Fullerene C60, the molecule that looks like a soccer ball, had already been identified in the planetary nebula Tc 1 by the Spitzer Space Telescope in 2010. Now a team […]
Spitzer
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Probing The Atmospheres Of Young Long-Period Sub-Neptune Progenitors With ELT/ANDES
High-resolution cross-correlation spectroscopy (HRCCS) has emerged as a powerful technique for detecting and characterizing exoplanet atmospheres from the ground.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Epsilon Eridani, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Direct Imaging For The Debris Disk Around epsilon Eridani With The Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph
We analyze the inner debris disk around ϵ Eridani using simulated observations with the Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C).
![The ≈1000 au environment of RW Aur at different wavelengths, as observed by ALMA and JWST. Panel (a): compact dust continuum emission at 1.3 mm wavelength (see Kurtovic et al. 2024, for a detailed study). Panel (b): continuum emission from MIRI-MRS subband 1A. Panel (c): Peak emission map of H2S(3). Panel (d): Peak emission map of [Fe II]. Panel (e): Moment 0 map of the 12CO emission at 230.538 GHz, as observed with ALMA. Panel (f): Peak emission map of H2S(3). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/MINDS.-Young-binary-systems-with-JWSTMIRI.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MINDS. Young Binary Systems With JWST/MIRI: Variable Water-rich Primaries And Extended Emission
As part of the JWST GTO program MINDS, we analyze the mid-infrared emission of three Class II binary systems: VW Cha, WX Cha, and RW Aur, to investigate the impact […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Mapping Water Ice With Infrared Broadband Photometry
Interstellar ices play a fundamental role in the physical and chemical evolution of molecular clouds and star-forming regions, yet their large-scale distribution and abundance remain challenging to map.
![Distribution of the 11.0/11.2 PAH band ratio versus stellar effective temperature for our HAeBe sample. Reference stars (SR 21A, PDS 144N, HD 97300) shows different ionization regimes. The shaded regions approximate PDR-like ranges from JWST data, whereas very low ratios occur at 5000–6000 K suggestive of neutral PAHs in low mass disk. MWC 137, which is showing very low ionization is likely an evolved B[e] star rather than an HAeBe star. -- astro-ph.SR](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Polycyclic-Aromatic-Hydrocarbons-In-The.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In The Circumstellar Medium Of Herbig Ae/Be Stars
We present a comprehensive mid-infrared spectroscopic survey of 124 Herbig Ae/Be stars using newly processed Spitzer/IRS spectra from the newly released CASSISjuice database.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Diversity of Cold Worlds: A Near Complete Spectral Energy Distribution for 2MASS J04151954-0935066 using JWST
We present the a near complete spectral energy distribution (SED) for an extrasolar world: the T8 brown dwarf 2MASS~J04151954−0935066. Spanning from optical to mid-infrared (0.7–20.4 micron) wavelengths, the SED for […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Burned To Ashes: How the Thermal Decomposition of Refractory Organics in the Inner Protoplanetary Disc Impacts the Gas-phase C/O Ratio
The largest reservoir of carbon in protoplanetary discs is stored in refractory organics, which thermally decompose into the gas-phase at the organics line, well interior to the water iceline.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
JWST’s Sharper View Of EX Lup: Cold Water From Ice Sublimation During Accretion Outbursts
The unstable accretion phases during pre-main-sequence evolution of T Tauri stars produce variable irradiation and heating of planet-forming regions.
![Haze (tholin and soot) models from Jacobs et al. (2023) for two metallicities: [M/H] = 0 (solid) and [M/H] = 1 (dashed). The various formation rates are shown in cool colors for the tholins and in warm colors for the soots. The haze models are compared to the NIRISS/SOSS eclipse spectrum of WASP-80 b. If the aerosols are hazes, they could consist of soots or tholins, with formation rates for tholins most likely lower than 10−11.5g cm−2 s−1. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/A-Moderate-Albedo-From-Reflecting-Aerosols.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Moderate Albedo From Reflecting Aerosols On The Dayside Of WASP-80 b Revealed By JWST/NIRISS Eclipse Spectroscopy
Secondary eclipse observations of exoplanets at near-infrared wavelengths enable the detection of thermal emission and reflected stellar light, providing insights into the thermal structure and aerosol composition of their atmospheres.