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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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)...

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:...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Nov 11, 2021 by News Staff

The thickness of the brittle lithosphere — the outer portion of a planetary body that fails via fracturing — plays a key role in the geological...

Sep 30, 2021 by News Staff

In a paper published this week in the journal Astrobiology, researchers focused on the possible existence of the Earth-like phototrophy — the process...

Sep 30, 2021 by News Staff

Massive floods from overflowing crater lakes were responsible for eroding at least 24% of the volume of incised valleys on early Mars, according to new...

Sep 20, 2021 by News Staff

The habitability of Mars is limited by its small size, according to new research by Washington University in St. Louis planetary scientists. This artist’s...

Aug 26, 2021 by News Staff

Hycean worlds are composed of water-rich interiors with massive oceans underlying hydrogen-rich atmospheres; with densities between those of rocky super-Earths...

Aug 9, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have studied large, long-duration flares in white light on red dwarfs, a class...

Jul 8, 2021 by News Staff

Earth’s sphere tilts on its axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees; this gives us our seasons, with parts of the planet receiving more direct sunlight in summer...

Jul 2, 2021 by News Staff

Terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are differentiated into three layers: a metallic core, a silicate shell (mantle and crust), and a...

Jun 29, 2021 by News Staff

The recent suggestion of phosphine gas in the atmosphere of Venus has regenerated interest in the idea of life in clouds; however, such analyses usually...