plume Archives

Planes on the Novo runway Left to right: Twin Otter; IL-76TD, Basler BT-67 (remanufactured and modified Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Douglas DC-3) Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 December 2024: Departing Antarctica

by Keith CowingDecember 14, 2024January 11, 2026

Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica at Lake Untersee in October-December 2024 for another field season of research (preview). Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. We’ll be posting […]

One of pur DataGarrison climate stations, situated at the top of the peninsula just behind our camp. While the station has a vantage point over both the north and south basins of Lake Untersee, this photo captures the view looking south across the southern basin. -- Dale Andersen

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

by Keith CowingDecember 11, 2024January 11, 2026

Dale Anderson's live webcast from Lake Untersee, Antarctica - Dale Andersen/SETI Institute

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)

by Keith CowingNovember 22, 2024January 11, 2026

Today at Lake Untersee, while starting a dive hole, we struck a pocket of air (N2, O2, Ar) trapped just beneath the ice.

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Enceladus, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus

by Keith CowingNovember 14, 2024January 11, 2026

This enhanced color view of Saturn's moon Enceladus shows the south polar terrain, where jets of material spray out form long cracks called Tiger Stripes. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Sub-Micrometer Particles Remote Detection in Enceladus Plume Based on Cassinni’s UV Spectrograph Data

by Keith CowingJuly 20, 2024July 7, 2024

Enceladus is the Saturnian satellite known to have water vapor erupting from its south pole region called Tiger Stripes.

ALMA HCN (J = 4 − 3) spectra of Europa (blue) averaged within 0.14′′ × 0.14′′ square regions, overlaid on a wireframe grid showing Europa’s size and orientation at the time of observation (2021-05-09). The ALMA beam FWHM is indicated lower left (dot-dashed ellipse). Upper right axes show physical distances in the plane of the sky, while lower left axes show the spectral units for each sub-panel. The ALMA data for all species, on all epochs, are available for download from the Zenodo repository (Cordiner 2024). -- astro-ph.EP

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

ALMA Spectroscopy of Europa: A Search for Active Plumes

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2024April 9, 2024

The subsurface ocean of Europa is a high priority target in the search for extraterrestrial life, but direct investigations are hindered by the presence of a thick, exterior ice shell.

Sizes and densities of potential icy ocean worlds, compared to the Earth (image source: NASA).

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Icy Ocean Worlds, Plumes, And Tasting The Water

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2024March 27, 2024

This paper considers how space missions that fly through the plumes known, or suspected, to erupt naturally from some icy ocean worlds (IOW), such as Enceladus, or that aim to […]

In this image from Cassini, backlighting from the Sun spectacularly illuminates Enceladus' jets of water ice. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Sub-Micrometer Particles Remote Detection in Enceladus Plume Based on Cassini’s UV Spectrograph Data

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2024March 26, 2024

Enceladus is the Saturnian satellite known to have water vapor erupting from its south pole region called Tiger Stripes.

Astrogeology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Press Release

How Enceladus Ejects Particles From Oceans Beneath Its Surface

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2023February 23, 2023

Although it is relatively small, Enceladus — the sixth largest of Saturn’s 83 moons — has been considered by astronomers to be one of the more compelling bodies in our […]

plume

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 December 2024: Departing Antarctica

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 11 December 2024: Back at Novo Station

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 20 November 2024: Live From Antarctica (webcast)

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus

Sub-Micrometer Particles Remote Detection in Enceladus Plume Based on Cassinni’s UV Spectrograph Data

ALMA Spectroscopy of Europa: A Search for Active Plumes

Icy Ocean Worlds, Plumes, And Tasting The Water

Sub-Micrometer Particles Remote Detection in Enceladus Plume Based on Cassini’s UV Spectrograph Data

How Enceladus Ejects Particles From Oceans Beneath Its Surface

Potential Survivable Niches For Microbial Life On The Lunar South Pole

JWST Telemetry Combined With Active Coronagraphy: Raw Contrast Predictions For Exoplanet Imaging With The Habitable Worlds Observatory

Antarctica Is Home To Microbes Found Nowhere Else On Earth

Study: Peptides Can Form Well-defined Structures In Harsh, Venus-like Conditions

Modeling Carbon-Based Planets with MAGRATHEA