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The ultimate goal of astrobiology is to determine the distribution and diversity of life in the universe. But as the word "biosignature" suggests, what will be detected is not life itself, but an observation implicating a particular process…
The search for signs of life in the Universe has entered a new phase with the advent of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Detecting biosignature gases via exoplanet atmosphere transmission spectroscopy is in principle within JWST's…
We investigate the performance of the MAGIC telescopes under three simulated atmospheric conditions: an increased aerosol content in the lower part of the troposphere, the presence of thin aerosol over-densities at different heights, and an…
High-resolution Doppler-resolved spectroscopy has opened up a new window into the atmospheres of both transiting and non-transiting exoplanets. Here, we present VLT/UVES observations of a transit of WASP-121b, an 'ultra-hot' Jupiter…
In the last decade, about a dozen giant exoplanets have been directly imaged in the IR as companions to young stars. With photometry and spectroscopy of these planets in hand from new extreme coronagraphic instruments such as SPHERE at VLT…
We present new measurements of the vertical density profile of the Earth's atmosphere at altitudes between 70 and 200 km, based on Earth occultations of the Crab Nebula observed with the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer onboard Suzaku and the…
Detection techniques at radio wavelengths play an important role in the future of astrophysics experiments. The radio detection of cosmic rays, neutrinos, and photons has emerged as the technology of choice at the highest energies.…
The key goals of the astrobiology community are to identify environments beyond Earth that may be habitable, and to search for signs of life in those environments. A fundamental aspect of understanding the limits of habitable environments…
The newly detected Earth-mass planet in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri could potentially host life - if it has an atmosphere that supports surface liquid water. We show that thermal phase curve observations with the James Webb Space…
A Bayesian approach is presented for detecting and characterising the signal from discrete objects embedded in a diffuse background. The approach centres around the evaluation of the posterior distribution for the parameters of the discrete…
The search for dark matter has been performed mainly for weakly interacting massive particles and massive compact halo objects, and the intermediate mass region has not been investigated experimentally. A method to search dark matter with…
Microlensing is proving to be one of the best techniques to detect distant, low-mass planets around the most common stars in the Galaxy. In principle, Earth's microlensing signal could offer the chance for other technological civilisations…
The search for habitable exoplanets and life beyond the Solar System is one of the most compelling scientific opportunities of our time. Nevertheless, the high cost of building facilities that can address this topic and the keen public…
In this contribution an entirely different way compared to conventional approaches for axion, hidden photon and dark matter (DM) detection is proposed for discussion. The idea is to use living plants which are known to be very sensitive to…
Thin filters and gas tight windows are used in Space to protect sensitive X-ray detectors from out-of-band electromagnetic radiation, low-energy particles, and molecular contamination. Though very thin and made of light materials, filters…
An interferometric imaging technique has been proposed to instantly measure the diameter of individual spherical dust particles suspended in a gas discharge plasma. The technique is based on the defocused image analysis of both spherical…
The Venus Life Finder Missions are a series of focused astrobiology mission concepts to search for habitability, signs of life, and life itself in the Venus atmosphere. While people have speculated on life in the Venus clouds for decades,…
The objective of neutrino astronomy, born with the identification of thermonuclear fusion in the sun and the particle processes controlling the fate of a nearby supernova, is to build instruments which reach throughout and far beyond our…
The first transmission spectrum of the habitable-zone sub-Neptune K2-18 b with JWST has opened a new avenue for atmospheric characterisation of temperate low-mass exoplanets. The observations led to inferences of methane and carbon dioxide,…
Exoplanet hunting efforts have revealed the prevalence of exotic worlds with diverse properties, including Earth-sized bodies, which has fueled our endeavor to search for life beyond the Solar System. Accumulating experiences in…