Terrestrial planets likely experienced one or more giant impacts during their formation that inflicted large thermal, chemical, and rotational perturbations.
Swift
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Astrochemistry: Physicists Uncork A Message In A Bottle From Another Star
For millions of years, a fragment of ice and dust drifted between the stars—like a sealed bottle cast into the cosmic ocean. This summer, that bottle finally washed ashore in […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
The Mega-MUSCLES Treasury Survey: X-ray to Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions of a Representative Sample of M dwarfs
We present 5-1×10^7 Angstrom spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for twelve M dwarf stars covering spectral types M0-M8. Our SEDs are provided for community use as a sequel to the Measurements […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Preparing For The Early eVolution Explorer
Ultraviolet flare emission can drive photochemistry in exoplanet atmospheres and even serve as the primary source of uncertainty in atmospheric retrievals. Additionally, flare energy budgets are not well-understood due to […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
X-Ray, UV, and Optical Observations of Proxima Centauri’s Stellar Cycle
Proxima Cen (GJ 551; dM5.5e) is one of only about a dozen fully convective stars known to have a stellar cycle, and the only one to have long-term X-ray monitoring.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Ultraviolet Photometry and Habitable Zones of Over 2700 Planet-Hosting Stars
The ongoing discovery of exoplanets has sparked significant interest in finding suitable worlds that could potentially support life. Stellar ultraviolet (UV; 100-3000 Å) radiation may play a crucial role in […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
X-ray Emission of Nearby Low-mass and Sun-like Stars with Directly Imageable Habitable Zones
Stellar X-ray and UV radiation can significantly affect the survival, composition, and long-term evolution of the atmospheres of planets in or near their host star’s habitable zone (HZ).
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
A Multiwavelength Survey of Nearby M dwarfs: Optical and Near-Ultraviolet Flares and Activity with Contemporaneous TESS, Kepler/K2, Swift, and HST Observations
We present a comprehensive multiwavelength investigation into flares and activity in nearby M~dwarf stars. We leverage the most extensive contemporaneous dataset obtained through the Transiting Exoplanet Sky Survey (TESS), Kepler/K2, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics
New Stellar Danger to Exoplanets Identified by Chandra X-ray Observatory
An exploded star can pose more risks to nearby planets than previously thought, according to a new study from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other X-ray telescopes. This newly identified […]