Although liquid water covers a majority of Earth’s surface, scientists are still searching for planets outside of our solar system that contain water. Researchers at Caltech and several other institutions […]
Water
Posted inAstrochemistry, Habitable Zones
Water: From Clouds to Planets
Results from recent space missions, in particular Spitzer and Herschel, have lead to significant progress in our understanding of the formation and transport of water from clouds to disks, planetesimals, […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Water Vapor Discovered At Ceres
ESA’s Herschel space observatory has discovered water vapour around Ceres, the first unambiguous detection of water vapour around an object in the asteroid belt. With a diameter of 950 km, […]
Posted inIcy Worlds, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Transient Water Vapor at Europa's South Pole
In November and December 2012 the Hubble Space Telescope maged Europa’s ultraviolet emissions in the search for vapor plume activity. We report statistically significant coincident surpluses of hydrogen Lyman-α and […]
Posted inMars
Unusual Greenhouse Gases – Raising Ancient Martian Temperature?
Much like the Grand Canyon, Nanedi Valles snakes across the Martian surface suggesting that liquid water once crossed the landscape, according to a team of researchers who believe that molecular […]
Posted inMoon
Water on Moon's Surface Hints at Water Below
Scientists supported by NASA have detected water locked in mineral grains on the Moon. The findings hint at unknown water sources deep below the lunar surface. Data for the study […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Water in Protoplanetary Disks: Deuteration and Turbulent Mixing
We investigate water and deuterated water chemistry in turbulent protoplanetary disks. Chemical rate equations are solved with the diffusion term, mimicking turbulent mixing in vertical direction. Water near the midplane […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Watery Asteroid Discovered in Dying Star Points to Habitable Exoplanets
Astronomers have found the shattered remains of an asteroid that contained huge amounts of water orbiting an exhausted star, or white dwarf. This suggests that the star GD 61 and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Water and Low Mass Stars
If water is the source of life, then finding the source of water certainly qualifies as a worthy astrobiological endeavor. Scientists have formulated certain scenarios for how our planet became […]
Posted inMars
Strong Evidence for Flowing Water on Mars
Despite satellite images that show vast networks of channels, past Mars rover missions have shown limited evidence for flowing water on Mars. Now, rocks analyzed by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover […]