On 19–20 August 2024, Juice successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, with flight controllers guiding the spacecraft first past the Moon, then past Earth. The gravity of the two changed […]
Venus
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiology Droid Update: Juice Rerouted To Venus After The First lunar-Earth Flyby
ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) has successfully completed a world-first lunar-Earth flyby, using the gravity of Earth to send it Venus-bound, on a shortcut to Jupiter through the inner […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release, Venus
Looking For Ancient Rock Beyond Earth
Earth’s continents are each different and have changed through time, but they all have one thing in common — the presence of one or more cratons, forming their ancient nuclei. […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Venus
A Novel Abiotic Pathway For Phosphine Synthesis Over Acidic Dust In Venus’ Atmosphere
Recent ground-based observations of Venus have detected a single spectral feature consistent with phosphine (PH3) in the middle atmosphere, a gas which has been suggested as a biosignature on rocky […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Ceres, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Building Materials For Water-rich Planets In The Early Solar System
Age data for certain classes of meteorite have made it possible to gain new findings on the origin of small water-rich astronomical bodies in the early solar system. These so-called […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Venus
Three-Dimensional Venus Cloud Structure Simulated by a General Circulation Model
The clouds have a great impact on Venus’s energy budget and climate evolution, but its three-dimensional structure is still not well understood. Here we incorporate a simple Venus cloud physics […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Gliese 12 b: Earth Twin or Evil Twin
The discovery of a planet similar to Venus around a star in the neighborhood of the Solar System raises hopes that astronomers may someday unlock the secret to why life […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release, Venus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Interior Convection Regime, Host Star Luminosity, And Predicted Atmospheric CO2 Abundance In Terrestrial Exoplanets
Terrestrial planets in the Habitable Zone of Sun-like stars are priority targets for detection and observation by the next generation of powerful space telescopes.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Status Report, Venus
Venus as an Exoplanet: I. An Initial Exploration of the 3-D Energy Balance for a CO2 Exoplanetary Atmosphere Around an M-Dwarf Star
The chemical evolution of an exoplanetary Venus-like atmosphere is dependent upon the ultraviolet to near ultraviolet (FUV-NUV) radiation ratio from the parent star, the balance between CO2 photolysis and recombination […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Venus
Ongoing Venus Volcanic Activity Discovered With NASA’s Magellan Data
Direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on Venus has been observed for a second time. Scientists in Italy analyzed archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission to reveal surface changes […]