#planetary_science

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Scientists from Italy and Germany have discovered exoplanet GJ 367b, which is likely composed entirely of iron. Using the HARPS spectrograph and TESS observations, they found that more than 90% of the planet's mass is made up of its iron core. Researchers from the University of Turin in Italy and the State Star Observatory of Thuringia in Germany have made an interesting discovery: the exoplanet GJ 367b is most likely composed entirely of iron.  This makes it the densest known planet with a short orbital period. GJ 367b was first spotted in 2015 by NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) space telescope and has a density 1.85 times that of Earth. [caption id="attachment_69273" align="aligncenter" width="780"] GJ 367b[/caption] Using the European Southern Observatory's HARPS spectrograph and TESS observations, scientists determined that more than 90% of the planet's mass is made up of its iron core. The origin story of GJ 367b remains a mystery, but it may have once been a rocky planet like Earth or Mars. Its two neighboring planets, orbiting further out, are also rocky, indicating that they all formed in a similar way. GJ 367b is an exoplanet consisting only of an iron core However, GJ 367b likely went through a unique series of events that led it to lose its outer rocky layers, leaving only the core. Possible explanations include collisions with another planet closer to the host star. Another possibility is that GJ 367b was intensely irradiated by its star, causing its outer layer to burn away leaving only an iron core. The outer material could turn into gas and then be dispersed into space. It is also possible that GJ 367b underwent a combination of collisions and irradiation to form the metallic planet that astronomers observe today. The question still remains: how did GJ 367b get so close to its star? It is unlikely that it formed there. Scientists believe that gravitational interactions with other planets could have caused it to move away from its original formation site. Further study of GJ 367b could provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of rocky and short-period planets.

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PhD in Earth Sciences at Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Dept Khalifa University of Science and Technology See the full job description on jobRxiv: https://jobrxiv.org/job/khalifa-university-of-science-and-technology-27778-phd-in-earth-sciences-at-khalifa-university-of-science-and-technology-dept/?feed_id=81070 #astrobiology #Climate_Change #earth_science #geoscience #paleobiology #planetary_science #ScienceJobs #hiring #research

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Holographic Imaging Could Be Used to Detect Signs of Life in Space

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” We may be capable of finding microbes in space—but if we did, could we tell what they were, and that they were alive?This month the journal Astrobiology is publishing a special issue dedicated to the search for signs of life on Saturn’s icy moon…

Holographic Imaging Could Be Used to Detect Signs of Life in Space

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Titan exploration tentatively pushed back to 2028 NASA's Dragonfly mission, aimed at exploring Saturn's moon Titan, will be delayed: the next stage of development has been postponed by a year, and the launch is scheduled for July 2028. The official reason for the delay was budget uncertainty, which delayed official confirmation and determination of the cost and schedule of the Dragonfly mission. The Dragonfly team will continue to work on the next phase of development, Phase C, which will develop a rotary unmanned vehicle the size of a car. This vehicle will fly over Titan's dunes and will be able to land to study Titan's abundance of organic molecules. [caption id="attachment_85385" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Dragonfly mission[/caption] On November 28, at a meeting of NASA's External Planetary Assessment Group (OPAG), Laurie Glaze, director of the agency's planetary science division, announced the reasons for the delay in the launch, which was originally scheduled to take place in 2027. Funding and budget uncertainties for 2024 and 2025 were the main reason for the delay in official confirmation of the Dragonfly mission. Glaze also noted that the Dragonfly mission design will be presented again to the program management council (APMC) in the spring of 2024, following the preliminary readiness of the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal at NASA. Dragonfly mission to Titan: launch delayed by a year due to budget uncertainty The Dragonfly team will replan the mission, and once all necessary changes are completed and verified, NASA will assess the mission's readiness for launch in mid-2024. As a result, some elements of the Dragonfly mission will be delayed while other aspects continue to be developed. Dragonfly is the only NASA mission planned to explore the surface of Titan. When the device arrives on Titan, it will look for signs indicating the possibility of life. Dragonfly will also study how advanced prebiotic chemistry is on Saturn's moon, and even look for signs of water or hydrocarbon-based molecules. In addition to traveling further on Titan than any other alien rover on its missions, Dragonfly will also land on Saturn's surface in different regions, collecting samples to determine the composition of surface materials in different regions. Studying Titan is a high priority for planetary scientists because it is the only moon in the solar system known for its thick atmosphere and hydrological cycle similar to Earth's. It is also an oceanic world with clouds of methane, rain, and liquid on the surface that forms lakes and seas. The discovery of oceans and the potential presence of organic matter frozen in Titan's ice increases the potential for viability on this moon. The Dragonfly mission is being developed and will be managed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Maryland. To carry out the research on board the device, cameras, sensors and sample collection tools will be used. “Dragonfly is a fearless engineering concept that is one of a kind. I am inspired by how our team has repeatedly overcome obstacles by working together and thinking outside the box,” said Dragonfly Principal Investigator Elizabeth Turtle. Several Dragonfly components, including control and navigation systems, have already been tested over California deserts chosen for their similarity to the dunes on Titan - as well as in wind tunnels at NASA's Langley Science Center. The full-scale model was also tested in the Titan Simulation Chamber at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory—which recreates the cold temperatures and atmospheric pressures similar to Titan's methane environment. For now, the Dragonfly mission remains the only NASA mission planned to study the surface of Titan. It represents an important step in exploring the potential viability and organic chemistry of other planets and moons in the solar system. “Team Dragonfly has demonstrated readiness for the next phase of our journey to conquer Titan. We are relentlessly moving forward without losing the curiosity and creativity that are key to the success of the Dragonfly mission,” said Turtle.

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Rocket Lab plans to launch a mission to Venus at the end of 2024, building on its experience from the previous lunar mission At the Venus Exploration Group (VEXAG) meeting, Rocket Lab chief systems engineer Christopher Mundy announced that the company has set a launch date for a mission to Venus called Venus Life Finder of December 30, 2024. The mission will send a small spacecraft to Venus. It is equipped with one instrument - an autofluorescent nephelometer, designed to detect organic compounds in the clouds of the planet. The mission proposed by scientists from MIT aims to search for biomarkers in the atmosphere of Venus. [caption id="attachment_78701" align="aligncenter" width="780"] mission to Venus[/caption] Rocket Lab is preparing to launch a mission to Venus to search for biomarkers in 2024 Rocket Lab is collaborating with MIT and other institutions on this privately funded mission. The launch was previously scheduled for May 2023, but the company postponed it while working on other priority projects. Mandy noted that the Venus mission is a side project that is being developed "in the evenings and weekends."  The company is currently in the process of preparing for the mission. Components such as the probe's thermal protection system from NASA Ames Research Center and the core instrument from Droplet Measurement Technologies are expected to arrive by the end of the year. The spacecraft will then be assembled and tested next year. The launch is scheduled for December 30, 2024. The 315-kilogram spacecraft will be launched into low-Earth orbit using an Electron rocket, followed by a series of orbit-raising maneuvers before heading to Venus for a flyby of the Moon. According to plans, the device will arrive at Venus on May 13, 2025. Once separated from the main body, the probe will collect data for five minutes as it descends through clouds in the upper atmosphere. It will then transmit the collected data for 20 minutes until the atmospheric pressure reaches its maximum level at 22 kilometers altitude, at which time the temperature inside the probe reaches the limit values ​​​​withstandable by the electronics. The mission is being developed using technical solutions used in the NASA-funded CAPSTONE mission launched on an Electron rocket in June 2022. Using existing designs can reduce engineering work and reduce costs. Rocket Lab has not disclosed the cost of this mission, but it is likely within the budget of NASA's smallest class of planetary science missions, SIMPLEx, which has a cap cost of $55 million.

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New work suggests active tectonics on ancient Venus and that the tectonic state of the planets may change over time A new study confirms that high levels of nitrogen and argon in Venus's atmosphere indicate emissions of gases during tectonic activity billions of years ago. This suggestion could mean that Venus may have been habitable for a long period before some event that changed its conditions. Scientists have long sought to understand why Venus's carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere is 90 times denser than Earth's and contains almost no water vapor, despite the planet's temperature being maintained at 462 degrees Celsius. However, there is a possibility that such conditions were not always like this. Previous studies modeling Venus's geological past have pointed to the possibility of a small ocean of liquid water and a habitable surface early in the first two billion years or so of the planet's early history. [caption id="attachment_77000" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Venus[/caption] Scientists from Brown University used the underlying data to compare Venus's current atmosphere with atmospheres created by a variety of models of long-term thermo-chemical-tectonic evolution. In other words, they tried to establish a correspondence between the current atmosphere of the planet and possible previous scenarios that take into account tectonic changes. “Venus’s existing atmosphere requires gases to be ejected early in its life due to activity similar to plate tectonics. Our results indicate that the atmosphere of Venus is the result of a climate-tectonic transition that lasted at least a billion years, and then transitioned to the current regime of a virtually stationary “stagnant mantle” with reduced rates of gas emissions,” the scientific team notes in their paper. . The concept of a “stagnant mantle” (Stagnant lid) means that the surface of the planet consists of a single plate with limited mobility and gas release into the atmosphere. The study of Venus has given rise to suggestions that planets can change their tectonic state and living conditions The researchers simulated the events that had to happen on the planet for it to reach the state it is in now. Scientists believe that Venus likely had active plate tectonics immediately after its formation, approximately 4.5 billion to 3.5 billion years ago. Based on the proposals in the paper, early tectonic movement, similar to that of the Earth, was limited by both the number of moving plates and the scale of their displacement. However, presumably, some events occurred on Venus that led to a stop in the tectonic movement of plates. Because this work has the potential to change our current understanding of planetary evolution, additional testing of the model's results is necessary. “Up until now, we thought that plate tectonics was in a 'binary state': it either exists or it doesn't. It either existed throughout the entire history of the planet or did not exist at all. In our work, we showed that planets can transition between different states of tectonics. "In addition, the results also indicate that there may be planets transitioning between habitable states and not just viable ones," said study co-author Alexander Evans, assistant professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Brown University. In addition, this work points to the possibility of several ways to interpret the history of the planet. “At the moment, we still adhere to the paradigm where we study their surfaces to understand the history of planets. But we have demonstrated that the atmosphere may be the best tool for understanding the ancient history of planets, which is often not preserved on their surface,” Evans said. Future missions to Venus will help refine the data from this study. NASA's DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry and Imaging) mission will provide measurements of gases in the atmosphere of Venus. In turn, the European Space Agency's EnVision probe will probe the planet's dense atmosphere from orbit using high-resolution radar. DAVINCI is scheduled to launch in 2029 and EnVision between 2035 and 2039.

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The MIRI instrument on board JWST helped study one particularly interesting star system, HR 8799. The observations provided data for analyzing the chemical composition of the atmospheres of four exoplanets in this young star system When the JWST space telescope first saw the light in July 2022, it was witnessing a huge research program put together by members of the International Astronomical Union. This list included distant early galaxies, forming planets in gas and dust protoplanetary disks, as well as the end of the “dark ages of the Universe” and the first light. Among the numerous targets, exoplanets could not be absent from the list. One distant star system has particularly fascinated scientists. 15 years ago, astronomers discovered three exoplanets around the star HR 8799, located approximately 133 light years from Earth. Later, a fourth exoplanet was discovered, all planets were found by direct detection. These are massive planets with wide orbits, which is rare. Also, the HR 8799 system is attractive for observations because it belongs to young stellar systems. [caption id="attachment_76878" align="aligncenter" width="780"] HR 8799 system[/caption] That's why JWST recently observed this system. Thanks to its instruments, including the MIRI infrared instrument and the coronagraph, it was able to provide data that allowed it to study the star system in more detail. The mass of HR 8799 exceeds 1.5 solar masses, and the luminosity of this star is almost five times that of the Sun. A dust disk has formed around it, and it is a fairly young star - its age is only about 30 million years. Young solar systems are of particular interest because they reveal details about the formation of planets. A new study, authored by Anthony Bocaletti from the Observatory of Paris, was aimed at studying these details. The HR 8799 system includes four planets: HR 8799 b, c, d, and e. They are all massive giants with masses ranging from 5.7 to 9.1 Jupiter masses—the mass boundaries of brown dwarfs—objects that have characteristics between planets and stars. The planets' orbits range from 16 to 71 astronomical units, and their orbital periods range from 45 to 460 years. The fact that they were discovered 15 years ago is also significant because astronomers have an accumulated history of observations of the HR 8799 system. The discovery of massive giant planets with orbits greater than 5 astronomical units is rare. Therefore, every discovery of such systems is important. Thanks to the capabilities provided by the MIRI instrument, JWST can shed light on unknown aspects of such systems and allow scientists to more fully characterize them. Until recently, technical difficulties in mid-infrared observations have made the detailed study of the HR 8799 system challenging. JWST helped study exoplanets of the HR 8799 system [caption id="attachment_76879" align="aligncenter" width="388"] HR 8799 system[/caption] With JWST, scientists were able to refine information obtained from previous observations and gain a clearer understanding of various aspects of the system. The main focus has been on more accurately characterizing the atmospheres of exoplanets. Despite some uncertainty about their composition and the open question of whether they are brown dwarfs, the JWST observations were able to remove doubts. With planetary temperatures ranging from 900 K to 1300 K, new measurements show that the temperature of planet HR 8799 b is lower than previous measurements suggested. Also, the MIRI instrument was able to unambiguously detect the presence of two chemical compounds in the atmospheres of exoplanets: water and carbon monoxide. In addition, according to the data, scientists have controversial evidence of methane detection, which is additional evidence that these objects are planets and not brown dwarfs, since the latter always clearly exhibit methane content at such temperatures. The MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) instrument was designed with the potential to apply various filters. Some of them were specifically designed to detect ammonia, as this could be an indicator of the presence of precursors to life on exoplanets. However, data from the four planets in the HR 8799 system showed that they were slightly hotter than the temperature at which ammonia would be expected to be present. [caption id="attachment_76880" align="aligncenter" width="326"] HR 8799 system[/caption] In addition, the HR 8799 system is notable for the presence of a dust disk that has two belts. Researchers wondered whether the inner edge of the outer belt could indicate the presence of a fifth planet with a mass between Jupiter and Saturn, or whether it was simply a collection of dust. This led to a debate that was resolved by JWST observations. The researchers concluded that the inner edge of the outer belt is a background object unrelated to HR 8799. This was JWST's first opportunity to study a young exoplanet system using the MIRI instrument, its filters, and its coronagraph. JWST's MIRI instrument opens up new opportunities for high-contrast imaging in the mid-infrared and provides new avenues for the study of young exoplanetary systems. The main goal of the work was to conduct observations and test various algorithms to determine the best scenario for using the instruments and interpreting the results of future observations. The data obtained will help optimize tool settings. Due to the high sensitivity of the MIRI coronagraph, it may be difficult to study young star systems with its help. This is only the first use of the instrument, and the extreme sensitivity of the coronagraph can make detecting and interpreting observations of young systems challenging, including potential confusion due to the appearance of background galaxy data. The authors of the work note that ways for improvements have already been outlined, and their results will be useful for further improving observations and research.

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On November 3, the National Museum of Natural History will present an exhibition with samples of the asteroid Bennu. The samples are of high scientific importance and will deepen our understanding of the formation of the Solar System and the emergence of life on Earth On November 3, the National Museum of Natural History will present an exhibition that will be a landmark event for the scientific and public communities. The centerpiece of the exhibition will be a sample of the asteroid Bennu, which just landed on Earth as a result of the OSIRIS-Rex mission. A rare specimen will be presented in the meteorite gallery. The opening of this exhibition will take place just 40 days after the epoch-making event - the drop of a capsule with a sample of the asteroid Bennu on Earth. [caption id="attachment_76382" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Asteroid Bennu[/caption] Bennu specimens on display will also be displayed at the Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum in Tucson and at Space Center Houston to encourage a wider audience to think about the mysteries of the cosmos. Bennu's specimens are of great scientific importance. By analyzing them, scientists will be able to deepen our understanding of the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago and shed light on the origins of life on Earth. Asteroid Bennu will tell its story at an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution Early observations of Bennu revealed its uniqueness: unlike most asteroids, it contains carbon and possibly organic molecules similar to those that gave rise to life on Earth. NASA scientists have already detected the presence of elements such as carbon and water in very small samples of Bennu that settled outside the main container with larger fragments. Scientists believe that such asteroids could bring water to Earth, from which the first oceans on our planet were subsequently formed. “Bennu's samples can tell us about the water and organic compounds that existed before life appeared on our planet,” said National Museum of Natural History curator Tim McCoy. He also noted that the exhibit selected specimens that, while scientifically significant, were represented in large numbers among the rocks brought to Earth. The exhibition opportunity "The Discovery of Bennu: Peering into the Past and Future of the Solar System" represents a significant moment in space exploration and allows visitors to experience the majesty and mystery of our Universe.

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New research based on supercomputer simulations explains the origin of Saturn's rings. Scientists believe that the formation of the rings began with the collision of two icy satellites Saturn's gravitational pull left fragments in the planet's orbit and helped form the rings that astronomers see today. Those fragments that did not fall into the rings most likely became the basis for the creation of some of Saturn's moons. “We still know very little about the Saturn system and its moons, which may support an environment suitable for life. Therefore, it is very interesting to study in detail how they could have evolved,” said researcher Jacob Kegerreys from the NASA Aerospace Center. From 1997 to 2017, NASA's Cassini orbiter space probe explored the Saturn system - its rings, icy moons, and atmospheric properties. One of Cassini's discoveries was that Saturn's rings were younger than expected. With this knowledge, scientists were able to more accurately model Saturn's rings and moons. [caption id="attachment_63437" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Saturn's rings and icy moons[/caption] To create the simulation, the team of scientists used the Distributed Research using Advanced Computing (DiRAC) supercomputer at the University of Durham (UK). They created models of collisions and ring formation under nearly 200 different scenarios and also simulated collisions between other satellites and debris. The resolution of these simulations is more than 100 times higher than previous models of the formation of Saturn's rings. New research explains the origin of Saturn's rings and icy moons The rings of Saturn are close to the planet, within the Roche limit for Saturn - this is the distance from the planet within which a second planetary body breaks up due to tidal forces from the first since the tidal forces exceed the gravitational forces of the second body. During simulations of collisions and ring formation, the researchers found that in a significant proportion of the scenarios, debris was scattered and distributed around Saturn within the Roche limits, which led to the formation of rings. [caption id="attachment_63438" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Saturn's rings and icy moons[/caption] Almost all of Saturn's rings are made up of large shards of ice, with very little rock or other material. Alternative explanations could not explain why there were so few stones in the rings, but in this study, scientists were able to identify this type of collision. There could also have been a chain of collisions in which shards of ice and rock collided with other moons around Saturn. This could lead to the formation of the satellites we see today. Researchers are now convinced that Saturn's rings were formed as a result of the collision of two former moons of Saturn. The next question before them is: what influenced the collision of the satellites? One possible scenario is that the extremely small effects of the Sun's gravity on the moons could slightly destabilize their orbits around Saturn, leading to a collision.

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The device fell into a 42-kilometer crater in the southern hemisphere of the moon The American Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA shared interesting photographs taken by NASA's automatic interplanetary station LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, an artificial satellite of the Moon). The frames were combined into a GIF animation that clearly shows the same place on the lunar surface on June 27, 2020 and August 24, 2023. The difference is immediately visible - a new impact crater has appeared on the Moon, apparently formed as a result of the collapse of the Russian mission Luna-25. [caption id="attachment_50771" align="aligncenter" width="780"] NASA[/caption] NASA explained: Because this new crater is close to the suspected impact point of Luna 25, the LRO team concluded that it was most likely formed by ... [the crash] rather than by a natural impact. NASA also noted that the new crater is 10 meters wide and is located at approximately 58 degrees south latitude, on the steep inner edge of the lunar crater Ponteculan G. The impact site is approximately 400 kilometers from the planned landing site of Luna 25, which is located at 69. 5 degrees south latitude. NASA releases satellite image of Luna 25 crash site Let us remind you that Luna-25 fell on the surface of the Moon at 14:58 Moscow time on August 19. Landing of the device was scheduled for August 21. The main reason is said to be abnormal operation of the correction engine, which, when the device attempted to move into the pre-landing orbit, worked longer than the required time. [caption id="attachment_50772" align="aligncenter" width="512"] NASA[/caption] The automatic station "Luna-25" was supposed to work out the technology of soft landing, take and analyze the soil and conduct long-term scientific research, study the upper layer of the surface regolith in the region of the South Pole of the Moon and the lunar exosphere.

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Key to Speeding Up Carbon Sequestration Discovered

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” Scientists at Caltech and USC have discovered a way to speed up the slow part of the chemical reaction that ultimately helps the earth to safely lock away, or sequester, carbon dioxide into the ocean. Simply adding a common enzyme to the mix, the…

Key to Speeding Up Carbon Sequestration Discovered

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Innovation Speaker Series Highlights Inspiring Researchers, Technologists

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” Most people think about time throughout the day, but Sean Carroll, research professor of physics at Caltech, notes that very few people appreciate just how “weird” time is.Carroll points out that in space, for instance, you can go from point A to point B…

Innovation Speaker Series Highlights Inspiring Researchers, Technologists

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JPL News: Hidden Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” In the search for planets similar to our own, an important point of comparison is the planet’s density. A low density tells scientists that a planet is more likely to be gaseous like Jupiter, and a high density is associated with rocky planets like…

JPL News: Hidden Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller

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NASA's Juno Spacecraft Spots Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” Images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot reveal a tangle of dark, veinous clouds weaving their way through a massive crimson oval. The JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno mission snapped pics of the most iconic feature of the solar system’s largest planetary inhabitant during its…

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Spots Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

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NASA's Juno Spacecraft Completes Flyby over Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” NASA’s Juno mission completed a close flyby of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot on July 10, during its sixth science orbit.All of Juno’s science instruments and the spacecraft’s JunoCam were operating during the flyby, collecting data that are now being returned to Earth.…

NASA’s Juno Spacecraft Completes Flyby over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

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Nick Scoville Honored for "Lifetime of Outstanding Research in Astronomy"

Caltech News tagged with “astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science” Nick Z. Scoville has been awarded the 2017 Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal—an honor bestowed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP) since 1898 for “a lifetime of outstanding research in astronomy.”Scoville, the Francis L. Moseley Professor of Astronomy, Emeritus, founded the Cosmic…

Nick Scoville Honored for “Lifetime of Outstanding Research in Astronomy”