"Is it possible that there could be life on planets in other solar systems? Ones similar to ours, including a sun."
Content with the tag: “astrobiology journal”
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The Color of Alien Plants
The April 2008 issue of Scientific American features an article by Nancy Kiang of NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team based on her studies predicting the colors of plants on other worlds. The studies, published in Astrobiology in February 2007, consider that as photosynthesis on Earth produces the primary signatures of life that can be detected astronomically at the global scale, a strong focus of the search for...
March 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Microbial Populations in Antarctic Permafrost
Members of NAI’s Michigan State University Alumni Team are part of an international team of scientists characterizing the microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost soils. Based on multiple samples, they describe the presence of diverse populations of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, cyanobacteria, green algae, yeasts, and fungi. Based on the documented ages of the permafrost regions—perhaps more than 5 million years old—these findings represent the oldest viable microorganisms discovered in permafrost on Earth. Their paper appears in the April...
June 5, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Exoplanets and M Stars
Members of NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Alumni Team and their colleagues have a new paper in the current issue of Astrobiology. They present a critical discussion of M star properties that are relevant for the long- and short-term thermal, dynamical, geological, and environmental stability of conventional liquid water habitable zone (HZ) M star planets.
April 17, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Final Assembly of Earth-Like Planets
NAI Postdoctoral Fellow Sean Raymond leads a team of authors from NAI’s University of Colorado, Boulder, and University of Arizona Teams, and Virtual Planetary Laboratory and University of Washington Alumni Teams in a new publication in Astrobiology. They present analysis of water delivery and planetary habitability in 5 high-resolution simulations forming 15 terrestrial planets. Their results outline a new model for water delivery to terrestrial planets in dynamically calm systems, which may be very common in the Galaxy.
April 16, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Plants on Other Planets May Not be Green
Differently colored plants may live on extra-solar planets, according to two new papers in the current issue of Astrobiology authored by members of NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Alumni Team and their colleagues. They took previously simulated planetary atmospheric compositions for Earth-like planets orbiting various star types (including M stars), generated spectra, and found that photosynthetic pigments may peak in absorbance in the blue for some star types, and red-orange and near-infrared for others. Their results also suggest that, under...
April 10, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Habitability of Planets Around M Dwarf Stars
Multidisciplinary work from members of NAI’s SETI Institute Team and a host of collaborators across the NAI re-examines what is known at present about the potential for a terrestrial planet forming within, or migrating into, the classic liquid–surface–water habitable zone close to an M dwarf star. Their new paper, published in the current issue of Astrobiology, presents the summary conclusions of an interdisciplinary workshop sponsored by NAI and convened at the SETI Institute in 2005.
April 9, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Astrobiology Primer Published!
The Astrobiology Primer: An Outline of General Knowledge appears in this month’s issue of Astrobiology. Sponsored by NAI, the Primer was spearheaded by editor-in-chief Lucas Mix, and represents the work of 8 editors, 13 authors, and countless contributors. Intended as a reference tool, it provides information in these 7 topics: Stellar Formation and Evolution, Planetary Formation and Evolution, Astrobiogeochemistry and the Origin of Life, Evolution of Life Through Time, Planet Detection and Characterization, Diversity of Life, and Science in...
October 30, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Chemical Energy for Life on Early Earth and Mars
Researchers from NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center and University of Colorado, Boulder Teams published in the current issue of Astrobiology their study of the petrology and mineral chemistry of a cold spring in Northern California. They propose that the serpentinization process can provide a source of energy for chemosynthetic organisms, and outline criteria to aid in the identification of serpentinizing terranes on Mars.
June 5, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Abiogenic Explanation for Methane on Mars
Researchers from NAI’s Indiana Princeton Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative Team published their theory on the origin of the detected atmospheric methane on Mars in the current issue of Astrobiology. Measurements of deep fracture water samples from South Africa led to a model which distinguishes between abiogenic and microbial methane sources based upon their isotopic composition, and couples microbial methane production to molecular hydrogen generation by water radiolysis. The authors also propose an instrument for future missions to Mars which, with...
May 30, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Imaging the Unseen
Researchers from NAI’s University of California, Los Angeles Team have pioneered a new imaging technique which allows them to non-destructively produce 3D images of ancient fossils. The technique, combining confocal microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, could be used on samples returned from Mars by future NASA missions. Their work on 650 million year old fossils from Kazakhstan is published in the February, 2006 issue of Astrobiology.
April 12, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Modeling Disk-Averaged Spectra of Earth
To assess the detectability of planetary characteristics in disk-averaged spectra, the NAI Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team has developed a spatially and spectrally resolved model of the Earth. Using infrared observations of the Earth taken by existing instruments orbiting Mars, and ground-based observations of earthshine, the model has been validated, and indicates that several atmospheric species can be identified. Models such as this one will help analyze disk averaged spectra as returned from upcoming NASA and ESA extra-solar...
April 6, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Theoretical Planets Around M-Dwarfs
NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Lead Team has published new findings from their Lab about the observable, biosignature gases of theoretical planets orbiting M-Dwarf stars in this month’s Astrobiology. Their outcomes are positive for designating M-Dwarfs a viable target for future observations involving the search for life.
January 11, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Surviving STS-107
Rocco Mancinelli, PI of NAI’s SETI Institute Lead Team, and member of NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center Lead Team joined researchers from KSC and Ames, as well as NAI’s Former Director, Barry Blumberg, in studying populations of C. Elegans which survived the atmospheric breakup of STS-107 during it’s fatal re-entry. Their results are published in Astrobiology. Five canisters were recovered, and live animals were observed in four of them. This demonstrates not only...
January 11, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Preparing for TPF: Disk-Averaged Synthetic Spectra of Mars
In this month’s issue of Astrobiology, members of NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team published a study using their model of a Mars-like planet to ascertain the detectability of a planet’s surface and atmospheric properties from disk-averaged spectra.
August 17, 2005 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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