Sub-Neptunes with 2−3R⊕ are intermediate in size between rocky planets and Neptune-sized planets. The orbital properties and bulk compositions of transiting sub-Neptunes provide clues to the formation and evolution of […]
Editor’s note: as we begin to explore ocean worlds – which may be inhabited – we’ll need to understand how currents and other activities within these seas – seas that […]
Determining compositions of low-mass exoplanets is essential in understanding their origins. The certainty by which masses and radius are measured affects our ability to discern planets that are rocky or […]
Editor’s note: we are finding worlds orbiting other stars that may well be water worlds. These worlds may similar in some ways to our own and most likely different at […]
Ordinarily, planets in evolved planetary systems, such as the Solar System, follow stable orbits around their central star. However, many indications suggest that some planets might depart from their birthplaces […]
The number of super-Earth and mini-Neptune planet discoveries has increased significantly in the last two decades thanks to transit and radial velocity surveys. When it is possible to apply both […]
Editor’s note: one of the things we are looking for as we examine the icy water worlds in our own solar system and exoplanets circling other stars are oceans. Earth […]
Mildly rradiated mini-Neptunes have densities potentially consistent with them hosting substantial liquid water oceans (`Hycean’ planets).
The Saturnian moon Enceladus presents a unique opportunity to sample the contents of a subsurface liquid water ocean in situ via the continuous plume formed over its south polar terrain […]
![JWST NIRCam composite image of the Orion Bar, located in the Orion molecular cloud. Red is the 3.35µm emission (F335M NIRCam filter), blue is the emission of Paα (F187N filter subtracted by F182M filter) and green is the emission of the H2 0-0 S(9) line at 4.70 µm (F470N filter subtracted by F480M filter). The inset shows a zoom-in of the d203-506 planet-forming disk where OH lines are detected. Red is the emission of the H2 1-0 S(1) line at 2.12 µm (F212N filter), blue is the [FeII] line emission at 1.64 µm (F164N filter), and green is the emission in the F140M broad-band near-IR filter that traces scattered light around 1.4 µm (F140M broad band filter). The white contours represent the emission of the OH rotational line at 9.79 µm detected with MIRI-MRS (levels are 1.1, 2.5 ×10−5 erg cm−2 s −1 sr−1 ). The bright spot in the northwestern part of the envelope coincides with the region of interaction between a jet and the photoevaporative wind. The brightest OH emission originates from here. The spectra shown in Fig. 2 and 3 are an average over the region delineated by the green circle in order to have the best S/N. Image credits: NASA, ESA, CSA, PDRs4All ERS Team, pdrs4all.org. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/OHAsAProbe.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Water is a key ingredient for the emergence of life as we know it. Yet, its destruction and reformation in space remains unprobed in warm gas.
