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September 29, 2006

Astrobiology News 29 September 2006

  • Watching how planets form, ESO
  • Migration and the formation of systems of hot super-Earths and Neptunes, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:19 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 28, 2006

    Astrobiology News 28 September 2006

  • NASA's Hubble Discovers Extrasolar Planet Across Our Galaxy, University of Florida Gainesville
  • Astronomers discover two new planets, both among the hottest ever, NASA HQ

  • Liquid Water Oceans in Ice Giants, arXiv.org
  • On the Luminosity of Young Jupiters, arXiv.org
  • A diagram for the evaporation status of extrasolar planet, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:08 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 27, 2006

    Astrobiology News 27 September 2006

  • Fragmentation of Massive Protostellar Disks, arXiv.org
  • Carbon Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars. I. Chemical Compositions of 26 Stars, arXiv.org

  • Migration of Comets to the Terrestrial Planets, arXiv.org
  • Present-Day Carbon Abundances of Early-Type Stars, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:08 PM | | Comments (0)

    September 26, 2006

    Astrobiology News 26 September 2006

  • The Planet Host Star Gamma Cephei: Physical Properties, the Binary Orbit, and the Mass of the Substellar Companion, arXiv.org
  • Methanol in the L1551 Circumbinary Torus, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:54 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 25, 2006

    Astrobiology News 25 September 2006

  • NASA Spaceline 15 September 2006 Current Space Life Science Awareness
  • The impact of correlated noise on SuperWASP detection rates for transiting extra-solar planets, arXiv.org
  • Detecting Exoplanets by Gravitational Microlensing using a Small Telescope

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:05 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 22, 2006

    Astrobiology News 21 September 2006

  • Detecting Exoplanets by Gravitational Microlensing using a Small Telescope, arXiv.org
  • Search for Cold Debris Disks around M-dwarfs, arXiv.org
  • Characterization of Dusty Debris Disks: the IRAS and Hipparcos Catalogs, arXiv.org

  • NASA Spaceline 8 September 2006 Current Space Life Science Awareness

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:56 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 20, 2006

    NAI Contributes to Discussions on Diversity at Astronomical Society of the Pacific Meeting

    Within a climate of changing structure, leadership, and definition of Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) at NASA, NAI's E/PO Coordinator, Daniella Scalice, delivered a session on NAI's "NASA and the Navajo Nation" project this week at the 118th Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), co-hosted with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.

    The theme of the conference was diversity, and NAI's session was one of many offered at the conference highlighting projects and best practices to establish and improve NASA's E/PO efforts in a multi-cultural country. The conference also brought to light the issue of earmarks in E/PO being handled at HQ, as well as expanding E/PO to include efforts in higher education. Changes on the horizon include a shift in the structure of NASA's Science Mission Directorate E/PO support network, which will bring two new AO's in the upcoming months. Six of NAI's 12 Teams were also represented at the conference, from participation on the ASP's Board of Directors to presentation of posters and exhibits. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:28 PM | | Comments (0)

    NAI Explores Most Active Volcanic Region on Earth & Brings the Public Along

    NAI investigators, led by Jake Maule of the CIW Team, are exploring the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia. Kamchatka is a vast land of 'fire and ice', being home to 10% of the most active volcanoes on Earth with many surrounded by glaciers.

    The highest and most active volcano in Kamchatka is called Kluchevsky - the destination of this expedition. Surrounded by permafrost and the famous Ermann glacier, Klyuchevsky has similarities to other volcanoes in the solar system such as the extremely active Loki Patera on Jupiter's moon Io (Lopes-Gautier et al., 2000) and the less active Hecates Tholus on Mars where some glacial activity may still exist (Hauber et al., 2005). The international team from the NAI, the Russian Astrobiology Center (RAC) and the Australian Center for Astrobiology (ACA) have traveled to the Klyuchevsky Volcano Group (July-October 2006) to explore the limits of life in fire and ice and improve our ability to detect life on other planets.For more information and to follow along on the expedition, visit the website: http://nai.nasa.gov/kamchatk [Source: NAI Newsletter]

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:27 PM | | Comments (0)

    Explore the "Rare Biosphere" with Julie Huber at the Oct 16 Director's Seminar

    Microbial Diversity in the Deep Sea and the Underexplored Rare Biosphere - Presenter: Julie Huber:
    10/16/2006 11:00 AM PDT: The world's oceans are teeming with microscopic life forms. The staining of cells with DNA-binding dyes (DAPI and acridine orange) coupled with epifluorescence microscopy demonstrated that nominal cell densities exceed 105/ml of sea water.

    Extrapolations of these numbers predict that the oceans harbor 3.6 x 1029 microbial cells with cellular carbon of ~3 x 1017 grams. Given the enormous populations of microbes with seemingly unlimited metabolic diversity, the accumulation of mutations during the past 3.5 billion years should have led to very high levels of genetic diversity and phenotypic variation. By adopting a massively parallel 454 tag sequencing strategy, we show that bacterial communities of deep water masses of the North Atlantic and diffuse flow hydrothermal vents are one to two orders of magnitude more complex than previously reported for any microbial environment. A relatively small number of different populations dominate all samples, but thousands of low-abundance populations account for most of the observed phylogenetic diversity. This "rare biosphere" is very ancient and may represent a nearly inexhaustible source of genomic innovation. Members of the rare biosphere are highly divergent from each other and at different times in earth's history may have had a profound impact on shaping planetary processes.

    Join us at the Oct 16 seminar either in your team's polycom room at via the web at: http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/seminars/seminar_detail.cfm?ID=91 [Source: NAI Newsletter]

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:26 PM | | Comments (0)

    Astrobiology News 20 September 2006

  • Measurement of the Spin-Orbit Alignment in the Exoplanetary System HD 189733, arXiv.org
  • The Search for an Atmospheric Signature of the Transiting Exoplanet HD 149026b, arXiv.org

  • Exact results in modeling planetary atmospheres--I. Gray atmospheres, arXiv.org
  • Detecting New Planets in Transiting Systems, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:03 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 18, 2006

    John Rummel New Senior Scientist for Astrobiology

    NASA HQ Internal Memo: John Rummel To Become Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA SMD Planetary Sciences Division

    "Taking Carl [Pilcher's] place will be Dr. John D. Rummel. As Senior Scientist for Astrobiology in SMD's Planetary Sciences Division, John will have overall program management responsibility for the Astrobiology Program, including the NAI and other activities in astrobiology and exobiology research and analysis, astrobiology instruments development, and programs to test and validate the performance of such instruments in a variety of analog field environments considered "extreme" for life on Earth."

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:04 PM | | Comments (0)

    September 15, 2006

    Astrobiology News 15 September 2006

  • Spectral Evolution of an Earth-Like Planet, arXiv.org
  • HAT-P-1b: A Large-Radius, Low-Density Exoplanet Transiting one Member of a Stellar Binary, arXiv.org
  • Titan's Polar Weather, Science

  • Evidence for Mass-dependent Circumstellar Disk Evolution in the 5 Myr-old Upper Scorpius OB Association, arXiv.org
  • New, nearby bright southern ultracool dwarfs, arXiv.org
  • The impact of stellar rotation on the CNO abundance patterns in the Milky Way at low metallicities, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:48 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 14, 2006

    Astrobiology News 14 September 2006

  • NASA Spaceline 28 August 2006 Current Space Life Science Awareness, NASA
  • Strange New Planet Baffles Astronomers, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  • Astronomers Reveal First Alien I.D. Chart, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

  • CfA: Major Exoplanet Briefing 14 Sept. at Smithsonian in Washington, DC, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  • TrES-2: The First Transiting Planet in the Kepler Field
  • Temporal Evolution of Coronagraphic Dynamic Range, and Constraints on Companions to Vega
  • Discovery of 9 New Companions to Nearby Young M Stars with the Altair AO System
  • A near-infrared spectroscopic detection of the brown dwarf in the post common envelope binary WD0137-349

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 4:07 PM | | Comments (0)

    Planetary Protection: Policies and Practices, a short course

    November 14-16, 2006
    Space Life Sciences Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
    Supported by: NASA Planetary Protection Office and NASA Astrobiology Institute
    Registration Deadline: October 7, 2006

    See PDF File: Planet_Protect-Nov_2006.pdf

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:24 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 13, 2006

    Astrobiology News 13 September 2006

  • Observational Constraints on Trojans of Transiting Extrasolar Planets
  • A Statistical Stability Analysis of Earth-like Planetary Orbits in Binary Systems
  • Evidence for a High Carbon Abundance in the Local Interstellar Cloud

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:27 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 12, 2006

    Astrobiology News 12 September 2006

  • On the Age of Stars Harboring Transiting Planets, arXiv.org
  • Exotic Earths: Forming Habitable Worlds with Giant Planet Migration, arXiv.org
  • Formation of Narrow Dust Rings in Circumstellar Debris Disks, arXiv.org

  • A Bayesian Kepler Periodogram Detects a Second Planet in HD 208487, arXiv.org
  • Limits to Transits of the Neptune-mass planet orbiting Gl 581, arXiv.org
  • Accretion in rho-Ophiuchi brown dwarfs: infrared hydrogen line ratios, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 3:40 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 8, 2006

    Astrobiology News 8 September 2006

  • Biomarkers in disk-averaged near-UV to near-IR Earth spectra using Earthshine observations, arXiv.org
  • Discovery of a Young Substellar Companion in Chamaeleon, arXiv.org
  • Formation and destruction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon clusters in the interstellar medium, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:08 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 7, 2006

    Astrobiology News 7 September 2006

  • Exotic Earths: Forming Habitable Worlds with Giant Planet Migration, Science
  • Two Years at Meridiani Planum: Results from the Opportunity Rover, Science
  • Earth-like Planets May Be More Common Than Once Thought, University of Colorado at Boulder
  • Planet or failed star? Hubble photographs one of the smallest stellar companions ever seen, Space Telescope Science Institute

  • The Dust Properties of Eight Debris Disk Candidates as Determined by Submillimeter Photometry, arXiv.org
  • Shock processing of interstellar dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the supernova remnant N132D, arXiv.org
  • Observations of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 with the Keck 1 HIRES Instrument During Deep Impact, arXiv.org
  • Planet formation around low mass stars: the moving snow line and super-Earths, arXiv.org
  • Spitzer 24 Micron Observations of Open Cluster IC 2391 and Debris Disk Evolution of FGK Stars, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:29 PM | | Comments (0)

    Are Class M Planets Common?

    Exotic Earths: Forming Habitable Worlds with Giant Planet Migration, Science

    Earth-like Planets May Be More Common Than Once Thought, University of Colorado at Boulder

    "More than one-third of the giant planet systems recently detected outside Earth's solar system may harbor Earth-like planets, many covered in deep oceans with potential for life, according to a new study."

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:40 PM | | Comments (0)

    September 6, 2006

    Fall AGU Session: Biofilms in the environment

    Fall AGU Session: Biofilms in the environment: Adaptive roles, microbe-mineral interfaces, and contributions to global biogeochemical cycles

    In most natural environments microbial communities are associated with surfaces in structures known as "biofilms". Numerous observations from terrestrial and marine subsurface settings, hot springs, and acidic mine drainage attest to the importance of the biofilm mode-of-life.

    Detailed studies of microbial biofilms in the laboratory have shown that they harbor a number of characteristics that vary from more extensively studied planktonic growth phases, including physiological differences, cooperative interactions, and impacts upon micro-environmental conditions.

    Due to their prevalence in many ecosystems, the relationship of biofilms with their environments is a topic that has increasingly attracted the attention of investigators from a wide range of disciplines. In this session, studies of biofilms with relevance to natural ecosystems will be highlighted, including linkages between sessile communities and their physical-chemical surroundings, and their impacts upon biogeochemical cycles. The organizers hope to receive reports specifically describing biofilms in the context of their physical-chemical environments. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following attributes of biofilms:

    • roles in the sequestration or transport of nutrients, energy sources, and toxins
    • bio-mineralization and bio-weathering
    • community stratification and cell-cell communication
    • adaptations to "extreme" environments
    • contributions of biofilms to global biogeochemical cycles

    Of particular interest are studies that apply innovative and cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of surface-associated communities. Invited speakers will highlights some of the key advancements being made in the field of biofilm geo-microbiology from both ecological and geochemical perspectives.

    For more information: http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm06

    or contact

    D'Arcy Renee Meyer-Dombard
    Massachussets Institute of Technology
    drmd@mit.edu

    Matthew Schrenk
    Carnegie Institution of Washington
    m.schrenk@gl.ciw.edu

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:33 PM | | Comments (0)

    3rd UK Space Medicine Conference

    The UK Space Biomedicine Group (UKSBG) is hosting the 3rd UK Space Medicine Conference on the weekend of the 30th September - 1st October at the National Space Centre in Leicester, UK

    This is an international Symposium supported by the Space Medicine Association. The Speakers at this years conference have a diverse background from NASA and ESA flightsurgeons, Professors, Space Entrepreneurs, to Exceptional Young Biomedical Professionals. The topics although biomedically focussed are accessible to all and we would like to encourage attendance by everyone. For further information please check out the website www.uksbg.com or email vishal@spacesurgeons.com

    [source: TALK spacegeneration.org]

    Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:57 PM | | Comments (0)

    Astrobiology News 6 September 2006

  • Carbon Deficiency in Externally-Polluted White Dwarfs: Evidence for Accretion of Asteroids, arXiv.org
  • Calibrating the Solar Dynamo: Magnetic Activity Cycles of Southern Sun-like Stars, arXiv.org

  • Long-Period Objects in the Extrasolar Planetary Systems 47 UMa and 14 Her

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:00 AM | | Comments (0)

    September 5, 2006

    Astrobiology News 5 September 2006

  • Oxygen abundances in the Galactic Bulge: evidence for fast chemical enrichment, arXiv.org
  • Radial and rotational velocities of young brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars in the Upper Scorpius OB association and the rho Ophiuchi cloud core, arXiv.org
  • Five new very low mass binaries, arXiv.org

  • Spectroscopy of planetary mass brown dwarfs in Orion, arXiv.org

  • SiO and CH3CCH abundances and dust emission in high-mass star-forming cores, arXiv.org
  • HI in circumstellar environments, arXiv.org

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 5:45 PM | | Comments (0)

    September 1, 2006

    Astrobiology News 1 September 2006

  • Scientist-astronaut sends T-cells into space, University of California, San Francisco
  • Discovery of a Young Planetary-Mass Binary, Science
  • Sulfur cycling in the aftermath of a 635-Ma snowball glaciation: Evidence for a syn-glacial sulfidic deep ocean, Earth and Planetary Science Letters

  • Sulphur isotope evidence for an oxic Archaean atmosphere, Nature
  • X-ray emission from the young brown dwarfs of the Taurus Molecular Cloud
  • Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 with Alice/Rosetta during the Deep Impact Encounter
  • Towards a Solution of the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon - Diffuse Interstellar Band Hypothesis

    • Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:05 PM | | Comments (0)

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