Around the equator, for example, vast networks of channels spread from Martian highlands, branching like trees and emptying into lakes and even, possibly, an ocean.

As we assess the habitability of other worlds, we are limited by being able to only study terrestrial life adapted to terrestrial conditions.

Future telescopes will survey temperate, terrestrial exoplanets to estimate the frequency of habitable (ηHab) or inhabited (ηLife) planets.

This work examines the impact of high temperatures from celestial shock events on the stability of sulfates found on Mars (gypsum) and those expected to be present (syngenite and görgeyite). Raman spe...

Astronomers might have detected hints of life on a faraway planet — but they need more observations before they can say for sure.

The second Biennial European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON)

Sub-Neptunes have been found to be one of the most common types of exoplanets

The First Colombian Astrochemistry Symposium (SICOAQ)

Main sequence stars of spectral types F, G, and K with low to moderate activity levels exhibit a recognizable pattern

Comparative studies of young and old exoplanet populations offer a glimpse into how planets may form and evolve with time.

Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars?

Low-mass, metal-enriched stars were likely present as early as cosmic dawn. In this work, we investigate whether these stars could have hosted planets in their protoplanetary disks.

A long-standing enigma in observational astronomy is the identification of the so-called 21 μm feature in a subset of envelopes of post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars.

The X-rays and Extreme Ultraviolet (XUV) emission from M stars can drive the atmospheric escape on planets orbiting them. M stars are also known for their frequent emission of stellar flares, which wi...

The challenges of human space exploration produce some of humanity's greatest technological and scientific advances

High-contrast observations with JWST can reveal key composition and vertical mixing dependent absorption features in the spectra of directly imaged planets across the 3-5 μm wavelength range.

Barnard’s Star is an old, single M dwarf star that comprises the second-closest extrasolar system. It has a long history of claimed planet detections from both radial velocities and astrometry. Howeve...

One of the most prolific methods of studying exoplanet atmospheres is transmission spectroscopy

Researchers have made significant progress in astrobiology. In a recently published study, they were able to detect fossil microorganisms in Messinian gypsum

Estimating the exoplanet scientific productivity of the Habitable Worlds Observatory requires estimating science exposure times. From exoplanet yields to spectral retrievals, exposure times are at the...

‘‘Are we alone in the Universe?’’ For thousands of years, this question was confined to philosophy, and it is only very recently that modern science has begun to provide solid hypotheses

The classical picture of our Solar System being the archetypal outcome of planet formation

We examined the anomalies in the light curves of the lensing events MOA-2022-BLG-033, KMT-2023-BLG-0119, and KMT-2023-BLG-1896.

The proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory is intended to observe the atmospheres of nearby terrestrial exoplanets with a resolution greater than that of any previous instrument.

To maximize chances of successfully bringing the first Martian rock and sediment samples to Earth for the benefit of humanity

A key to understand exoplanets is characterisation of their host stars.

Dust might hide many tidal disruption events (TDEs) from view — but a search at infrared wavelengths has revealed them at last.

A polar cap of carbon-dioxide ice may have provided the thermal blanket needed for rivers and a huge lake to form in the planet’s southern highlands.

Even though it’s nearly 4½ billion miles from the Sun, far-flung Makemake has surprised observers with a warmer-than-expected temperature that is challenging to explain.

The origin of dim supernovae known as Ca-rich transients is still not well-understood. Could it be that these rare events are set off by an encounter between a white dwarf and a primordial black ho…

TESS was designed to find transiting planets. Today’s authors use TESS to search for free-floating planets via gravitational lensing and find a candidate event.

Astrobites reports on the exoplanet around HD 26965, whose uncertain signal may instead be a sign of stellar activity.

In today’s bite we drink a big glass of OJ 287 and discuss competing theories about its central supermassive black holes.

Isaac Cheng, Tyrone Woods, and Patrick Côté (Herzberg Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Centre, University of Waterloo, University of Manitoba, University of...