We employed data from the Spitzer Space Telescope to investigate the presence of the aromatic amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine in the interstellar gas of the young star cluster IC […]
Spitzer
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Closer Look at LTT 9779b: The ESPRESSO Endeavour to Pierce the Atmospheric Veil
The proliferation of exoplanet discoveries in exotic environments like the Neptune desert challenges our understanding of planetary atmospheres under intense irradiation. The unexpected discovery of LTT9779 b, an ultra-hot Neptune […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
JWST-TST DREAMS: A Precise Water Abundance for Hot Jupiter WASP-17b from the NIRISS SOSS Transmission Spectrum
Water has proven to be ubiquitously detected in near-infrared (NIR) transmission spectroscopy observations of hot Jupiter atmospheres, including WASP-17b.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
A Sensitivity Analysis of the Modeling of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in Galaxies
We have conducted a sensitivity analysis on the mid-infrared spectral decomposition of galaxies and the modeling of the PAH emission spectrum with the NASA Ames PAH Infrared Spectroscopic Database (PAHdb) […]
![[left] A Hubble Space Telescope false-color view of a 100-billion-mile-wide disk of dust around the summer star Vega. Hubble detects reflected light from dust that is the size of smoke particles largely in a halo on the periphery of the disk. The disk is very smooth, with no evidence of embedded large planets. The black spot at the center blocks out the bright glow of the hot young star. [right] The James Webb Space Telescope resolves the glow of warm dust in a disk halo, at 23 billion miles out. The outer disk (analogous to the solar system’s Kuiper Belt) extends from 7 billion miles to 15 billion miles. The inner disk extends from the inner edge of the outer disk down to close proximity to the star. There is a notable dip in surface brightness of the inner disk from approximately 3.7 to 7.2 billion miles. The black spot at the center is due to lack of data from saturation. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, S. Wolff (University of Arizona), K. Su (University of Arizona), A. Gáspár (University of Arizona) larger image](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Hubble-And-Webb-Study-The-Surprisingly.png?resize=1200%2C641&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Hubble And Webb Study The Surprisingly Smooth Disk Around Vega
In the 1997 movie “Contact,” adapted from Carl Sagan’s 1985 novel, the lead character scientist Ellie Arroway (played by actor Jodi Foster) takes a space-alien-built wormhole ride to the star […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
Updated Forecast For TRAPPIST-1 Times Of Transit For All Seven Exoplanets Incorporating JWST Data
The TRAPPIST-1 system has been extensively observed with JWST in the near-infrared with the goal of measuring atmospheric transit transmission spectra of these temperate, Earth-sized exoplanets. A byproduct of these […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Webb Telescope Finds A Potentially Habitable Icy World
A international team of astronomers led by Université de Montréal has made an exciting discovery about the temperate exoplanet LHS 1140 b: it could be a promising “super-Earth” covered in […]
![Mass–radius diagram of confirmed exoplanets with mass and radius precision better than 3σ and 10σ, respectively. Planetary parameters (black dots) are taken from the NASA Exoplanet Archive (https://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu), and updated to October 2023. HD 73344b is represented by the red dot. The red arrow represents the upper 10σ limit on its mass. Composition models calculated from Aguichine et al. (2021) with a core mass fraction of 30% and various H2O mass fraction (from 10% to 80%) are represented by coloured lines (see text). Composition models calculated from Lopez & Fortney (2014) for a 1 Gyr-old system, Teq,b ∼ 900 K, and an envelope mass fraction fenv = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] % are shown in gray. For comparison, the relation for an Earth-like composition (32.5% core, 67.5% mantle) from Brugger et al. (2017) is shown by the green dashed curve, and some solar system planets (Venus, the Earth, Uranus and Neptune) are displayed. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/A-Low-mass-Sub-Neptune-Planet.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A Low-mass Sub-Neptune Planet Transiting The Bright Active Star HD 73344
Context. Planets with radii of between 2-4 RE closely orbiting solar-type stars are of significant importance for studying the transition from rocky to giant planets.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report
On The Origin Of Infrared Bands Attributed To Tryptophan In Spitzer Observations Of IC 348
Infrared emission features toward interstellar gas of the IC 348 star cluster in Perseus have been recently proposed to originate from the amino acid tryptophan.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Constraining The Formation Of WASP-39b Using JWST Transit Spectroscopy
Understanding the formation history of planets is one of the goals of studying exoplanet atmospheres. The atmospheric composition of planets can provide insights into the formation pathways of planets. Even […]