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By NASA
This artist’s illustration represents the results from a new study that examines the effects of X-ray and other high-energy radiation unleashed on potential exoplanets from Wolf 359, a nearby red dwarf star. Researchers used Chandra and XMM-Newton to study the impact of steady X-ray and energetic ultraviolet radiation from Wolf 359 on the atmospheres of planets that might be orbiting the star. They found that only a planet with greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in its atmosphere and at a relatively large distance away from Wolf 359 would have a chance to support life as we know it.X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Wolk, et al.; Illustration: NASA/CXC/SAO/M.Weiss; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Planets around other stars need to be prepared for extreme weather conditions, according to a new study from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s (European Space Agency’s) XMM-Newton that examined the effects of X-rays on potential planets around the most common type of stars.
Astronomers found that only a planet with greenhouse gases in its atmosphere like Earth and at a relatively large distance away from the star they studied would have a chance to support life as we know it around a nearby star.
Wolf 359 is a red dwarf with a mass about a tenth that of the Sun. Red dwarf stars are the most common stars in the universe and live for billions of years, providing ample time for life to develop. At a distance of only 7.8 light-years away, Wolf 359 is also one of the closest stars to the solar system.
“Wolf 359 can help us unlock the secrets around stars and habitability,” said Scott Wolk of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), who led the study. “It’s so close and it belongs to such an important class of stars – it’s a great combination.”
Because red dwarfs are the most prevalent types of stars, astronomers have looked hard to find exoplanets around them. Astronomers have found some evidence for two planets in orbit around Wolf 359 using optical telescopes, but those conclusions have been challenged by other scientists.
“While we don’t have proof of planets around Wolf 359 yet, it seems very possible that it hosts multiple planets,” Wolk added. “This makes it an excellent test bed to look at what planets would experience around this kind of star.”
Wolk and his colleagues used Chandra and XMM to study the amounts of steady X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (UV) radiation – the most energetic type of UV radiation – that Wolf 359 would unleash on the possible planets around it.
They found that Wolf 359 is producing enough damaging radiation that only a planet with greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in its atmosphere – and located at a relatively large distance from the star – would likely be able to sustain life.
“Just being far enough away from the star’s harmful radiation wouldn’t be enough to make it habitable,” said co-author Vinay Kashyap, also of CfA. “A planet around Wolf 359 would also need to be blanketed in greenhouse gases like Earth is.”
To study the effects of energetic radiation on the habitability of the planet candidates, the team considered the star’s habitable zone – the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet’s surface.
The outer limit of the habitable zone for Wolf 359 is about 15% of the distance between Earth and the Sun, because the red dwarf is much less bright than the Sun. Neither of the planet candidates for this system is located in Wolf 359’s habitable zone, with one too close to the star and the other too far out.
“If the inner planet is there, the X-ray and extreme UV radiation it is subjected to would destroy the atmosphere of this planet in only about a million years,” said co-author Ignazio Pillitteri of CfA and the National Institute for Astrophysics in Palermo, Italy.
The team also considered the effects of radiation on as-yet undetected planets within the habitable zone. They concluded that a planet like the Earth in the middle of the habitable zone should be able to sustain an atmosphere for almost two billion years, while one near the outer edge could last indefinitely, helped by the warming effects of greenhouse gases.
Another big danger for planets orbiting stars like Wolf 359 is from X-ray flares, or occasional bright bursts of X-rays, on top of the steady, everyday output from the star. Combining observations made with Chandra and XMM-Newton resulted in the discovery of 18 X-ray flares from Wolf 359 over 3.5 days.
Extrapolating from these observed flares, the team expects that much more powerful and damaging flares would occur over longer periods of time. The combined effects of the steady X-ray and UV radiation and the flares mean that any planet located in the habitable zone is unlikely to have a significant atmosphere long enough for multicellular life, as we know it on Earth, to form and survive. The exception is the habitable zone’s outer edge if the planet has a significant greenhouse effect.
These results were presented at the 245th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland, and are being prepared for publication in a journal. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:
https://www.nasa.gov/chandra
https://chandra.si.edu
News Media Contact
Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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By NASA
On Dec. 19, 2024, NASA released two amendments to the NASA Research Announcement Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) 2024 (NNH24ZDA001N) to announce the E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies and E.12 Physical Sciences Research Studies program elements.
Space Biology Proposals
The research emphases of E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies fall under two broad categories: Precision Health and Space Crops
For Precision Health-focused studies, investigators may propose to use any non-primate animal model system and any appropriate cell/tissue culture/microphysiological system/organoid or microbial models that are supported by the chosen platform. For Space Crop-focused studies, applicants may propose to use any plant, relevant microbe, and/or plant and microbe model system(s) that is (are) supported by the chosen platform. The E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies opportunity includes five different Project Types: Research Investigations, Early Career Research Investigations, New NASA Investigators, OSDR Analytical Investigations, and Tissue Sharing Investigations. Specific requirements for each of these Project Types are described in the program element text. Questions concerning E.9 Space Biology: Research Studies may be directed to Lynn Harrison (for Precision Health) and Elison Blancaflor (for Space Crops) at nasa-spacebiology@mail.nasa.gov.
Physical Sciences Proposals
E.12 Physical Sciences: Research Studies solicits proposals to investigate physical phenomena in the absence of gravity and fundamental laws that describe the universe, and applied research that contributes to the basic understanding of processes underlying space exploration technologies.
The Physical Sciences program is divided into two key goals: Foundations and Quantum Leaps. Foundations focuses on understanding the behavior of fluids, combustion, soft matter, and materials in the spaceflight environment. Quantum Leaps aims to probe the very nature of the universe using exquisitely precise space-based quantum sensors to test the Einstein equivalence principle, dark sector physics, and the nature of fundamental physical constants.
The E.12 Physical Sciences: Research Studies opportunity will include four different Project Types: Research Investigations, New NASA Investigators, Physical Sciences Informatics, and Fundamental Physics Investigations. Specific requirements for each of these Project Types are described in detail in the program element text. Questions concerning E.12 Physical Sciences Research Studies may be directed to Brad Carpenter (regarding Foundations and PSI) or Mike Robinson (regarding Quantum Leaps) by writing to BPS-PhysicalSciences@nasaprs.com.
Town Hall
A pre-proposer’s townhall for applicants interested in submitting a proposal to these program elements will be held virtually on Jan. 22, 2025, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Meeting information will be posted on the NSPIRES page for each of the program elements under “Other Documents.”
Proposals to these program elements shall be submitted via a two-step process
Step-1 proposals must be submitted by Feb. 4, 2025 Step-2 proposals are due on May 6, 2025 Related Resources:
PSI Database is Live with New Features to Improve User Experience Space Biology Physical Sciences View the full article
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By European Space Agency
Three InCubed satellites have launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, highlighting ESA’s role as partner to industry and its support for business and technology innovation.
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By European Space Agency
This year will mark the European Space Agency’s 50th anniversary and promises to be a landmark year for the European aerospace industry. In addition to milestone events in our programmes, September will also mark 30 years of satellite navigation for Europe. This spring brings the second commercial mission involving a project astronaut to the International Space Station on Axiom Mission 4, while events such as ESA's Living Planet Symposium and the International Paris Air Show will gather the space community face to face.
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By NASA
The Wide-Field Instrument (WFI), the primary instrument aboard NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, is a 300-megapixel visible and infrared camera that will allow scientists to perform revolutionary astrophysics surveys.
This specialized camera detects faint light across the cosmos and will be used to study a wide range of astrophysics topics including the expansion and acceleration of our universe, planets orbiting other stars in the Milky Way, and far off galaxies.
WFI will conduct surveys to detect and measure billions of stars and galaxies along with rare phenomena that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to find. To survey large areas of sky, WFI uses a suite of 18 detectors that convert incoming light into electrical signals that are translated into images.
While Roman will operate alongside other space telescopes like Hubble, WFI’s capabilities are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Roman’s WFI has a similar sensitivity and resolution to Hubble, but WFI will capture images that cover about 100 times more sky in a single observation and will survey the sky up to 1,000 times faster.
Artwork Key
1. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
2. Light Path : The light entering the telescope will take this path, bouncing off of multiple focusing mirrors and passing through filters or dispersers in the element wheel to reach the detectors.
3. Important Years : 1990: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope launched. 1960: Nancy Grace Roman became NASA’s Chief Astronomer.
4. Field of View : Roman’s field of view is about 100 times larger than that of the infrared camera onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. WFI’s large field of view is achieved using an array of 18 detectors which are represented by the squares in this graphic
5. Detectors : This dial has one tick mark for each of WFI’s 18 detectors.
6. Modes : WFI has imaging and spectroscopy modes.
7. Wavelengths : WFI will observe in both visible and infrared light and can select which wavelengths reach the detectors using filters in the element wheel.
8. “Dark Energy” Drink + “Dark Matter” Candy : Roman will enable new research into the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter.
9. Science Goals : The names of these games capture WFI’s role as a survey instrument and the types of surveys it will perform.
10. Joystick : This joystick features design elements found on the WFI’s element wheel assembly, a large, rotating metal disk with optics that filter or disperse light.
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