[Max Planck Institute for Astronomy] Over the past decades, astronomers have reconstructed a fairly complete scenario for planet formation, from minute dust motes clumping together to the emergence of rocky […]
Protoplanetary Disk
Posted inAstrochemistry
JWST Reveals Refractory-Rich Water Ice in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Evidence for a Continuum of Grain Properties across Protoplanetary Disks
[astro-ph.EP] We present JWST/NIRSpec PRISM observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained on 2025 August 6 (Epoch 1), 2025 December 22 (Epoch 2), and 2026 April 1 (Epoch 3), spanning […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Youngest Exoplanet Yet Discovered Found Hiding in Keck Observatory Data
[W.M.Keck Observatory] Astronomers have confirmed the youngest exoplanet detected so far, offering a rare glimpse into the earliest stages of planetary formation. The planet, known as Elias 2-24 b, is […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
JWST/MIRI Imaging Search for Kinematically Detected Protoplanetary Candidates
[astro-ph.EP] Kinematic perturbations observed with ALMA in CO line emission provide evidence for a population of embedded giant protoplanets shaping the structure of protoplanetary disks.
![Disk properties [Ri,Rco,Rdust] and exoplanet semimajor axis values are plotted in units of the PMS host stellar radius as a function of host star mass. The plot shows planets are less common inside the disk corotation radius suggesting that planetary inward migration is frequently halted in the vicinity of the corotation radius. Some planets have semimajor axis values < Rdust the dust sublimation radius, implying that planet migration must have occurred to populate the semimajor axis < Rdust region. Ri & Rco (gray diamonds and red squares respectively) are from the Pittman et al. (2025b) survey. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Exoplanet-System.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Exoplanet System Architecture: Sculpting the Inner Regions
[astro-ph.EP] In this study, we seek to improve our understanding of the competing roles of disk-driven and planet-planet dynamical migration in sculpting planetary system architecture in the inner ≲1.5 au […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Planet Formation at Cosmic Dawn: Planetesimals in H2O-rich Disks around Low-mass Stars
[The Astrophysical Journal Letters]. Primordial, or Population III (Pop III), supernovae (SNe) were the first nucleosynthetic engines in the Universe, forging the heavy elements required for the later formation of […]
![Schematics of a HAeBe star accreting material from its protoplanetary disc with an ongoing giant planet formation. The giant planet opens a disc gap, preventing the larger dust grains from moving inwards. The HAeBe star has a convective core (red), a radiative envelope (blue), and the stellar photosphere (yellow).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/The-refractory.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
The Refractory Fraction Of Phosphorus In Planet-forming Discs
[astro-ph.EP] Context. Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life on Earth and a potential tracer of planet formation history. However, there has been no detection of P-bearing molecules in […]
![[LEFT] The MIRI F2100W observation of the HD 107146 system, shown in logarithmic scaling with the corresponding intensity levels indicated in the colorbar. [RIGHT] Contours from the ALMA observations obtained within the ARKS program (S. Marino et al. 2026), overlaid on the combined F182M and F210M JWST/NIRCam observations for HD 107146. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-JWSTNIRCam.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology
The JWST/NIRCam Scattered Light Disks GTO 2780 program: Panchromatic coronagraphic imaging of the HD 10647, HD 32297, HD 61005, HD 107146, and HD 181327 debris disk systems
[astro-ph.SR]. Debris disks, composed of rocks, boulders, planetesimals, and the dust produced in their collisions, present the most readily observable components of mature planetary systems.
![HAADF image and quantified EDX map (at%) of a GEMS-like assemblage in UCAMM DC06- 18, which is located at the top of the FIB section, probably close to the external surface of the UCAMM. - [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/STXM-XANES.png?resize=1200%2C711&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
STXM-XANES And TEM Analysis Of UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs)
[astro-ph.EP] The Concordia micrometeorite collection contains UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic MicroMeteorites (UCAMMs) of probable cometary origin. Eight FIB sections of UCAMMs were studied by Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscopy – X-ray Absorption Near […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
JWST Reveals A Race Against Time For Forming Planets
[SETI Institute] Planets form from disks of gas and dust around young stars, but the gas needed for growth does not last forever. New observations from NASA’s James Webb Space […]