Imaging & Spectroscopy – My WordPress Site

Pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions of our experiments compared to phase diagram of the CO2–H2O system. Red dots correspond to actual P–T conditions at various stages of ice preparation. Dashed lines are only indicative and do not correspond to measured variations in pressure. Paths labeled in red, yellow, and magenta correspond to ice retaining CO2. Paths labeled in black correspond to ice devoid of CO2. Lowercase letters show the stages of the experiment described in the text, with subscripts showing the applicable experiment number. The stars near the bottom left denote the P–T conditions during acquisition of spectra. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

The Fate Of Frozen Carbonated Water At Europa-like Conditions

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

We present the results of experiments probing the retention of CO2 in crystalline water ice, frozen sodium chloride (NaCl) brines, and flash-frozen carbonated water using diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy.

The mass versus orbital distance of currently discovered and characterized exoplanets. Solar system planets are indicated as well. The hexagonal icons, indicating spectroscopic characterization studied done using JWST, are adopted from Espinoza & Perrin (2025). Direct imaging, currently limited to far out and large planets, will have to advance in sensitivity and contrast ratio to reach Earth-like planets. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Spectral Signatures From The Habitable Zone

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Geometries of the H-addition reactions on HNC leading to cis- and trans-HC•NH (reactions R4-cis and R4-trans). Distances are in Å -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Methanimine As A Sink In The HCN And HNC Solid State Hydrogenation Network

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Exoplanet detection limits from the neural network framework in the case of HARPS-N solar spectra. Left: Detection limit map in the period-amplitude domain. The red dots indicate the successful detection by the trained NN with a false alarm probability (FAP) > 0.1%. Middle: Amplitude comparison between the injected and recovered signals in the period-amplitude domain. The amplitude difference for most of the recovered signals are < 20%. The large difference at low amplitude (0.1 m/s) is likely due to noise in the data. Right: Phase comparison between the injected and recovered signals in the period-amplitude domain. The phase difference for most of the recovered planets is < 0.04. The large differences at long periods is likely due to a poorer sampling of the phase for long-period planetary signals.--astro-ph.EP

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrobiology (general), Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Machine Learning As A Transformative Tool for (Exo-)Planetary Science

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

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

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

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

Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Goldilocks Problem For Detecting Water In Terrestrial Planets: Constraining Water Abundances In The mid-IR With LIFE

by Keith CowingApril 10, 2026April 10, 2026