Tag Archive for 'Habitability'

An artist’s impression of the Gliese 3470 planetary system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Mid-Phanerozoic Exoplanets Might Be Easier to Detect than Modern Earth

Nov 2, 2023 by News Staff

In the search for life in the Universe, Earth provides a template of evolution for the one habitable planet we know. Earth’s atmospheric composition...

This image of Ganymede was obtained by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during its June 7, 2021, flyby of the icy moon. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS.

Juno Detects Various Salts and Organic Compounds on Ganymede

Nov 1, 2023 by News Staff

Using data from the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, planetary scientists have detected hydrated sodium chloride,...

Illustration depicting one interpretation of the exoplanet GJ 357d. Image credit: Chris Smith / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Giant Exoplanets Are Potential ‘Agents of Chaos’ in Multiplanet Systems, Astronomers Say

Oct 31, 2023 by News Staff

Two new papers in the Astronomical Journal show that in some multiplanet systems, giant planets tend to kick their smaller neighbors out of orbit and wreak...

Pangea Ultima temperature and habitability: (a) mammalian species diversity without the influence of humans; (b) habitable regions (green area) in the Pre-industrial simulation; (c-h) cold month mean temperature (CMMT; degrees Celsius); (c,f) warm month mean temperature (WMMT; degrees Celsius); (d,g) and habitable regions (green area); (e,h) under two end members of our sensitivity analysis: low-pCO2 conditions (280 ppm) Pangea Ultima planetary configuration (in 250 million years); (c-e) and high-pCO2 conditions (1,120 ppm) Pangea Ultima configuration (in 250 million years); (f-h) with global land surface temperature (GLST) (grid-weighted) indicated. Image credit: Farnsworth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41561-023-01259-3.

Climate Extremes Likely to Drive Mass Extinction of Land Mammals in 250 Million Years

Sep 26, 2023 by News Staff

In about 250 million years, all continents will converge to form Earth’s next supercontinent, Pangea Ultima. A natural consequence of the creation...

An artist’s impression of the K2-18 planetary system. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / J. Olmsted, STScI / N. Madhusudhan, University of Cambridge.

Astronomers Detect Carbon Dioxide and Methane in Super-Earth’s Atmosphere

Sep 11, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have discovered carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere of the habitable zone exoplanet...

This artist’s illustration shows the Neptune-sized exoplanet AU Mic b passing in front of its host red dwarf star. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Joseph Olmsted, STScI.

Young Neptune-Sized Exoplanet Sporadically Burps Hydrogen as It Circles Its Parent Star

Jul 31, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

A process called photoevaporation is a potential explanation for several features within exoplanet demographics. Atmospheric escape observed in young Neptune-sized...

The LP 890-9 system is much more compact than our Solar System: its two planets could easily fit inside the orbit of Mercury. Image credit: Adeline Deward, RISE-Illustration.

Hot Earth or Young Venus: Nearby Super-Earth May Reveal Secrets about Edge of Habitability

Jun 22, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Venus and Earth provide astonishingly different views of the evolution of a rocky planet, raising the question of why these two rocky worlds evolved so...

An artistic conception of the early Earth. Image credit: Simone Marchi / NASA.

Study: Plate Tectonics is not a Requirement for Life to Originate on Earth-Like Planet

Jun 15, 2023 by News Staff

Plate tectonics is a fundamental factor in the sustained habitability of Earth, but its time of onset is unknown, with ages ranging from the Hadean to...

An artist’s impression of the Gliese 414 system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Study: One-Third of Red Dwarf Exoplanets Could Be in Habitable Zone

May 29, 2023 by News Staff

A team of U.S. astronomers has discovered that two-thirds of the planets around M dwarfs (red dwarf stars) could be roasted by extreme tidal forces, sterilizing...

Illustration of an Earth-like exoplanet after X-ray radiation exposure. Image credit: NASA / CXC / M. Weiss.

X-Ray-Luminous Supernovae Pose Threat to Earth-Like Planetary Atmospheres, Study Says

Apr 20, 2023 by News Staff

The aftermaths of supernovae always produce X-rays, but if the supernova’s blast wave strikes dense surrounding gas, it can produce a particularly large...

Shapiro et al. show that the development of complex life on planets in the habitable zone can be sustained from a few percent of oxygen upward, being robust for a large range of stellar characteristics and against major extraterrestrial cataclysms. Image credit: MPS / Hormesdesign.de.

Metal-Poor Stars are More Suitable for Evolution of Life on Their Planets: Study

Apr 18, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Atmospheric ozone and oxygen protect the biosphere of our planet against harmful ultraviolet radiation. In new research, astronomers modeled atmospheres...

Some exoplanets have one side permanently facing their star while the other side is in perpetual darkness. The ring-shaped border between these permanent day and night regions is called a terminator zone. Image credit: Ana Lobo / University of California, Irvine.

Exoplanetary ‘Terminator Zones’ Have Potential to Support Alien Life, Study Suggests

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

Rocky exoplanets orbiting red dwarf (M-dwarf) stars are among the most promising and abundant astronomical targets for detecting habitable climates. Planets...

An artist’s conception of the surface of the Earth-mass exoplanet Wolf 1069b. Image credit: NASA’s Ames Research Center / Daniel Rutter.

Astronomers Discover Earth-Mass Exoplanet in Habitable Zone of Wolf 1069

Feb 8, 2023 by Natali Anderson

Wolf 1069b is the sixth closest Earth-mass exoplanet situated in the conservative habitable zone of its parent star, after Proxima Centauri b, Gliese 1061d,...

This composite image shows one of the studied clusters, NGC 3293, which is 11 million years old and is located about 8,300 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Carina. The image contains X-rays from Chandra (purple) as well as infrared data from ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory (red), longer-wavelength infrared data from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope (blue and white), and optical data from the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory appearing as red, white and blue. Image credit: NASA / CXC / Penn State University / Getman et al. / ESA / JPL-Caltech / Herschel Space Observatory / IPAC / SSC / Spitzer Space Telescope / MPG / ESO / G. Beccar.

Astronomers Trace Evolution of X-Ray Activity in Young Sun-Like Stars

Dec 27, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s Gaia satellite have studied a sample of 6,003 stars in 10 different open clusters with...

An artist’s impression of two temperate Earth-mass exoplanets orbiting Gliese 1002, a red dwarf star some 16 light-years away in the constellation of Cetus. Image credit: Alejandro Suárez Mascareño & Inés Bonet, IAC.

Two Potentially Habitable Exo-Earths Found around Nearby Red Dwarf

Dec 20, 2022 by Natali Anderson

The two temperate Earth-mass planets are located within the habitably zone of Gliese 1002, a red dwarf star that lies just 4.84 parsecs (16 light-years)...

This Chandra image shows the LTT 1445 system: LTT 1445A is the fainter source at the center of the image with the brighter resolved binary LTT 1445 BC. Image credit: NASA / Chandra / Brown et al., arXiv: 2209.11314.

Chandra Detects X-ray Emission from Exoplanet-Hosting Triple Star System

Oct 11, 2022 by Natali Anderson

The triple star system LTT 1445, at a distance of 22.5 light-years, hosts some of the nearest rocky planets. This Chandra image shows the LTT 1445 system:...

The young Mars would have had enough water to cover its entire surface in a liquid layer about 140 m deep, but it is more likely that the liquid would have pooled to form an ocean occupying almost half of Mars’s northern hemisphere, and in some regions reaching depths greater than 1.6 km. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO / N. Risinger, skysurvey.org.

Mars was Habitable for Methanogenic Microorganisms 3.7 Billion Years Ago, Study Suggests

Oct 10, 2022 by News Staff

The subsurface of Mars during the Noachian period was likely to have been habitable for microorganisms that feed on hydrogen and produce methane, according...

Phosphorus in the form of orthophosphate (e.g., HPO4-2) is likely abundant in the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus; a soda or alkaline ocean (containing NaHCO3 and/or Na2CO3) inside of Enceladus interacts geochemically with a rocky core; modeling indicates that this interaction promotes the dissolution of phosphate minerals, making orthophosphate readily available to possible life in the ocean; because phosphorus is an essential ingredient for life, this finding bolsters mounting evidence for habitability within this small Saturnian moon. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Subsurface Ocean of Enceladus is Rich in Phosphorus, Suggests Study

Sep 20, 2022 by News Staff

Enceladus is one of the prime targets in the search for life in our Solar System. Observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft show that this small...

Study: Location and Amount of Land on Planet’s Surface Can Significantly Impact Its Habitability

Jul 12, 2022 by News Staff

University of Toronto astronomer Evelyn Macdonald and her colleagues have identified substantial differences in surface temperature, sea ice and water...

An artist’s conception of the aerial biosphere in the cloud layers of Venus. In this picture, hypothetical microbial life in the clouds of Venus resides inside protective cloud particles and is carried by winds around the planet. Image credit: J. Petkowska.

Clouds of Venus May Be More Habitable than Previously Thought

Dec 21, 2021 by News Staff

Possible lifeforms in the Venusian clouds could be setting off a cascade of chemical reactions that is making the environment much more habitable, according...

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