Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have discovered extremely rare remnants of “proto Earth,” which formed about 4.5 billion years ago, before a colossal collision irreversibly altered the primitive planet’s composition […]
POtassium
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum of the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b
We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a <20 MJup widely separated (∼8 arcsec, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
On The Role Of 40K In The Origin Of Terrestrial Life
The abundance and biological role of potassium suggest that its unstable nuclide was present in all stages of terrestrial biogenesis.