Extrasolar Planets
Yale researchers have found a data-driven way to detect distant planets and refine the search for worlds similar to Earth.
Astronomy
Current observations of the atmospheres of close-in exoplanets are predominantly obtained with two techniques: low-resolution spectroscopy with space telescopes and high-resolution spectroscopy from the ground.
Astrochemistry
Building on previous work, we have expanded our catalog of evolutionary models for stars with variable composition; here we present models for stars of mass 0.5 - 1.2 Msol, at scaled metallicities of 0.1 - 1.5 Zsol, and specific C/Fe, Mg/Fe, and Ne/Fe values of 0.58 - 1.72 C/Fe_sol, 0.54 - 1.84 Mg/Fe_sol and 0.5 - 2.0 Ne/Fe_sol, respectively.
Mars
NASA's Curiosity rover is climbing a layered Martian mountain and finding evidence of how ancient lakes and wet underground environments changed, billions of years ago, creating more diverse chemical environments that affected their favorability for microbial life.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
What will happen to Earth when, in a few billion years' time, the Sun is a hundred times bigger than it is today?
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
The Kepler mission has shown that a significant fraction of all stars may have an Earth-size habitable planet. A dramatic support was the recent detection of Proxima Centauri b.
Proxima Centauri b
The field of exoplanetary science has seen discovery rates increase dramatically over recent years, due largely to the data from the Kepler mission. Even so, individual discoveries of planets orbiting nearby stars are very important for studies of characterization and near-term follow-up prospects.
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Nitrogen is a major nutrient for all life on Earth and could plausibly play a similar role in extraterrestrial biospheres.
Astrochemistry
The photochemistry of ices with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been extensively studied, but to date no investigation has been made of PAHs in interaction with low numbers (n < 4) of molecules of water.
Extrasolar Planets
Detecting the atmospheres of low-mass low-temperature exoplanets is a high-priority goal on the path to ultimately detect biosignatures in the atmospheres of habitable exoplanets.
Astrochemistry
It has been pointed out by various astronomers that very interesting relationship exists between interstellar alcohols and the corresponding thiols (sulfur analogue of alcohols) as far as the spectroscopic properties and chemical abundances are concerned.
Recent Releases
Recent Status Reports