The search for biosignatures on exoplanets connects the fields of biology and biochemistry to astronomical observation, with the hope that we might detect evidence of active biological processes on worlds […]
Webb Space Telescope
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Fomalhaut, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Space Telescope Reveals The Complexity Of Fomalhaut’s Evolving Asteroid Belt
Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to image the warm dust around a nearby young star, Fomalhaut, in order to study the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of […]
![TRAPPIST-1 b F1500W measured flux and spectral models. The blackbody curves represent the measured TB = 503 K dayside temperature, the 508 K apparent dayside temperature predicted for zero heat redistribution and no internal heating, and Teq = 400 K temperature for isotropic redistribution of stellar heating. The flux expected in the upcoming observations in the MIRI F1280W filter is also shown assuming the planet emits like a TB = 503 K blackbody. The widths of the F1280W and F1500W markers represent their transmission half-amplitude bandpasses, and the vertical error bar of the F1500W point represents its 1σ uncertainty. Emergent spectra from 93 bar CO2 and 10 bar outgassed O2 with 0.5 bar CO2 atmospheres are also plotted [20, 33]. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Thermal.png?resize=1200%2C731&ssl=1)
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1
Thermal Emission From The Earth-sized Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b Using JWST
The TRAPPIST-1 system is remarkable for its seven planets that are similar in size, mass, density, and stellar heating to the rocky planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in our own […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1
Webb Measures The Temperature Of Rocky Exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b
An international team of researchers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to measure the temperature of the rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
The JWST Early Release Science Program for Direct Observations of Exoplanetary Systems II: A 1 to 20 Micron Spectrum of the Planetary-Mass Companion VHS 1256-1257 b
We present the highest fidelity spectrum to date of a planetary-mass object. VHS 1256 b is a <20 MJup widely separated (∼8\arcsec, a = 150 au), young, planetary-mass companion that […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Press Release
Wolf-Rayet Star WR 124 Dust Contains Materials Needed For Life
A Wolf-Rayet star is a rare prelude to the famous final act of a massive star: the supernova. As one of its first observations in 2022, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Webb Reveals Intricate Networks of Gas, Dust, And Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Nearby Galaxies
Researchers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope are getting their first look at star formation, gas, and dust in nearby galaxies with unprecedented resolution at infrared wavelengths.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Does Ice In The Universe Contain The Molecules Making Up The Building Blocks Of Life In Planetary Systems?
The James Webb Space Telescope – the most precise telescope ever built – was decisive in discovering the frozen forms of a long series of molecules, such as carbon dioxide, […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A JWST NIRSpec Phase Curve for WASP-121b: Dayside Emission Strongest Eastward of the Substellar Point and Nightside Conditions Conducive to Cloud Formation
We present the first exoplanet phase curve measurement made with the JWST NIRSpec instrument, highlighting the exceptional stability of this newly-commissioned observatory for exoplanet climate studies.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report
An Ice Age JWST Inventory Of Dense Molecular Cloud Ices
Icy grain mantles are the main reservoir of the volatile elements that link chemical processes in dark, interstellar clouds with the formation of planets and composition of their atmospheres.