Venus Express provided a long-term monitoring of Venus atmosphere. Several works focused on the dynamics of the upper cloud visible on the day-side in ultraviolet images sensitive to the 65-70 […]
Spectroscopy
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Signatures Of X-ray Dominated Chemistry In The Spectra Of Exoplanetary Atmospheres
High-energy radiation from stars impacts planetary atmospheres deeply affecting their chemistry, providing departures from chemical equilibrium.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
JWST Observations Of 13CO2 ice: Tracing The Chemical Environment And Thermal History Of Ices In Protostellar Envelopes
The structure and composition of simple ices can be modified during stellar evolution by protostellar heating. Key to understanding the involved processes are thermal and chemical tracers that can diagnose […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Building Images Photon-by-photon To Increase The Information Content Provided By Microscopes
Editor’s note: as we develop the instruments – our tricorders – to equip Away Teams as they search for life, it is imperative that these devices be as efficient and […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
TESS and ESPRESSO Discover A Super-Earth And A Mini-Neptune Orbiting The K-dwarf TOI-238
The number of super-Earth and mini-Neptune planet discoveries has increased significantly in the last two decades thanks to transit and radial velocity surveys. When it is possible to apply both […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Titan
Variability in Titan’s Mesospheric HCN and Temperature Structure as Observed by ALMA
The temperature structure of Titan’s upper atmosphere exhibits large variability resulting from numerous spatially and temporally irregular external energy sources, seasonal changes, and the influence of molecular species produced via […]
Posted inEuropa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report
Subsurface Thermophysical Properties of Europa’s Leading and Trailing Hemispheres as Revealed by ALMA
We present best-fit values of porosity — and the corresponding effective thermal inertiae — determined from three different depths in Europa’s near-subsurface (~1-20 cm). The porosity of the upper ~20 […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Quantifying The Effect of Short-timescale Stellar Activity Upon Transit Detection in M Dwarfs
M dwarf stars comprise 70-80% of the galaxy’s stars and host most of its rocky planets. They also importantly differ from Sunlike stars in that they are “active” for billions […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
JWST Observations of Starbursts: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission at the base of the M 82 Galactic Wind
We present new observations of the central 1 kpc of the M 82 starburst obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) near-infrared camera (NIRCam) instrument at a resolution ~0.05″-0.1″ […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report
Revealing Callisto’s Carbon-rich Surface And CO2 Atmosphere With JWST
We analyzed spectral cubes of Callisto’s leading and trailing hemispheres, collected with the NIRSpec Integrated Field Unit (G395H) on the James Webb Space Telescope.