Protoplanetary Disk – Page 2 – My WordPress Site

Left: integrated emission maps of the H2CO 4(0,4)-3(0,3) line for the observed sources. Right: peak intensity emission for the same line. Continuum emission at 0.8 mm contours is overlaid to compare with the formaldehyde emission in the disks. Beams are illustrated on the bottom-right with solid white for continuum images and dashed lines for line emission. The bottom-left bar represents a respective 100 au physical scale for each source. For most disks, there are no clear correspondences between the dust continuum contours and the integrated maps.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy

exoALMA. XXIV. Formaldehyde Emission in Protoplanetary Disks of exoALMA Compared with Their Properties and Dynamical State

by Keith CowingMarch 17, 2026March 17, 2026

Disk physical structure from our three parametric models (Models 1 to 3 from top to bottom, see Tables 1 and 2). The 2D gas temperature (left) and total H density (right) are shown as colors, with iso-curves in white. The dashed red line corresponds to AV = 1 mag (as measured from the top). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Ortho-Para Chemistry of H2CO in the Protoplanetary Disk TW Hya

by Keith CowingMarch 17, 2026March 17, 2026

Velocity and line-width residuals derived from discminer models applied to synthetic observations of planet-disc interaction (q = 2 × 10−3 , ϕp = −45◦ ) and disc instabilities. Details of the simulation setups are provided in Sect. 3.1. All discs are inclined by −30◦ , and the residuals from all mechanisms are shown on the same color scale indicated on the left. Semi red-blue circles in the bottom left corners of the top-row panels indicate the locations of the redshifted and blueshifted sides of the simulated disc, which are useful to understand the velocity structure of the non-Keplerian flows -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy

exoALMA XX: Tomographic Detection of Embedded Planets in Protoplanetary Disks

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2026March 16, 2026

CH3OH/H2O column density ratio found in the literature for a wide range of clouds, YSOs and Solar System comets (see Sect 4.1 for the references). The values for molecular clouds, LYSOs and MYSOs reflect the ice composition, while the ratio was measured in the gas-phase for protoplanetary disks and comets. We used open symbols for the protoplanetary disks in which the upper/lower limit on the methanol-to-water column density ratio was estimated combining measurements taken at different wavelength ranges. The upward triangles for the HD 100546 and the IRS 48 disks indicate a lower limit, whereas the downward triangles for DG Tau A and HL Tau indicate a upper limit. The values for HL Tau are taken dividing the 3σ upper limit on the NCH3OH for the three different assumed excitation temperature in Table 2 for the water column density measured by Facchini et al. (2024). -- astro-ph.SR

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

Hunting For Methanol In The Water Rich, Planet Forming Disk Aaround HL Tau

by Keith CowingMarch 13, 2026March 13, 2026

Integrated intensity (moment 0) maps of the detected species. From left to right, HDO, CH3OH in Band 6 and CH3OH in Band 5. For each image, the ellipse in the bottom left shows the size of the ALMA beam and in the bottom right, the direction of the Sun and comet trail are signaled with the corresponding arrows. The white cross marks the location of the comet nucleus. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Direct View of the Chemical Properties of Water from Another Planetary System: Water D/H in 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

Hayabusa2 Asteroid samples -- JAXA

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Hayabusa2 Asteroid Samples Offer New Insights Into Conditions When The Solar System Formed

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2026March 4, 2026

New research conducted by SwRI, Aix-Marseille University and the Institute for Advanced Studies demonstrated how complex organic molecules (COMs) could have formed in the protoplanetary disk represented here. Interstellar ultraviolet particles (orange arrows) irradiate the disk of materials, providing a range of conditions that could trigger the organic chemistry essential to COM creation as the icy grains migrate radially and vertically in the disk. A similar transport and irradiation process operates within Jupiter’s circumplanetary disk. -- SwRI

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter

New Insights Into The Potential For Life In The Jovian System

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2026February 23, 2026

Nature Communications via PubMed

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return

Bennu And Ryugu Cconstituents From Samples IR Analyses And Potential Source Of Terrestrial Planets’ Ingredients

by Keith CowingFebruary 17, 2026February 17, 2026

The calculation flow in our model. We model the dynamics of gas and dust containing volatile ices and semi-volatile salts to calculate the C, O, N, and S abundances in the disk. Subsequently, we simulate the evolution of the planetary atmospheric structure that inherits the disk’s composition and predict its transmission spectrum. The colored input parameters at the top of the figure correspond to the results obtained from the previous calculation step. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets

Sulfur Enrichment In Close-in Exoplanet Atmospheres Induced By Pebble Drift Across The Salt Line

by Keith CowingFebruary 10, 2026February 10, 2026

H182O In The Terrestrial Planet-forming Regions

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

H182O In The Terrestrial Planet-forming Regions Of Protoplanetary Disks

by Keith CowingJanuary 29, 2026January 29, 2026