants of Photochemical Haze Analogs in N2-CH4-CO Atmospheres from 0.4 to 28.6 μm
[astro-ph.EP] Photochemical hazes play an important role in shaping the spectra and radiative balance of N2-dominated planetary atmospheres.
Posted inSpace Weather & Heliophysics
Preparing For The Early eVolution Explorer: The Impact of Flare Temperature on Ozone Column Depth in Earth-Like Atmospheres
[astro-ph.EP] Atmospheric photochemical models incorporating the impacts of stellar flares often assume a ∼9,000 K spectrum at ultraviolet-optical wavelengths.
![Chemical structure of the aromatic nitriles cyanobenzene, d5-cyanobenzene, 1,2-dicyanobenzene, 1,3- dicyanobenzene and 1,4-dicyanobenzene -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Infrared.png?resize=1200%2C714&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Infrared Spectroscopy and Photochemistry of Aromatic Nitriles in Para-Hydrogen Matrices
[astro-ph.SR] Motivated by recent detections of several aromatic nitriles in Taurus Molecular Cloud-1, we report laboratory and theoretical investigations of the vibrational spectroscopy and photochemistry of singly and doubly cyano-substituted […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Sulfur Photochemistry Observationally Traces Mantle Redox States Of Rocky Planets
[astro-ph.EP] Volatile outgassing from planetary interiors controls the composition of rocky exoplanets’ secondary atmospheres. However, observations indicate that disequilibrium processes, such as photochemistry and vertical transport, can strongly alter the […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Photochemical Production of CS2 in Temperate-to-Warm Gas Giant Exoplanet Atmospheres
[astro-ph.EP] Sulfur chemistry has emerged as an important probe of exoplanet atmospheres in the JWST era, although observational constraints have thus far been largely limited to SO2 and H2S in […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Abiotic Sources Of Fixed Nitrogen Sustained Early Ecosystems For Several Hundred Million Years After The Origin Of Life
Nitrogen (N) plays a crucial role in controlling biological productivity. However, it remains unknown how Earth’s earliest ecosystems accessed bioavailable forms of nitrogen.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Photochemical CS2 Gas Detected On A 20-Myr-old Exoplanet
Probing the atmospheres of young exoplanets offers a powerful window into how planetary systems evolve and the physical and chemical processes that drive those early evolutions.