Keith Cowing – Page 2 – My WordPress Site

This image was acquired on April 3, 2026 (Sol 1820) at the local mean solar time of 11:29:28. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Astrobiology Droid Perseverance At Work On Mars

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

Community composition and functional profiles of 152 samples. a, The relative abundance of archaea and bacteria in 152 samples. b, The proportion of all archaea in all samples. Bars in different colors represented different classes of archaea. c, The proportion of all bacteria in all samples. Bars in different colors represented different phyla of bacteria. d, the relative abundance of KEGG standard categories (level B) in all samples. e-f, Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) of all RMAGs, archaea, bacteria, and KOs in different sites based on Bray–Curtis distances. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return

The Recovery Of 12,789 Genomes Revealed The Diversity, Function, And Microbial Interactions Of The Geothermal Spring Microbiome

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 13, 2026

Wind structures for the synchronous and 10:1 SOR simulations, reproduced from fig. 5 of Part I and included here for reference. Columns from left to right show the horizontal distribution of zonal wind, meridional wind, and vertical wind at 0.001 bar. Streamlines indicate the direction of the horizontal flow. Results are shown in the heliocentric frame to more clearly illustrate the wind patterns. Black star-shaped markers indicate the location of the substellar point. The first and second rows show results from the synchronous and 10:1 SOR simulations as examples, with the wind patterns in other simulations being similar. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Three-dimensional Transport-induced Chemistry On Temperate Sub-Neptune K2-18b, Part II: The Combined Effects Of Atmospheric Dynamics And Chemical Reactions

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

Schematic overview of the data-processing workflow in this work. After splitting the 2C data into three antenna spectra, we first conduct a general comb diagnostics for each antenna, then perform per-antenna PCA decomposition, basis alignment, and periodogram/FT/ACF analysis. The component-level results are finally combined to distinguish non-shared periodic signals from shared or comb-like RFI. -- astro-ph.IM

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, SETI & Technosignatures

First Lunar Farside SETI Observations for Periodic Signals With The Low-frequency Radio Spectrometer Of Chang’E-4 Mission

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

PSF-subtracted images of all targets. The observation subarray of each target is indicated. The first seven images are zoomed in to area of 11.0” × 11.0” for clearer view of the central regions. For the last three targets, the small size (4.4” × 4.4”) is due to the choice of the observation subarray. The location of the star PSF center is denoted by the white cross. Sources around LHS 1478, TOI-1468, and TOI-270 are labeled with letters, which are likely background sources. The arrow near HD 260655 indicates a low-S/N identification of possible close companion. We further examined this detection in Section 4.4. North is up and east is to the left. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Stellar Cartography

A Search For Wide-orbit Planets Around M-dwarfs Using Deep MIRI 15-micron Images

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

[L] NASA ID: art002e000192 art002e000192 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA [R] art002e000193 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronauts and Explorers, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, People Of Astrobiology, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Our Home World As Seen From Spaceship Integrity During Artemis II

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2026

Graphical Abstract -- Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return

Microstructural And Biochemical Constraints On Cryptoendolithic Life In Atacama Halite: Implications For Extreme Habitability

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2026April 11, 2026

Selected pictures of microbial diversity of Gourgouthakas isolated bacteria. (A-B) Initial screenings of sample material prior to purecultures. (C) A “color palette” of isolated microbes from the collection of Gourgouthakas cave. Variaty of colors from yellow, purple and bioiridescent colonies. -- biorxiv.org

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains & Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return

A Thousand Meters Deep: Vertical Profiling of the Subterranean Microbiome of Gourgouthakas Cave

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2026April 11, 2026

Plotted here are the Kepler confirmed planets/candidates with Gaia DR2 radius improvements. Selection criteria are main-sequence host-star with temperature 5000-6500 K and planet radius errors less than ±10%. Data source: exoplanet archive (Akeson et al. 2013) (Christiansen et al. 2025) (Thompson et al. 2017) and Gaia DR2 Berger et al. (2020, 2018); Brown et al. (2018); Lindegren et al. (2018). Sub-Panels: (1): 1100+ planets fulfilling the criteria, with gray ellipse showing the typical errors in planet radius and temperature. (2) and (3): Smooth Kernel fit to data. (4): All known transiting Hot Jupiters (Rp > 8 R⊕) which have masses measured from RV surveys (e.g. WASP, HAT, HAT-P, etc.), colored by metallicity ([Fe/H]). also c.f. (Castro-González et al. 2024). -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Stellar Cartography

Exoplanet Orbital Distribution Around FGK Sun-like Host Stars I: Planet Occurrence Rate Derived From The Kepler Mission And Theoretical Interpretations From Planet Formation

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2026April 11, 2026

Transmitted power vs wavelength to various star systems of potential interest. The red dashed line shows the current wavelength limit of reflective optics. -- Nature

Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures

X-ray And γ-ray Beam Interstellar Communication And Implications For SETI

by Keith CowingApril 11, 2026April 11, 2026