Related papers: A massive primordial atmosphere on early Mars
The distribution and origin of serpentine on Mars can provide insights into the planet's aqueous history, habitability, and past climate. In this study, we used dynamic aperture factor analysis/target transformation applied to 15,760 images…
Hydrogen in rocky planet atmospheres has been invoked in arguments for extending the habitable zone via N2-H2 and CO2-H2 greenhouse warming, and providing atmospheric conditions suitable for efficient production of prebiotic molecules. On…
Short-period Earth to Neptune size exoplanets (super-Earths) with voluminous gas envelopes seem to be very common. These gas atmospheres are thought to have originated from the protoplanetary disk in which the planets were embedded during…
Mars' wet-to-dry transition is a major environmental catastrophe, yet the spatial pattern, tempo, and cause of drying are poorly constrained. We built a globally-distributed database of constraints on Mars late-stage paleolake size relative…
Volatile molecules containing hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen are key components of planetary atmospheres. In the pebble accretion model for rocky planet formation, these volatile species are accreted during the main planetary formation…
Atmospheric escape is an important process that influences the evolution of planetary atmospheres. A variety of physical mechanisms can contribute to escape from an atmosphere, including thermal escape, ion escape, photochemical escape, and…
One-third of Mars' surface has shallow-buried H$_2$O, but it is currently too cold for use by life. Proposals to warm Mars using greenhouse gases require a large mass of ingredients that are rare on Mars' surface. However, we show here that…
After Earth's origin, our host star, the Sun, was shining 20 to 25 percent less brightly than today. Without greenhouse-like conditions to warm the atmosphere, our early planet would have been an ice ball and life may never have evolved.…
We describe a scenario of Titan's formation matching the constraints imposed by its current atmospheric composition. Assuming that the abundances of all elements, including oxygen, are solar in the outer nebula, we show that the icy…
Young transiting exoplanets offer a unique opportunity to characterize the atmospheres of fresh and evolving products of planet formation. We present the transmission spectrum of V1298 Tau b; a 23 Myr old warm Jovian sized planet orbiting a…
The first in-situ measurements of the altitude profile of Martian upper atmospheric density and composition were carried out by the Viking lander missions in 1976. The MAVEN and MOM spacecraft launched in September 2014 with mass…
The origin of Titan's atmospheric methane is a key issue for understanding the origin of the Saturnian satellite system. It has been proposed that serpentinization reactions in Titan's interior could lead to the formation of the observed…
Since the first \emph{in-situ} measurements of the altitude profile of upper atmospheric density and composition carried out by the Viking lander missions during 1976, similar data were continuously gathered by MAVEN and MOM spacecraft…
The details of the Solar system's formation are still heavily debated. Questions remain about the formation locations of the giant planets, and the degree to which volatile material was mixed throughout the proto-planetary system. One…
Massive steam and CO$_2$ atmospheres have been proposed for magma ocean outgassing of Earth and terrestrial planets. Yet formation of such atmospheres depends on volatile exchange with the molten interior, governed by volatile solubilities…
The discovery of thousands of highly irradiated, low-mass, exoplanets has led to the idea that atmospheric escape is an important process that can drive their evolution. Of particular interest is the inference from recent exoplanet…
Water vapour atmospheres with content equivalent to the Earth's oceans, resulting from impacts or a high insolation, were found to yield a surface magma ocean. This was, however, a consequence of assuming a fully convective structure. Here…
In order to test planetary accretion and differentiation scenarios, we integrated a multistage core-mantle differentiation model with N-body accretion simulations. Impacts between embryos and planetesimals result in magma ocean formation…
Lithium is overabundant in cosmic rays because protons impact on carbon and oxygen nuclei and fission them. Among the products of this fission is lithium. Given this preference for carbon and oxygen atoms, in this work I propose that in an…
The formation of the solar system's giant planets predated the ultimate epoch of massive impacts that concluded the process of terrestrial planet formation. Following their formation, the giant planets' orbits evolved through an episode of…