primordial disk Archives

This illustration shows an ultra-hot Jupiter orbiting a blue-white A-type star. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Pollard

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

Gemini South Confirms Long-Suspected Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Almost 320 light-years away in the Libra constellation lies WASP-189b, an exoplanet known as an ultra-hot Jupiter (UHJ). UHJs have temperatures high enough to vaporize rock-forming elements like magnesium (Mg), […]

The spectral energy distribution of J0446B including the JWST MIRI/MRS spectrum in blue (the noisy longwavelength range is marked with lighter color). The grey curve shows a stellar photospheric model with Teff = 3100 K (Allard et al. 2012). The four WISE band photometry encompassed both stellar components in the binary system of J0446; the triangles represent the contribution of J0446B to W1 and W2 bands assuming the same flux ratio as the Ks band. The insert panel highlights the 10 µm silicate features, where the orange curve marks the identified continuum, two dashed lines represent emissivity curves of amorphous silicates (olivine) for a single grain size of 0.1 and 2.5 µm (Jaeger et al. 1994), and the dotted line represents that for crystalline silicate of forsterite (Koike et al. 2003). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

The First JWST View of a 30-Myr-old Protoplanetary Disk Reveals a Late-stage Carbon-rich Phase

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2024December 17, 2024

We present a JWST MIRI/MRS spectrum of the inner disk of WISE J044634.16−262756.1B (hereafter J0446B), an old (∼34 Myr) M4.5 star but with hints of ongoing accretion. The spectrum is […]

primordial disk

Gemini South Confirms Long-Suspected Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars

The First JWST View of a 30-Myr-old Protoplanetary Disk Reveals a Late-stage Carbon-rich Phase

Crossing The Functional Desert: Cascade-Driven Assembly And Feasibility Transitions In Early Life

Robotic Lava Tube Mapping And Multimodal Data Collection Using Quadruped And LiDAR

Thickly Frosted Polar Gullies On Mars

From Meteorites to Membrane Rafts: Ganglioside-Incorporating Prebiotic Vesicles and the Emergence of Membrane Domain Organization

Pandora Mission Begins A Study Of Exoplanets And Their Host Stars