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Be a part of the future of astrobiology!

It’s time to chart the future directions of astrobiology research and you can participate. During the month of May, NASA will be hosting a series of on-line hangouts and discussions focusing on broad themes in astrobiology: Planetary Conditions for Life, Prebiotic Evolution, Early Evolution of Life and the Biosphere, Evolution of Advanced Life, and Astrobiology for Solar Systems Exploration. The online conversations will then be used as the starting point for an in-person/virtual meeting to draft an outline for the Roadmap. After registering here at http://www.astrobiologyfuture.org/, you will be receiving updates about the coming events. Thank you for joining us and making your unique voice heard in this important conversation!

sagansense: Kepler Team Finds System with Two Potentially Habitable Planets NOTE: The Kepler spacecraft is able to detect planets that transit or cross the face of their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star. image 1: Kepler-62e, in the foreground, is nearer to its star and covered by dense clouds. Closer in orbits a Neptune-size ice giant with another small planet transiting its star. Both habitable-zone planets may be capable of supporting life. credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA) image 2: Masses and sizes for selected planets. The curves show the mass-radius-relation (average density) for different types of planets: The blue line indicates the loci of planets made mostly (75%) of water, the black line that of planets like our Earth that consist almost exclusively of rock (represented here by the mineral Enstatite, MgSiO3, a member of the pyroxite silicate mineral series that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle), and so on. The measured radii of Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f plus an estimate of their mass places them in a region (blue areas) where it is highly probable for them to be earth-like planets, that is: planets with a solid (if possibly covered in water) surface. Kepler-11f, on the other hand, is a Mini-Neptune, showing clearly that a comparatively low mass does not necessarily make for a solid planet. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 3: The habitable zone (in which liquid water on a planet’s surface can exist) for different types of stars. The inner planets of our Solar System are shown on top, with Earth and Mars in the habitable zone. Kepler-62 is a notably cooler star, and Kepler-62e and -62f are in its habitable zone. For Kepler-69c, another planet announced today by NASA, the error bars for the star’s radiation are such that it could possibly in the habitable zone as well. Kepler-22b, the smallest planet found in a habitable zone before the recent discoveries, is very likely a Mini-Neptune, and not a solid planet. In what is denoted the empirical habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet if that planet has sufficient cloud cover. In the narrow habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface even without the presence of a cloud cover. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 4: Kepler-62 system. Five planets, two of which are in the Habitable Zone. credit: NASA The newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f are super-Earths in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. The largest planet in the image, Kepler-62f, is farthest from its star and covered by ice. Kepler-62 resides in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth. This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have. “Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery. 62e is 1.61 times Earth’s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth. A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth. The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth. “These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.” As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball. “Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov. “The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future.“ “All of the other interesting planets in the habitable zone were until now discovered by what is known as the radial velocity method,” said Kaltenegger. “This method gives you a lower limit for the planet’s mass, but no information about its radius. This makes it difficult to assess whether or not a planet is rocky, like the Earth. A small radius (less than 2 Earth radii), on the other hand, is a strong indicator that a planet around is indeed rocky – unless we are talking about a planet around a very young star.” “What makes Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f so exciting is a combination of two factors,” Kaltenegger added. “We know their radius, which indicates that these are indeed rocky planets, and they orbit their star in the habitable zone. That makes them our best candidates for habitable planets out there yet.” Kaltenegger provides more details on these exoplanets in this video. Sources: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, CfA, UniverseToday
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sagansense: Kepler Team Finds System with Two Potentially Habitable Planets NOTE: The Kepler spacecraft is able to detect planets that transit or cross the face of their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star. image 1: Kepler-62e, in the foreground, is nearer to its star and covered by dense clouds. Closer in orbits a Neptune-size ice giant with another small planet transiting its star. Both habitable-zone planets may be capable of supporting life. credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA) image 2: Masses and sizes for selected planets. The curves show the mass-radius-relation (average density) for different types of planets: The blue line indicates the loci of planets made mostly (75%) of water, the black line that of planets like our Earth that consist almost exclusively of rock (represented here by the mineral Enstatite, MgSiO3, a member of the pyroxite silicate mineral series that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle), and so on. The measured radii of Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f plus an estimate of their mass places them in a region (blue areas) where it is highly probable for them to be earth-like planets, that is: planets with a solid (if possibly covered in water) surface. Kepler-11f, on the other hand, is a Mini-Neptune, showing clearly that a comparatively low mass does not necessarily make for a solid planet. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 3: The habitable zone (in which liquid water on a planet’s surface can exist) for different types of stars. The inner planets of our Solar System are shown on top, with Earth and Mars in the habitable zone. Kepler-62 is a notably cooler star, and Kepler-62e and -62f are in its habitable zone. For Kepler-69c, another planet announced today by NASA, the error bars for the star’s radiation are such that it could possibly in the habitable zone as well. Kepler-22b, the smallest planet found in a habitable zone before the recent discoveries, is very likely a Mini-Neptune, and not a solid planet. In what is denoted the empirical habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet if that planet has sufficient cloud cover. In the narrow habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface even without the presence of a cloud cover. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 4: Kepler-62 system. Five planets, two of which are in the Habitable Zone. credit: NASA The newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f are super-Earths in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. The largest planet in the image, Kepler-62f, is farthest from its star and covered by ice. Kepler-62 resides in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth. This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have. “Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery. 62e is 1.61 times Earth’s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth. A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth. The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth. “These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.” As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball. “Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov. “The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future.“ “All of the other interesting planets in the habitable zone were until now discovered by what is known as the radial velocity method,” said Kaltenegger. “This method gives you a lower limit for the planet’s mass, but no information about its radius. This makes it difficult to assess whether or not a planet is rocky, like the Earth. A small radius (less than 2 Earth radii), on the other hand, is a strong indicator that a planet around is indeed rocky – unless we are talking about a planet around a very young star.” “What makes Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f so exciting is a combination of two factors,” Kaltenegger added. “We know their radius, which indicates that these are indeed rocky planets, and they orbit their star in the habitable zone. That makes them our best candidates for habitable planets out there yet.” Kaltenegger provides more details on these exoplanets in this video. Sources: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, CfA, UniverseToday
Zoom
sagansense: Kepler Team Finds System with Two Potentially Habitable Planets NOTE: The Kepler spacecraft is able to detect planets that transit or cross the face of their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star. image 1: Kepler-62e, in the foreground, is nearer to its star and covered by dense clouds. Closer in orbits a Neptune-size ice giant with another small planet transiting its star. Both habitable-zone planets may be capable of supporting life. credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA) image 2: Masses and sizes for selected planets. The curves show the mass-radius-relation (average density) for different types of planets: The blue line indicates the loci of planets made mostly (75%) of water, the black line that of planets like our Earth that consist almost exclusively of rock (represented here by the mineral Enstatite, MgSiO3, a member of the pyroxite silicate mineral series that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle), and so on. The measured radii of Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f plus an estimate of their mass places them in a region (blue areas) where it is highly probable for them to be earth-like planets, that is: planets with a solid (if possibly covered in water) surface. Kepler-11f, on the other hand, is a Mini-Neptune, showing clearly that a comparatively low mass does not necessarily make for a solid planet. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 3: The habitable zone (in which liquid water on a planet’s surface can exist) for different types of stars. The inner planets of our Solar System are shown on top, with Earth and Mars in the habitable zone. Kepler-62 is a notably cooler star, and Kepler-62e and -62f are in its habitable zone. For Kepler-69c, another planet announced today by NASA, the error bars for the star’s radiation are such that it could possibly in the habitable zone as well. Kepler-22b, the smallest planet found in a habitable zone before the recent discoveries, is very likely a Mini-Neptune, and not a solid planet. In what is denoted the empirical habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet if that planet has sufficient cloud cover. In the narrow habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface even without the presence of a cloud cover. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 4: Kepler-62 system. Five planets, two of which are in the Habitable Zone. credit: NASA The newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f are super-Earths in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. The largest planet in the image, Kepler-62f, is farthest from its star and covered by ice. Kepler-62 resides in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth. This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have. “Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery. 62e is 1.61 times Earth’s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth. A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth. The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth. “These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.” As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball. “Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov. “The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future.“ “All of the other interesting planets in the habitable zone were until now discovered by what is known as the radial velocity method,” said Kaltenegger. “This method gives you a lower limit for the planet’s mass, but no information about its radius. This makes it difficult to assess whether or not a planet is rocky, like the Earth. A small radius (less than 2 Earth radii), on the other hand, is a strong indicator that a planet around is indeed rocky – unless we are talking about a planet around a very young star.” “What makes Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f so exciting is a combination of two factors,” Kaltenegger added. “We know their radius, which indicates that these are indeed rocky planets, and they orbit their star in the habitable zone. That makes them our best candidates for habitable planets out there yet.” Kaltenegger provides more details on these exoplanets in this video. Sources: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, CfA, UniverseToday
Zoom
sagansense: Kepler Team Finds System with Two Potentially Habitable Planets NOTE: The Kepler spacecraft is able to detect planets that transit or cross the face of their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star. image 1: Kepler-62e, in the foreground, is nearer to its star and covered by dense clouds. Closer in orbits a Neptune-size ice giant with another small planet transiting its star. Both habitable-zone planets may be capable of supporting life. credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA) image 2: Masses and sizes for selected planets. The curves show the mass-radius-relation (average density) for different types of planets: The blue line indicates the loci of planets made mostly (75%) of water, the black line that of planets like our Earth that consist almost exclusively of rock (represented here by the mineral Enstatite, MgSiO3, a member of the pyroxite silicate mineral series that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle), and so on. The measured radii of Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f plus an estimate of their mass places them in a region (blue areas) where it is highly probable for them to be earth-like planets, that is: planets with a solid (if possibly covered in water) surface. Kepler-11f, on the other hand, is a Mini-Neptune, showing clearly that a comparatively low mass does not necessarily make for a solid planet. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 3: The habitable zone (in which liquid water on a planet’s surface can exist) for different types of stars. The inner planets of our Solar System are shown on top, with Earth and Mars in the habitable zone. Kepler-62 is a notably cooler star, and Kepler-62e and -62f are in its habitable zone. For Kepler-69c, another planet announced today by NASA, the error bars for the star’s radiation are such that it could possibly in the habitable zone as well. Kepler-22b, the smallest planet found in a habitable zone before the recent discoveries, is very likely a Mini-Neptune, and not a solid planet. In what is denoted the empirical habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet if that planet has sufficient cloud cover. In the narrow habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface even without the presence of a cloud cover. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA) image 4: Kepler-62 system. Five planets, two of which are in the Habitable Zone. credit: NASA The newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f are super-Earths in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. The largest planet in the image, Kepler-62f, is farthest from its star and covered by ice. Kepler-62 resides in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth. This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have. “Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery. 62e is 1.61 times Earth’s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth. A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth. The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth. “These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.” As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball. “Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov. “The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future.“ “All of the other interesting planets in the habitable zone were until now discovered by what is known as the radial velocity method,” said Kaltenegger. “This method gives you a lower limit for the planet’s mass, but no information about its radius. This makes it difficult to assess whether or not a planet is rocky, like the Earth. A small radius (less than 2 Earth radii), on the other hand, is a strong indicator that a planet around is indeed rocky – unless we are talking about a planet around a very young star.” “What makes Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f so exciting is a combination of two factors,” Kaltenegger added. “We know their radius, which indicates that these are indeed rocky planets, and they orbit their star in the habitable zone. That makes them our best candidates for habitable planets out there yet.” Kaltenegger provides more details on these exoplanets in this video. Sources: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, CfA, UniverseToday
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sagansense:

Kepler Team Finds System with Two Potentially Habitable Planets

NOTE: The Kepler spacecraft is able to detect planets that transit or cross the face of their host star. Measuring a transit tells astronomers the size of the planet relative to its star.

image 1: Kepler-62e, in the foreground, is nearer to its star and covered by dense clouds. Closer in orbits a Neptune-size ice giant with another small planet transiting its star. Both habitable-zone planets may be capable of supporting life. credit: David A. Aguilar (CfA)

image 2: Masses and sizes for selected planets. The curves show the mass-radius-relation (average density) for different types of planets: The blue line indicates the loci of planets made mostly (75%) of water, the black line that of planets like our Earth that consist almost exclusively of rock (represented here by the mineral Enstatite, MgSiO3, a member of the pyroxite silicate mineral series that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle), and so on. The measured radii of Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f plus an estimate of their mass places them in a region (blue areas) where it is highly probable for them to be earth-like planets, that is: planets with a solid (if possibly covered in water) surface. Kepler-11f, on the other hand, is a Mini-Neptune, showing clearly that a comparatively low mass does not necessarily make for a solid planet. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA)

image 3: The habitable zone (in which liquid water on a planet’s surface can exist) for different types of stars. The inner planets of our Solar System are shown on top, with Earth and Mars in the habitable zone. Kepler-62 is a notably cooler star, and Kepler-62e and -62f are in its habitable zone. For Kepler-69c, another planet announced today by NASA, the error bars for the star’s radiation are such that it could possibly in the habitable zone as well. Kepler-22b, the smallest planet found in a habitable zone before the recent discoveries, is very likely a Mini-Neptune, and not a solid planet. In what is denoted the empirical habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet if that planet has sufficient cloud cover. In the narrow habitable zone, liquid water can exist on the surface even without the presence of a cloud cover. credit: L. Kaltenegger (MPIA)

image 4: Kepler-62 system. Five planets, two of which are in the Habitable Zone. credit: NASA

The newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f are super-Earths in the habitable zone of a distant sun-like star. The largest planet in the image, Kepler-62f, is farthest from its star and covered by ice. Kepler-62 resides in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth.

This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA’s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have.

“Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can’t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,” said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery.

62e is 1.61 times Earth’s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth.

A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth.

The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth.

“These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,” said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. “There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star — and maybe life’s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.”

As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball.

“Kepler-62e probably has a very cloudy sky and is warm and humid all the way to the polar regions. Kepler-62f would be cooler, but still potentially life-friendly,” said Harvard astronomer and co-author Dimitar Sasselov. “The good news is — the two would exhibit distinctly different colors and make our search for signatures of life easier on such planets in the near future.“

“All of the other interesting planets in the habitable zone were until now discovered by what is known as the radial velocity method,” said Kaltenegger. “This method gives you a lower limit for the planet’s mass, but no information about its radius. This makes it difficult to assess whether or not a planet is rocky, like the Earth. A small radius (less than 2 Earth radii), on the other hand, is a strong indicator that a planet around is indeed rocky – unless we are talking about a planet around a very young star.”

“What makes Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f so exciting is a combination of two factors,” Kaltenegger added. “We know their radius, which indicates that these are indeed rocky planets, and they orbit their star in the habitable zone. That makes them our best candidates for habitable planets out there yet.”

Kaltenegger provides more details on these exoplanets in this video.

Sources: Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, CfA, UniverseToday

Sign the petition: Repeal the sequester's cuts on NASA's spending in public outreach and its STEM programs

INTERNET, DO YOUR JOB!

The Sequester’s recent cuts on NASA’s spending in public outreach and its STEM programs must not be allowed. These cuts would end the many programs NASA has for educating the children of our society, as well as many other forms of public outreach held by NASA.

In an internal memo issued on the evening of Friday, March 22, the Administration notes that “effective immediately, all education and public outreach activities should be suspended, pending further review. In terms of scope, this includes all public engagement and outreach events, programs, activities, and products developed and implemented by Headquarters, Mission Directorates, and Centers across the Agency, including all education and public outreach efforts conducted by programs and projects.”

Please take 5 minutes to sign this petition; the world needs education, and to continue being excited about the universe.

laboratoryequipment: Amazon CEO Recovers Apollo Engines from AtlanticRusted pieces of two Apollo-era rocket engines that helped boost astronauts to the moon have been fished out of the murky depths of the Atlantic, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and NASA say.A privately funded expedition led by Bezos raised the main engine parts during three weeks at sea and was headed back to Cape Canaveral, Florida, the launch pad for the manned lunar missions. “We’ve seen an underwater wonderland — an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end,” Bezos writes in an online posting.Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/03/amazon-ceo-recovers-apollo-engines-atlantic
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laboratoryequipment:

Amazon CEO Recovers Apollo Engines from Atlantic

Rusted pieces of two Apollo-era rocket engines that helped boost astronauts to the moon have been fished out of the murky depths of the Atlantic, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos and NASA say.

A privately funded expedition led by Bezos raised the main engine parts during three weeks at sea and was headed back to Cape Canaveral, Florida, the launch pad for the manned lunar missions. “We’ve seen an underwater wonderland — an incredible sculpture garden of twisted F-1 engines that tells the story of a fiery and violent end,” Bezos writes in an online posting.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/03/amazon-ceo-recovers-apollo-engines-atlantic

laboratoryequipment:

Sun Will Upset Mars Missions in April

The positions of the planets next month will mean diminished communications between Earth and NASA’s spacecraft on Mars.

Mars will be passing almost directly behind the sun, from Earth’s perspective. The sun can easily disrupt radio transmissions between the two planets during that near-alignment. To prevent an impaired command from reaching an orbiter or rover, mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., are preparing to suspend sending any commands to spacecraft at Mars for weeks in April. Transmissions from Mars to Earth will also be reduced.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/videos/2013/03/sun-will-upset-mars-missions-april

Astrobiology Grad Student Conference: Call for Abstracts

AbGradCon 2013! June 10th-14th in Montreal, Quebec, Canada!

Calling all Astrobiology grad students and post-docs! Planning for AbGradCon 2013 is well under way. AbGradCon is a conference organized by and for early career astrobiologists, without those pesky P.I.s and professors getting in the way.

This year, the conference will be held at McGill University in Montreal, Canada from Monday June 10th to Friday June 14th.

We are now accepting abstracts. Please submit yours at the Application Form. UPDATE: Abstract submission deadline has been extended to March 15th! Please submit A.S.A.P.!

For more information and updates about AbGradCon, visit us atabgradcon.org, or at our Facebook page.

Guys, this is a GREAT way to get involved in the astrobiology community. It is always tons of fun and a great opportunity for networking, and they usually can help with funding. Early career postdocs are welcome, too!

2013 Santander Summer School: Biosignatures: The Fingerprints of Life

Application deadline: March 4, 2013 (NAI scholarships)

School title: Biosignatures: The Fingerprints of Life
Location: Palacio de Magdalena, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
Dates: June 24 – June 28, 2013

Overview:

The 2013 International Summer School in Astrobiology will be held at the summer campus of the Spanish National University (UIMP), Palacio de la Magdalena, Santander, Spain on June 24-28, 2013.

This year’s theme is “Biosignatures: The Fingerprints of Life.” Topics to be covered in the school include an overview of metabolism, and the nature and preservation of environment-specific biosignatures in both the planetary surface and the atmosphere.

A week of lectures from international experts, plus round-table discussions, student projects, and a field trip to a nearby site of astrobiological interest. On-site accommodation and all meals are provided at the Santander campus of the Spanish national university, UIMP.

Confirmed Lecturers

Dr. Victor Parro (Centro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, Spain)
Prof. Robert Blankenship (University of Washington at St. Louis)

Scholarships

The application deadline will be March 4th for NAI student travel scholarships, and students of any nationality studying at a US institution are eligible. These scholarships cover travel costs, school fees, accommodation and meals.

The application form is available for download here.

European students may apply for scholarship support provided by UIMP and the European Space Agency (ESA) through the UIMP website ( www.uimp.es ) at a later date.

Scholarship support for students of other nations will be advertised as opportunities become available.

Sponsoring Organizations

NAI – NASA Astrobiology Institute
CAB – Spanish Centro de Astrobiología
ESA – European Space Agency
UIMP – Universidad Internacional Menendez Pelayo
CIFAR – Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

For more information: http://astrobiology2.arc.nasa.gov/nai/UIMP/2013/

Titan and Europa Essay Contest

NASA is holding an essay contest about Saturn’s moon Titan & Jupiter’s moon Europa for students in the United States in grades 5-12. Thecontest deadline is February 28, 2013. The contest website is:http://icyworlds.jpl.nasa.gov/contest/. 


The topic of the Titan & Europa essay is either a mission to Saturn’s moon Titan or to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Both of these missions would study a world that is exciting for astrobiologists. Your assignment is to decide which of the proposed missions would be more interesting to you, and why. Be creative, be original, and ask good questions that you hope the mission would answer. 

The Titan mission would include a Titan orbiter and a Titan balloon. The Europa mission would include a Europa orbiter and a Europa lander. The orbiters, balloon, and lander would each have science instruments to study either Titan or Europa. In your essay, you can include information about what science instruments you would put on the orbiter and balloon or lander, if you wish, based on what you hope to find on Titan or Europa. 

Winning essays will be posted on a NASA website, and winners and their classes will be invited to participate in a videoconference or teleconference with NASA scientists.

Contest videos about Astrobiology, Titan, and Europa can be found at: 
http://icyworlds.jpl.nasa.gov/contest/videos/

Questions about the Titan & Europa essay contest can be sent to:
titaneuropa@jpl.nasa.gov

FameLab 2013: Exploring Earth and Beyond

CALLING ALL EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS! PASSIONATE ABOUT SCIENCE? LOVE TO COMMUNICATE?

http://famelab-eeb.arc.nasa.gov/

You are wholeheartedly invited to participate in FameLab: Exploring Earth and Beyond…at the 44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference!

FameLab is something like American Idol for scientists… Sponsored by NASA and National Geographic, it’s a fun-filled day of competition, coaching, and camaraderie that’s all about science communication! At regional heats held across the US over the next year, early career scientists from diverse scientific disciplines craft a 3-minute, powerpoint-free talk on their research or a related topic and deliver it in a supportive environment to judges who give only constructive feedback. No slides, no charts—just the power of words and any prop you can hold in your hands. The heart of the whole thing is a workshop conducted by communication professionals to help participants enrich their skills. So unlike American Idol, everyone wins!

Winners from the regional competitions advance to the Final in April, 2014, and the winner there goes on to compete with peers from around the world at the FameLab International Final in the UK in June, 2014.  It’s quite the global sensation…

Even if you’re not planning to attend LPSC, you’re welcome to participate.  We will host the competition rounds and workshop on Sunday, March 17th from ~10am-4pm.  10 participants will be selected to compete in a special evening event during LPSC on Wednesday, March 20th from ~6-9pm.  There is no cost for any of the FameLab events, nor do you have to register for LPSC.  

Register or sign up for our mailing list to stay in the loop:  http://famelab-eeb.arc.nasa.gov/

The online competition opens this summer! Stay tuned for more info.

Also let me know if you have any questions. I participated last year and it was an awesome experience (and I got to meet Nichelle Nichols).

Glowing reviews on 'arseniclife' spurred NASA's embrace

Here’s an interesting look from the side of the debate we haven’t heard much about; the actual reviews of the Science paper that sparked so much controversy. Apparently the reviews were incredibly positive, which is pretty rare (for any manuscript anywhere). It makes me wonder whether or not there was a fully-fledged microbiologist on the review panel, as those were the people who seemed to have the biggest problems with the study afterward (well maybe biochemists like me, too, but I didn’t know enough about the methods used to really tell if they were reliable or not; I just knew what I thought was missing). In any case, i think Norm Pace was right; the peer review process is generally a good one, and I think overall this experience has shown us how great science is, that when something is questionable it can be further investigated, and we can TALK about it. We were both able to entertain the idea that arsenic could substitute for phosphorus in DNA, but then also to show that that isn’t what’s happening here. So I’m going to count it as a win for science.

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