We observed Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar with the NIRSpec instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). All three bodies were observed in the low-resolution prism mode at wavelengths spanning […]
Spectroscopy
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Mitigating Worst-Case Exozodiacal Dust Structure In High-Contrast Images Of Earth-like Exoplanets
Detecting Earth-like exoplanets in direct images of nearby Sun-like systems brings a unique set of challenges that must be addressed in the early phases of designing a space-based direct imaging […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Relative Abundances Of CO2, CO, and CH4 In Atmospheres Of Earth-like Lifeless Planets
Carbon is an essential element for life on Earth, and the relative abundances of major carbon species (CO2, CO, and CH4) in the atmosphere exert fundamental controls on planetary climate […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1
JWST Insights Into The Atmosphere Of Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b And The Star TRAPPIST-1
Astronomers led by a team at Université de Montréal has made important progress in understanding the intriguing TRAPPIST-1 exoplanetary system, which was first discovered in 2016 amid speculation it could […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Rotational Spectroscopy Of The Thioformaldehyde Isotopologues H2CS and H2C34S
An investigation of the rotational spectrum of the interstellar molecule thioformaldehyde between 110 and 377 GHz through a pyrolysis reaction revealed a multitude of absorption lines assignable to H2CS and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
A Theoretical Approach To The Complex Chemical Evolution Of Phosphorus In The Interstellar Medium
The study of phosphorus chemistry in the interstellar medium has become a topic of growing interest in astrobiology, because it is plausible that a wide range of P-bearing molecules were […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Detecting Molecules In Ariel Low Resolution Transmission Spectra
The Ariel Space Mission aims to observe a diverse sample of exoplanet atmospheres across a wide wavelength range of 0.5 to 7.8 microns. The observations are organized into four Tiers, […]
Posted inPress Release
Tricorder Tech: Away Teams Are Using A “Pre-Tricorder” Spectrometer In The Field – Today
When we start to roam around other worlds we’re going to need the sort of things that a Star Trek “Tricorder” does. Indeed, we need these tools now as we […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Methane Throughout The Atmosphere Of The Warm Exoplanet WASP-80b
The abundances of major carbon and oxygen bearing gases in the atmospheres of giant exoplanets provide insights into atmospheric chemistry and planet formation processes.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Discovers Methane, Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere of K2-18 b
A new investigation with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope into K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, has revealed the presence of carbon-bearing molecules including methane and […]