If you want to build a habitable planet, ices are a vital ingredient because they are the main source of several key elements — namely carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and […]
Webb Space Telescope
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
SwRI-Contributed Study Provides Darkest View Ever Of Interstellar Ices
An international team including Southwest Research Institute, Leiden University and NASA used observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to achieve the darkest ever view of a dense interstellar […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
A JWST Transmission Spectrum Of A Nearby Earth-sized Exoplanet
The critical first step in the search for life on exoplanets over the next decade is to determine whether rocky planets transiting small M-dwarf stars possess atmospheres and, if so, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
PHANGS-JWST First Results: Variations in PAH Fraction as a Function of ISM Phase and Metallicity
We present maps tracing the fraction of dust in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in IC 5332, NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496 from JWST/MIRI observations.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
PHANGS-JWST First Results: Tracing the Diffuse ISM with JWST Imaging of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in Nearby Galaxies
JWST observations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission provide some of the deepest and highest resolution views of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) in nearby galaxies.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
An Exoplanet Atmosphere As Never Seen Before
The JWST just scored another first: a detailed molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world’s skies.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Beta Pictoris, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Detecting Planetary Mass Companions Near The Water Frost-line Using JWST Interferometry
JWST promises to be the most versatile infrared observatory for the next two decades. The Near Infrared and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS) instrument, when used in the Aperture Masking Interferometry (AMI) […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
A New Method for Finding Nearby White Dwarf Exoplanets and Detecting Biosignatures
We demonstrate that the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can detect infrared (IR) excess from the blended light spectral energy distribution of spatially unresolved terrestrial exoplanets orbiting nearby white dwarfs.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Carbon Dioxide Observed In Exoplanet WASP-39 b’s Atmosphere By James Webb Space Telescope
A team of planetary scientists, including Arizona State University Associate Professor Michael Line, have detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a gas giant exoplanet with the James Webb Space […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Webb Space Telescope Identification Of Carbon Dioxide In An Exoplanet Atmosphere
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a key chemical species that is found in a wide range of planetary atmospheres. In the context of exoplanets, CO2 is an indicator of the metal […]