Keith Cowing – Page 8 – My WordPress Site

NASA's Juno spacecraft passed north-to-south (yellow track) over Jupiter's atmosphere on 17 August 2022, detecting a cluster of radio pulses from lightning (cyan symbols marking instrument pointing for each pulse). Credit Wong et al. (2026, AGU Advances; HST and Juno MWR).

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gas Giants, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,

Lightning Bolts On Jupiter Pack More Than 100 Times The Power Of Earth’s Flashes

by Keith CowingApril 5, 2026April 5, 2026

A closer view of the supercritical climbing wind ripples that provide direct evidence of a sandstorm, roughly three and a half billion years ago. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Serendipitous Discovery Of Martian Ripple Marks Reveals An Ancient Sandstorm

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

This illustration shows an ultra-hot Jupiter orbiting a blue-white A-type star. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Pollard

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Gemini South Confirms Long-Suspected Link Between the Composition of Exoplanets and Their Host Stars

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Summary of our method and comparison to the traditional grid modeling approach. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Unusually Hot Interiors Could Reconcile the Missing Methane Problem for Warm-to-Hot Exoplanets with Hydrogen Atmospheres

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Carbon-silicate cycle includes a carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolution in rainwater to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) that falls on land and oceans; b reaction of H2CO3 and silicate (SiO32-) to form silicon dioxide (SiO2) and carbonate (CO32-), which is sequestered into oceanic crust for further recycling to the mantle followed by release into the atmosphere through volcanic activity; and c regeneration of CO2 through reaction between SiO2 and CO32-. Carbon fixation includes (d) reduction of CO2 to methane (CH4) through (e) the production of H2 from H2O on the surface of iron sulfide minerals that serve as sources of dissolved ferrous ion (Fe2+), which is photochemically oxidized to ferric ions (Fe3+.) in water vapor. Carbon monoxide (CO) either reacts with (f) H2O for synthesis of formic acid (HCOOH) or g ammonia (NH3) for synthesis of formamide (HCONH2). Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) formation may occur through either h reaction between CH4 and NH3 or i reaction of CH3• and N• through free radical mechanism. j HCN further reacts with H2O to produce CO and NH3.that also is produced through (k) N2 fixation under high temperatures, both can be sequestered into the mantle; l NH3 photolysis by UV radiation gives rise to N2 and H2; m hydrothermal H2 production occurs through the H2O oxidation by Fe2+ into H2 used for N2 fixation in the atmosphere. In this figure, royalty-free mountain and meteorite images designed by Freepik platform (www.freepik.com) are used. -- Nature via PubMed (open access)

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life

Redox Chemistry Of Early Earth And The Origin Of Life

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Visualization of the HAT-P-12b transmission spectrum and the underlying opacity contributions. Top: Combined spectra from the three JWST instruments and HST STIS (Alexoudi et al. 2020) with 1σ uncertainties, together with the best-fit model with its 3σ credible interval.Model spectra including only the opacity of individual contributors (chemical species or non-gray cloud parametrization) are also shown. Bottom: Absorption cross sections σ of all tested chemical species; significantly detected species are emphasized with thicker lines. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Information Content Of JWST Transmission Spectroscopy Of The Exoplanet HAT-P-12b From The Optical To The Mid-infrared

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Two images of protoplanetary discs Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131 (right). -- ESA Larger imagery

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

A Pair Of Planet-forming Disks

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

Schematic diagram showing the relative depths of the CROMO well array, Quarry Valley and Core Shed Wells, with reference to the lithostratigraphic levels from CSW1-1 cores. Depth of the well, in meters, is shown below each well in the cartoon. In the field, water levels differed slightly. Stars suggest zones of inferred lateral flow of water from formation in CSW1-4 and QV1-3 . Redrawn after Cardace et al. (2013). -- Frontiers in Microbiology

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return

Lipid Biomarkers Reveal Dominance Of Aerobic Methanotrophy In A Continental Serpentinizing System

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

Artist’s impression showing possible choices for the scale of human involvement in the future of Mars.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Beta Pictoris, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mars, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Research Roadmap For Assessing The Feasibility Of Warming Mars

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026

WISE, near-infrared, and optical images of all ultracool wide binary candidates. Optical images either come from Pan-STARRS (PS1; Chambers et al. 2016) or DECam images obtained through the Astro Data Lab image cutout service (Fitzpatrick et al. 2014; Nikutta et al. 2020). -- astro-ph.SR

Astronomy & Telescopes, Citizen Science / Open Science, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Stellar Cartography

Three Thousand Motion-Confirmed L and T Dwarf Candidates From The Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 Citizen Science Project

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2026April 3, 2026