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VPL Headlines
04/19/2013
VPL Researcher Eric Agol Discovers Most Earth-like Exoplanet to Date
In the latest discovery from the Kepler Space Telescope, VPL researcher and University of Washington astronomer Eric Agol has identified Kepler-62f: an exoplanet in its star's habitable zone, with a radius only 40% larger than Earth— making it the smallest potentially habitable exoplanet found to date. Kepler-62f has an orbital period of 267 days, and belongs to a multi-planet system orbiting a K2 dwarf star roughly 1200 light years from Earth. Although Kepler's mass and density have not been measured, it is likely to have a rocky composition. MORE>
01/27/2013
VPL Researcher Rory Barnes's work on Exomoons Featured in Astrobiology
Research by the VPL's Rory Barnes has been featured as the cover story in the latest issue of Astrobiology! In the paper "Exomoon Habitability Constrained by Illumination and Tidal Heating", Barnes explores the effects that physical and orbital parameters may have on the habitability of "exomoons", or moons belonging to exoplanets-- which it may now be feasible to detect. MORE>
11/20/2012
UWAB Graduate Student Explores Life at High Altitudes
While studies have previously discovered microbes living in the upper atmosphere, new research by UWAB graduate student David Smith aims to better understand the types of microorganisms present at high altitudes, how they get there, and how they're able to survive in such an extreme environment. MORE>
09/24/2012
How the Land Was Won 2.75 Billion Years Ago: New UWAB/VPL Research
New research by UWAB student and VPL team member Eva Stüeken suggests that microbes might have been widespread on Earth's surface around 2.75 billion years ago, where they produced oxygen and weathered pyrite, an iron sulfide mineral, which released sulfur and molybdenum into the oceans. In turn, this sulfur likely enhanced the spread of marine life. To learn more, check out the story in UW News. MORE>
09/13/2012
VPL Researchers Explore The Sun's History
In a paper recently published in The Astrophysical Journal, VPL team members Mark Claire, John Sheets, Martin Cohen, Victoria Meadows, and David Catling model wavelength-dependent changes in the solar flux over geologic time. Understanding these changes is crucial for understanding the evolution of planetary atmospheres and climates, and thus planetary habitability. The model described in the paper is available here, and is valid for the zero-age main sequence to 8 Gyr. MORE>
09/05/2012
VPL Team Selected to Rejoin the NASA Astrobiology Institute
The University of Washington's Virtual Planetary Laboratory was one of five teams recently selected for membership in the NASA Astrobiology Institute. MORE>
07/23/2012
VPL Research on Biosignatures Highlighted in Scientific American
Work by VPL researchers on biosignatures on planets orbiting stars other than our Sun, and new biosignatures for oxygen poor atmospheres like the early Earth, was featured in a recent news article on the future search for life on planets orbiting other stars. MORE>
05/31/2012
VPL Researcher Provides Insights & Commentary on Current Issues in Astrobiology
VPL Researcher Shawn Domagal-Goldman (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) is part of a team of astrobiologist bloggers providing regular updates and insights on current research, hot topics, and opportunities to explore new ideas in the field of astrobiology. Follow Shawn and his co-authors at The Pale Blue Blog. MORE>
05/25/2012
VPL Research Scientist Rory Barnes Featured in Astrobiology Magazine for his work on Tidal Venuses
Alien planets might experience tidal forces powerful enough to remove all their water, leaving behind hot, dry worlds like Venus... "This has fundamentally changed the concept of a habitable zone," said researcher Rory Barnes, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at the University of Washington. "We figured out you can actually limit a planet's habitability with an energy source other than starlight." MORE>
03/28/2012
VPL Team Members Use Fossilized Raindrop Imprints to Explore Earth's Ancient Environment
In a much-anticipated paper in Nature, VPL Researchers Roger Buick and David Catling (University of Washington) and Postdoc Sanjoy Som (NASA Ames) have uncovered evidence -- using 2.7 billion-year old, fossilized raindrop impressions -- that an abundance of greenhouse gases in Earth's ancient atmosphere likely caused warm temperatures that allowed the planet to retain liquid water... a crucial environmental component for the evolution of early life on our planet. MORE>
03/18/2012
Researchers from VPL Uncover the Ingredients of Earth's Ancient Atmosphere
VPL Researchers Mark Claire and Shawn Domagal-Goldman are co-authors on the Nature Geosciences paper, "A bistable organic-rich atmosphere on the Neoarchaean Earth" that provides geochemical evidence that methane was an important component of Earth's atmosphere throughout the Archaean era more than 2.5 billion years ago.The paper has received wide attention in the scientific and news community including National Geographic, New Scientist, Science Magazine, and NASA. MORE>