water planet Archives

Bathymetric maps obtained by each sounding at various survey speeds and modes. Each panel shows depth data distribution obtained along survey and transit lines; (a) east to west survey lines at 4 kt in electric thrust mode, (b) north to south survey lines at 4 kt in electric thrust mode, (c) transit lines at 8 kt in electric thrust mode, (d) transit lines at 15 kt in direct mechanical thrust mode. The contour interval is 20 m. The yellow contour shows water depth of 10,900 m. -- Scientific Data

Water Planet Recon: How Accurately Can We Measure Earth Ocean’s Deepest Point?

by Keith CowingSeptember 18, 2026September 18, 2026

[Research Organization of Information and Systems]. How deep is the deepest ocean—and how precisely can we actually measure it? Bathymetric maps obtained by each sounding at various survey speeds and […]

Tara Polaris I expedition Larger image - Tara Ocean Foundation/Maéva Bardy via ESA

Away Teams & Field Reports

Ice Planet Exploration: Tara Polaris I Expedition

by Keith CowingSeptember 15, 2026September 15, 2026

[ESA] Soon to be frozen in space and time, this alien-looking vessel is beginning its first mission into drifting ice in the Arctic Ocean. A dozen people won’t leave it […]

Sahara Dust Storm Over The Canary islands As seen by Sentinel-3 Modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA LICENCE CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Desert/Water Planet Interaction: Sahara Dust Storm Over The Canary islands

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Earlier this week strong winds over the Saharan Desert blew westwards pushing clouds of dust and sand over southern and central Morocco and out into the Atlantic Ocean. This is […]

The buoyancy adjustment made on the first day of Totten Photo: JARE67 Miho Ikeda (March 6, 2026)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration: Recovery Of NIPR AUV MONACA

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]

Stability analysis of the TOI-5788 planetary system. For fixed initial conditions (Table 4), the parameter space of the system is explored by varying the orbital period and the eccentricity of planet c (left panel) and the eccentricities of both planets (right panel). The step size is 0.0025 in the eccentricities, 0.001 d in the orbital period of planet b, and 0.003 d in the orbital period of planet c. For each initial condition, the system is integrated over 5000 yr and, from a frequency analysis of the mean longitude of the outer planet, a stability indicator is calculated. The colours in the plot represent the chaotic diffusion, measured by the variation in the frequency (see text). Red points correspond to highly unstable orbits, whilst blue points correspond to orbits which are likely to be stable on Gyr timescales. The black dots show the values of the best fit solution (Table 4). -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Discovery and Characterisation of Two Exoplanets Orbiting the Metal-poor, Solar-type Star TOI-5788 with TESS, CHEOPS, and HARPS-N

by Keith CowingJanuary 28, 2026January 28, 2026

We present the discovery and characterisation of two transiting exoplanets orbiting the metal-poor, solar-type star TOI-5788.

Elements of the deep water cycle on rocky planets that are discussed in this chapter.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water Versus Land On Temperate Rocky Planets

by Keith CowingDecember 15, 2025

Water and land surfaces on a planet interact with gases in the atmosphere and with radiation from the star. These interactions define the environments that prevail on the planet, some […]

Hycean world K2-18 b -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Prospects For Biological Evolution On Hycean Worlds

by Keith CowingFebruary 13, 2025February 13, 2025

Recent detections of carbon-bearing molecules in the atmosphere of a candidate Hycean world, K2-18 b, with JWST are opening the prospects for characterising potential biospheres on temperate exoplanets.

Statistical significance (as a function of wavelength) of the difference in retrieved emission flux calculated via LIFEsim between the biotic and abiotic scenarios studied in this work. The columns (from left to right) show increasing planet instellation; the different rows show different observation integration times (from 24–240 hours) -- astro-ph.EP

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Detectability Of Biosignatures In Warm, Water-rich Atmospheres

by Keith CowingDecember 3, 2024December 3, 2024

Warm rocky exoplanets within the habitable zone of Sun-like stars are favoured targets for current and future missions. Theory indicates these planets could be wet at formation and remain habitable […]