Water Archives

Temperature regions within our disk models. The bold black outline shows the full extent of the dust within our disk models. The z/r = 0.6 dashed line shows the limit set for ices. -- astro-ph.EP

Implications Of Self-consistent H2O Ice Optical Constants On Radiative Transfer Models Of Disks

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2026June 27, 2026

[astro-ph.EP] Interstellar water (H2O) ice exhibits significantly varied profiles over its spectral features with temperature and thermal history.

Transmission spectrum of GJ 1214b using the 5% CH4-derived haze sample atmospheric composition. The sample from K84, G18/C23 C/O = 1 sample, and H24’s sample at 300 K are overplotted for reference. We include the observations from L. Kreidberg et al. (2014); E. M. R. Kempton et al. (2023b); E. Schlawin et al. (2024) with offsets for comparisons between models. The error bars account for 1σ uncertainties in the observations. Top: Spectra from 0.5 to 8 µm, where there are large differences in the resulting transmission spectrum between the sample and previous literature optical constants. Our samples pre- and post-irradiation produce largely flat spectra. Bottom: Spectra from 2 to 3 µm. We see slight changes between our preand post-irradiation transmission spectra, where our hazes are letting gaseous CO2 found in the simulated atmosphere to be more or less visible. -- astro-ph.EP

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

Ultraviolet Radiation Effects on the Optical Properties of Water-Dominated Exoplanet Hazes

by Keith CowingJune 8, 2026June 8, 2026

Temperate sub-Neptune and terrestrial exoplanets could contain large inventories of water in various phases, such as water-dominated atmospheres or even oceans. Observations have shown that many exoplanets, including water worlds, […]

Initial structure of the Impact Plume 60 s post impact. The impactor strikes from the left, at a 60° angle from horizontal, with the sun located to the right.There is a visible asymmetry in the plume due to the direction of impact; the “hole” on the right side of the plume is a bubble in this 2D slice of a fully 3D plume due to the removal of water vapor-rock mixtures from the simulation during the sampling from SOVA into DSMC codes (Prem et al. 2015). (Top) the plume contains a region of high density (~1022 molecules/m3 ) just above the point of impact, which rapidly drops toward the edges of the plume. (Bottom, left) The high plume densities correspond to short mean free paths for the vapor molecules. (Bottom, right) Comparing this mean free path with the length scale of the density gradient reveals very small Knudsen numbers throughout; the entire plume (except for the very outermost edges) is clearly within the continuum flow regime at this time, rather than the slip-flow, Knudsen, or Free Molecular regimes. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mercury, Status Report

Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 26, 2026

Mercury’s polar cold traps host water ice deposits that are likely populated with impact-delivered water via Mercury’s exosphere.

An early location of life on Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Assessing the Earliest Evidence for Life in the Geologic and Genomic Records

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2026June 3, 2026

Both the geologic and genomic records provide information on the earliest history of terrestrial life.

An Impactor Strikes Earth's Global Ocean -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Moon, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Moon Record Analysis Challenges Impact Origin Of Earth’s Water

by Keith CowingMay 4, 2026May 4, 2026

A long-standing idea in planetary science is that water-rich meteorites arriving late in Earth’s history could have delivered a major share of Earth’s water. A new study argues that the […]

Model prediction for the water budget of the 4 terrestrial planets

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Mercury, Status Report, Venus

Astrochemical Inheritance of Terrestrial Planets Water from Local Wet Silicates

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 5, 2026

The delivery of water to the inner Solar System rocky planets, including Earth, remains debated, as standard models assume that they formed from dry grains, inside the snowline of the […]

In a water–water hydrogen bond, a hydrogen nucleus from one water molecule is donated to an sp3 lone pair on the oxygen atom of a neighboring water molecule, along the axis of the O–H covalent bond. The polar O–H bond withdraws electron density from the hydrogen atom, exposing the back of the proton to HB acceptor. -- Protein Science via PubMed

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Master Molecule That Built Biology: How Water Shaped The Chemistry Of Life

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2026April 25, 2026

The deep entanglement of biomolecular structure and function with aqueous systems supports the view that water actively sculpted both molecules and processes during the origins of life and continues to […]

(A) Schematic of the ice growth apparatus. (B) Image of the ice growth apparatus shortly after the onset of an experiment. (C) The ~50-cm-thick Europa 2 ice column immediately after extraction. The column is placed upside down to reduce brine loss from the highly porous basal region of the ice. (D) Ice columns subsectioned into smaller, more easily workable pieces and scored at 2-cm intervals in preparation for vertical partitioning. (E) The scored subsections in (D) were cut using an electric band saw, and the 2-cm layers were placed into 500-ml high-density polyethylene amber Nalgene sample bottles. These samples were subsequently melted, filtered, and processed via IC, ICP-OES, and NDIR spectroscopy to acquire our ionic composition and ionic fractionation profiles. -- Science Advances via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

As Above, Not So Below: Ion Fractionation In Planetary Analog Ices

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2026April 25, 2026

The geophysical evolution and astrobiological potential of ocean worlds are indelibly linked to the chemical compositions of their oceans and ice shells.

This image of Venus taken by NASA’s Mariner 10 spacecraft (left) is paired with an artist’s depiction of three possible atmospheres on a recently discovered exoplanet, Gliese 12b. This new University of Washington study explores how much surface water a planet needs to support life. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Planets Need More Water To Support Life Than Scientists Previously Thought

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2026April 20, 2026

Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet […]

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biophysics, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Cluster Anions of Hydrated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: “Magic” Water Tetramer

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2026April 17, 2026

The PAH-water (PAH = polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) interactions occur in interstellar ice grains and in atmospheres of planets and can serve as models for the interaction between water and graphite-like […]