carbon
Wow. JWST Just Found Methane in an Exoplanet Atmosphere
If there's one chemical that causes excitement in the search for biosignatures on other worlds, it's methane. It's not a…
A Galaxy Only 350 Million Years Old Had Surprising Amounts of Metal
Astrophysicists working with the JWST have found a surprising amount of metal in a galaxy only 350 million years after…
Is it Life, or is it Volcanoes?
Astronomers are working hard to understand biosignatures and how they indicate life's presence on an exoplanet. But each planet we…
How Do Lava Worlds Become Earth-Like, Living Planets?
Earth was once entirely molten. Planetary scientists call this phase in a planet's evolution a magma ocean, and Earth may…
The JWST Just Found Carbon on Europa, Boosting the Moon’s Potential Habitability
Most planets and moons in the Solar System are clearly dead and totally unsuitable for life. Earth is the only…
Engineers Want to Make Methanol by Pulling Carbon Right Out of the Air
Methanol is one of our most extensively used raw materials. It's used as a solvent, a pesticide, and in combination…
Geoengineering is Shockingly Inexpensive
Despite decades of warnings and international climate agreements, global carbon emissions are still rising. Carbon emissions seem like an unstoppable…
JWST Sees Organic Molecules Ludicrously Far Away
When astronomers used the JWST to look at a galaxy more than 12 billion light years away, they were also…
A New Place to Search for Habitable Planets: “The Soot Line.”
The habitable zone is the region around a star where planets can maintain liquid water on their surface. It's axiomatic…
Warm Carbon Increased Suddenly in the Early Universe. Made by the First Stars?
New research shows that carbon was more abundant in the early Universe than previously thought, a find that could have…