NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Kepler Discovers Multiple Planets Transiting a Single Star

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered the first confirmed planetary system with more than one planet crossing in front of, or transiting, the same star.
The transit signatures of two distinct Saturn-sized planets were seen in the data for a sun-like star designated “Kepler-9.” The planets were named Kepler-9b and 9c. The discovery incorporates seven months of observations of more than 156,000 stars as part of an ongoing search for Earth-sized planets outside our solar system. The findings will be published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Science.

Kepler’s ultra-precise camera measures tiny decreases in the stars’ brightness that...

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Source: [Science@NASA]

August 26, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Oxygenation in Ancient Ocean Margins Precedes Atmospheric Rise

Astrobiologists at Arizona State University and their colleagues have been working to constrain the abundance and distribution of dissolved oxygen in the Earth’s early oceans, prior to the rise of atmospheric oxygen 2.7 billion years ago. Their analyses of 2.6- to 2.5-billion-year-old black shales from South Africa suggest that the production of oxygen in the surface ocean was vigorous at this time. Combined with studies conducted in Australia, they conclude that the productive regions along ocean margins during the late Archaean eon were sites of substantial O2 accumulation, at least 100 million years before it began...

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Source: [Link]

August 23, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

NASA Ames Scientists Release Unique Collection of Infrared Spectra

Duplicating the harsh conditions of cold interstellar space in their laboratories and on their computers, NASA Astrobiology Institute Ames team scientists have created a unique database of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) spectra, which is primarily used to interpret mysterious infrared (IR) emission detected by ground, air and space-based observatories.

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August 17, 2010 / Written by: Lou Allamandola

Life in Chalk

Members of NAI’s MIT team put down their lab instruments and picked up artists’ tools recently, creating a visual time machine to take Hoffman Laboratory passers-by to three earlier eras in the history of life and of planet Earth.

Source: [Harvard Gazette]

August 10, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient.

For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and...

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Source: [AAAS]

July 30, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Life on Other Worlds NASA eClip

Geared toward the K-5 set, this NASA-produced video introduces the search for life on other planets, especially through the idea of life in ice as suggested by findings from NASA’s Phoenix mission.

July 21, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Earth-Like Planets May Be Shielded From Solar Scorching

Danger zone? The nearby M dwarf star Gliese 581 and some of its planets. A new study indicates that suns like this may not be as detrimental to habitable worlds as thought. Credit: ESO/L. Calcada

Many of our galaxy’s suns have destroyed the atmospheres of orbiting Earth-like planets—or so astrobiologists have long feared. The Milky Way, they note, is dominated by M dwarf stars: violent, unpredictable suns that frequently hurl high-energy particles and solar flares into space. Because they are much cooler than our sun, any potentially habitable planet would need to orbit them much closer than Earth does, putting it smack in the danger zone. But a new study from NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory indicates that these planets may be unexpectedly shielded from solar activity, keeping life safe.

Source: [Science NOW]

July 16, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice