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 […]
Water
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
First-ever Detection Of Heavy Water In A Planet-forming Disk
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have made a first-ever detection of doubly deuterated water (D2O, or “heavy water”) in a planet-forming disk around V883 Ori, a young […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mars Crater Deposits Reveal A History Of Shrinking Ice Volumes Through Ages
For decades, scientists have been curious about how much water Mars once had and what led to its gradual transformation into the dry planet we see today.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Exoplanets Beyond The Conservative Habitable Zone: II. Occurrence
We demonstrate that the extension of the Habitable Zone (HZ) due to the presence of liquid water on the night side of tidally locked planets, modelled in this and earlier […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Understanding JWST Water Spectra: What Can Thermochemical Models Tell Us About The (Cold) Water In Protoplanetary Disks?
Rotational H2O spectra as observed with JWST/MIRI provide a good probe of the temperature and column density structure of the inner disk. H2O emission can also be influenced by dynamical […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Saturn
Study Questions Oceanic Origin Of Organics In Enceladus’s Plumes
Organic molecules detected in the watery plumes that spew out from cracks in the surface of Enceladus could be formed through exposure to radiation on Saturn’s icy moon, rather than […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Detecting Water Ice And Vapor Disks Originating From Icy Planetary Bodies Around White Dwarfs With Future PRIMA Observations
Observations of atmospheres of polluted white dwarfs provide insights into the elemental composition of accreted exoplanets and exo-asteroids.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report
A Slice of Ice On Mars
This HiRISE image shows a deposit draping the surface like a blanket. The deposit is eroding away, and near the center of the image we can see a section that […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Evidence For Ultra-water-rich Ammonia Hydrates Stabilized In Icy Exoplanetary Mantles
Understanding the behavior of the water-ammonia system at high pressure-high temperature conditions is important for modeling the internal dynamics of exoplanet icy mantles.
![The ≈1000 au environment of RW Aur at different wavelengths, as observed by ALMA and JWST. Panel (a): compact dust continuum emission at 1.3 mm wavelength (see Kurtovic et al. 2024, for a detailed study). Panel (b): continuum emission from MIRI-MRS subband 1A. Panel (c): Peak emission map of H2S(3). Panel (d): Peak emission map of [Fe II]. Panel (e): Moment 0 map of the 12CO emission at 230.538 GHz, as observed with ALMA. Panel (f): Peak emission map of H2S(3). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/MINDS.-Young-binary-systems-with-JWSTMIRI.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
MINDS. Young Binary Systems With JWST/MIRI: Variable Water-rich Primaries And Extended Emission
As part of the JWST GTO program MINDS, we analyze the mid-infrared emission of three Class II binary systems: VW Cha, WX Cha, and RW Aur, to investigate the impact […]