December 2023 – Page 3 – My WordPress Site

A recent review article by graduate student Nathan Hadland in the Duhamel Lab evaluates how young volcanic terrains can be colonized by microorganisms. -- University of Arizona

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Impact events, Moon

Large Planets May Not Form Fractionally Large Moons

by Keith CowingDecember 27, 2023December 27, 2023

The orbits of the fourteen currently known dark comets, Jupiter, and the Earth. One orbital period is shown for each object starting on the vernal equinox in 2023 March, and the points represent the corresponding initial positions of the Earth and of Jupiter. The left and right panels highlight the orbits of the outer and inner dark comets respectively. Orbits of the newly discovered dark comets are labeled with italicized font, and the orbits of previously reported objects are labeled in roman font. --PNAS

Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Impact events, Moon

The Role Of Giant Impacts In Planet Formation

by Keith CowingDecember 27, 2023December 27, 2023

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Stellar Cartography

Mapping Exoplanets

by Keith CowingDecember 27, 2023February 16, 2024

Mirror Bacteria -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Air Monitoring By Nanopore Sequencing

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars

Mixtures Of Sulfates In Melas Chasma On Mars

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter

Comparative Exolanetology: Jupiter Targeted By VLT/ESPRESSO Exoplanet Hunter

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Plant Biology

How To Identify Specific Life Forms From Orbit

by Keith CowingDecember 26, 2023December 26, 2023

Space Life Science, Space Stations, SPACELINE Current Awareness List

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,080 22 December 2023 (Space Life Science Research Results)

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2023February 9, 2024

Full document

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life

Organic Compounds In Asteroids Are Formed In Colder Regions Of Space

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2023December 22, 2023

Validation and low-cost schemes’ performance on key and major molecules. The plots illustrate the performance of our method on key molecules for HD 209458b (a) and HD 189733b (b). Left: Molar fractions of key molecules as a function of pressure in the atmosphere. The full V20 model is represented by a solid line, DARWEN’s validation scheme by a dashed-dotted line, low-cost schemes by a dashed line, and the reduced scheme (R20) by a dotted line. Right: Maximal percentage changes in the molar fractions of the key molecules compared to the full model. The full model’s line is not shown because it serves as the reference model. Lines close to zero indicate that the predictions are nearly identical to those of the full model for that molecule. We only show changes bigger than 1%. -- astro-ph.EP

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

A Map of Astrobiology Rover Perseverance’s Depot Samples

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2023December 22, 2023