Related papers: Recovering Phosphine in Venus' Atmosphere from SOF…
For over half a century, scientists have contemplated the potential existence of life within the clouds of Venus. Unknown chemistry leaves open the possibility that certain regions of the Venusian atmosphere are habitable. In situ…
Phosphorus (III) oxide (P$_4$O$_6$) has been suggested to be a major component of the gas phase phosphorus chemistry in the atmospheres of gas giant planets and of Venus. However, P$_4$O$_6$'s proposed role is based on thermodynamic…
Parker Solar Probe (PSP) conducted several flybys of Venus while using Venus' gravity for orbital adjustments to enable its daring passes of the Sun. During these flybys, PSP turned to image the nightside of Venus using the Wide-field…
We have searched for the presence of simple P and S-bearing molecules in Titan's atmosphere, by looking for the characteristic signatures of phosphine and hydrogen sulfide in infrared spectra obtained by Cassini CIRS. As a result we have…
The atmosphere of a transiting planet shields the stellar radiation providing us with a powerful method to estimate its size and density. In particular, because of their high ionization energy, atoms with high atomic number (Z) absorb…
We report the detection of several absorption lines of neutral phosphorus (P, Z=15) in archival near ultraviolet spectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. We derive phosphorus…
At visible wavelengths, Venus appears serene and pale-yellow, but since the 1920s, observers have noted high-contrast features in the ultraviolet. These features track the about 4-day superrotation of the upper cloud deck and vary widely…
Recently, phosphine was discovered in the atmosphere of Venus as a potential biosignature. This raises the question: if Venusian life exists, could it be related to terrestrial life? Based on the known rate of meteoroid impacts on Earth, we…
Measuring Venus' atmospheric circulation at different altitudes is important for understanding its complex dynamics, in particular the mechanisms driving the super-rotation. Observationally, Doppler imaging spectroscopy is in principle be…
We present mid-infrared SOFIA/EXES spectroscopy of Europa, seeking direct evidence of the presence of water vapor arising from plumes venting from the surface of Europa. We place quantitatively useful upper limits on the strength of water…
A robust variational approach is used to investigate the sensitivity of the rotation-vibration spectrum of phosphine (PH$_3$) to a possible cosmological variation of the proton-to-electron mass ratio, $\mu$. Whilst the majority of computed…
We report new constraints on the vertical distribution of sulfuric acid vapor in the Venusian atmosphere, derived from a refined analysis of radio occultation (RO) data. The method estimates the power spectral density (PSD) of the received…
Venus is known for its extreme surface temperature and its sulfuric acid clouds. But the cloud layers on Venus have similar temperature and pressure conditions to those on the surface of Earth and are conjectured to be a possible habitat…
Phosphine is now well established as a biosignature, which has risen to prominence with its recent tentative detection on Venus. To follow up this discovery and related future exoplanet biosignature detections, it is important to…
A long-term goal of exoplanet studies is the identification and detection of biosignature gases. Beyond the most discussed biosignature gas O$_2$, only a handful of gases have been considered in detail. Here we evaluate phosphine (PH$_3$).…
At wavelengths between 0.15 and 0.19 $\mu$m, the far-ultraviolet spectrum of Jupiter is dominated by the scattered solar spectrum, attenuated by molecular absorptions primarily by acetylene and ethane, and to a lesser extent ammonia and…
Terrestrial exoplanets orbiting within or near their host stars' habitable zone are potentially apt for life. It has been proposed that time-series measurements of reflected starlight from such planets will reveal their rotational period,…
We used 0.85 - 5.1 micron 2006 observations by Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) to constrain the unusual vertical structure and compositions of cloud layers in Saturn's south polar region, the site of a powerful…
Context. Reflected light from a spatially unresolved planet yields unique insight into the overall optical properties of the planet cover. Glories are optical phenomena caused by light that is backscattered within spherical droplets…
Phosphorus is a necessary element for life on Earth, but at present we have limited constraints on its chemistry in star- and planet-forming regions: to date, phosphorus carriers have only been detected towards a few low-mass protostars.…