The amount of surface water is thought to be critical for a planet’s climate stability and thus habitability.
For decades, scientists believed that Earth’s water originated far from the sun. In the cold outer reaches of the solar system, water-rich bodies formed and later migrated inward, delivering water […]
Terrestrial analog environments and their microbial communities are key elements to prepare for the exploration of extraterrestrial planetary environments that potentially sustained, or even may still sustain, the (bio)chemistry necessary […]
How do habitable environments arise and evolve within the context of their planetary systems? This is one fundamental question, and it can be addressed partly by identifying how planets in […]
![Mass and radius for a number of potentially habitable ocean worlds. The bullet points show identified ocean worlds: listed from bottom to top: HD 11505b, WASP 35, TOI 157, TOI 1452b, KELT 10b, HD 80883b, HD 221585b, HIP 67537b, K2-18b, Kepler 1980b, HD 50499b, Kepler 1766b, HD 50499c. The green curve gives the mass-radius relation for planets with a water content of > ∼ 30 % (by mass) from [40]. The arrows (and black crosses [right-most one is white]) give the simulation atmosphere models. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/A-Systematic-North-South-Asymmetry1.png?resize=1200%2C725&ssl=1)
Planetary obliquity (axial tilt) plays an important role in regulating the climate evolution and habitability of water-covered planets.
It is still unclear whether exoplanets in compact multiplanet systems such as TRAPPIST-1 are able to accrete large quantities of volatiles, grow to sufficient mass, and maintain robust atmospheres and […]
Microbial exoenzymes—extracellular enzymes secreted to degrade complex organic polymers— are essential for recycling carbon and nutrients, thus sustaining primary productivity in today’s oceans.
Shallow-water hydrothermal vents are dynamic ecosystems that occur below 200 m in tectonically active regions of the planet.
The Habitable Zone (HZ) is defined by the possibility of sustaining liquid water on a planetary surface.
An exoplanet orbiting a dwarf star 124 light-years from Earth made headlines around the world in April 2025. Researchers at the University of Cambridge reported that planet K2-18b could be […]
