Prof. Abel Méndez
@profabelmendez.bsky.social
Planetary Astrobiologist and Director of the
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
@PlanetaryHabLab. http://astrodon.social/@profabelmendez #exoplanets #astrobiology #habitability
Pinned
New Study Narrows the Hunt for the Source of the Mysterious 1977 “Wow! Signal” phl.upr.edu/wow #AreciboWow #Astrophysics #SETI #WowSignal
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A little over 23 years ago, I wrote my first paper on white dwarf planetary systems and not only am I fortunate enough to still be able to go looking for them with JWST, that little paper (which almost got rejected) hit 400 citations #astrosci #exoplanets
November 4, 2025 at 7:48 PM
A little over 23 years ago, I wrote my first paper on white dwarf planetary systems and not only am I fortunate enough to still be able to go looking for them with JWST, that little paper (which almost got rejected) hit 400 citations #astrosci #exoplanets
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Countdown clock in @stewardobservatory.bsky.social for our NASA Pandora Space Telescope: T-60 days!!
Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System! #exoplanets @uazresearch.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System! #exoplanets @uazresearch.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Countdown clock in @stewardobservatory.bsky.social for our NASA Pandora Space Telescope: T-60 days!!
Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System! #exoplanets @uazresearch.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System! #exoplanets @uazresearch.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Lammers and Winn “On the Exoplanet Yield of Gaia Astrometry” makes breathtaking predictions for the Gaia DR4 data release in December 2026 - around 7500 new exoplanets around nearby stars! It will be revolutionary… and indicate new nearby systems to be imaged… #astrodon #exoplanets ☄️
November 7, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Lammers and Winn “On the Exoplanet Yield of Gaia Astrometry” makes breathtaking predictions for the Gaia DR4 data release in December 2026 - around 7500 new exoplanets around nearby stars! It will be revolutionary… and indicate new nearby systems to be imaged… #astrodon #exoplanets ☄️
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
‘An Overview of Exocomets’ is a very comprehensive review led by Daniela Iglesias started at an @issibern.ch meeting. I worked on Figure 1 detailing comets around the Sun, Beta Pic and a white dwarf - I’m very proud of it, and it is available on @github.com: Exocomet systems #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
‘An Overview of Exocomets’ is a very comprehensive review led by Daniela Iglesias started at an @issibern.ch meeting. I worked on Figure 1 detailing comets around the Sun, Beta Pic and a white dwarf - I’m very proud of it, and it is available on @github.com: Exocomet systems #astrodon #exoplanet ☄
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
NASA's #habitableworldsobservatory
building a #superhubble in the race to answer fundamental questions about life in the Universe, the place of humanity in the cosmos, and where explorers could dare to go next✨🧪🔭☄️ #exoplanet #extragalactic
building a #superhubble in the race to answer fundamental questions about life in the Universe, the place of humanity in the cosmos, and where explorers could dare to go next✨🧪🔭☄️ #exoplanet #extragalactic
NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory will do more than hunt for life in the 2040s.
This summer scientists put forward 100 ideas for the ‘scope including planetary defense, studying Venus, and even observing individual stars in distant galaxies.
Me in Nature Astronomy
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
This summer scientists put forward 100 ideas for the ‘scope including planetary defense, studying Venus, and even observing individual stars in distant galaxies.
Me in Nature Astronomy
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
NASA’s bold new telescope will do more than just hunt for life - Nature Astronomy
The Habitable Worlds Observatory will look for inhabited worlds beyond our Solar System in the 2040s and scientists are dreaming of what else it might do.
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
NASA's #habitableworldsobservatory
building a #superhubble in the race to answer fundamental questions about life in the Universe, the place of humanity in the cosmos, and where explorers could dare to go next✨🧪🔭☄️ #exoplanet #extragalactic
building a #superhubble in the race to answer fundamental questions about life in the Universe, the place of humanity in the cosmos, and where explorers could dare to go next✨🧪🔭☄️ #exoplanet #extragalactic
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Brown. Dwarfs. Are. Purple.
Fixing what really matters (to me) on the NASA #Exoplanet Archive since December 2024. 🤣 🔭
Fixing what really matters (to me) on the NASA #Exoplanet Archive since December 2024. 🤣 🔭
Hey you. YES YOU. Super persnickety astronomer. You know who you are.
NASA Exoplanet Archive just updated our overview pages so the stars are closer to their actual colours, as per Harre & Heller (2021) and Cranmer (2021).
You're welcome. 😎
(You can thank @kevinkhu.bsky.social!)
NASA Exoplanet Archive just updated our overview pages so the stars are closer to their actual colours, as per Harre & Heller (2021) and Cranmer (2021).
You're welcome. 😎
(You can thank @kevinkhu.bsky.social!)
November 8, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Brown. Dwarfs. Are. Purple.
Fixing what really matters (to me) on the NASA #Exoplanet Archive since December 2024. 🤣 🔭
Fixing what really matters (to me) on the NASA #Exoplanet Archive since December 2024. 🤣 🔭
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Thrilled to announce our new Springer Nature paper is now live!
We’ve tuned into a massive stellar storm on the radio! 🌟📡
We’ve tuned into a massive stellar storm on the radio! 🌟📡
November 12, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Thrilled to announce our new Springer Nature paper is now live!
We’ve tuned into a massive stellar storm on the radio! 🌟📡
We’ve tuned into a massive stellar storm on the radio! 🌟📡
Radio burst from a stellar coronal mass ejection - Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Radio burst from a stellar coronal mass ejection - Nature
An analogue to a type II burst from the early M dwarf StKM 1-1262 exhibits identical frequency, time and polarization properties to fundamental plasma emission from a solar type II burst.
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Radio burst from a stellar coronal mass ejection - Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41...
“Our concerns, big concerns about [M-dwarf] stars appear to be right.” www.science.org/content/arti...
November 12, 2025 at 7:59 PM
“Our concerns, big concerns about [M-dwarf] stars appear to be right.” www.science.org/content/arti...
The devious trick behind the most sensational science headlines bigthink.com/starts-with-...
The devious trick behind the most sensational science headlines
Dark matter, dark energy, and the Big Bang are all part of a solid scientific foundation. Here's why popular media often claims otherwise.
bigthink.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The devious trick behind the most sensational science headlines bigthink.com/starts-with-...
Searching for Exoplanets Born Outside the Milky Way: VOYAGERS Survey Design arxiv.org/abs/2511.07632
Searching for Exoplanets Born Outside the Milky Way: VOYAGERS Survey Design
Observations over the past few decades have found that planets are common around nearby stars in our Galaxy, but little is known about planets that formed outside the Milky Way. We describe the…
arxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Searching for Exoplanets Born Outside the Milky Way: VOYAGERS Survey Design arxiv.org/abs/2511.07632
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
A little less than a year ago, a large team of cosmologists reported evidence that dark energy (which drives the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe) evolves over time. This made a huge splash but has also been viewed with healthy skepticism. Today they report that evidence has weakened. 🧪
The Dark Energy Survey Supernova Program: A Reanalysis Of Cosmology Results And Evidence For Evolving Dark Energy With An Updated Type Ia Supernova Calibration
We present improved cosmological constraints from a re-analysis of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) 5-year sample of Type Ia supernovae (DES-SN5YR). This re-analysis includes an improved photometric cross...
arxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM
A little less than a year ago, a large team of cosmologists reported evidence that dark energy (which drives the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe) evolves over time. This made a huge splash but has also been viewed with healthy skepticism. Today they report that evidence has weakened. 🧪
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
Archivists seek photos of today's physical scientists physicstoday.aip.org/news/archivi...
Archivists seek photos of today's physical scientists
The goal of a new crowdsourcing effort is to build a more contemporary and inclusive visual record of the physical sciences community.
physicstoday.aip.org
November 7, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Archivists seek photos of today's physical scientists physicstoday.aip.org/news/archivi...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more!
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
November 7, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Looking to start a PhD in Physics & Astronomy in 2026? The team @physicsuol.bsky.social have announced their STFC-funded projects on offer next year, spanning astrophysics, planetary science, and space instrumentation. Deadline: Jan 18th, contact us to learn more!
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
le.ac.uk/study/resear...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
I think about this post every day 🧪
November 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
I think about this post every day 🧪
China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe captures images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS www.space.com/astronomy/co...
China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe captures images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
Tianwen 1 has spotted the solar system's latest interstellar intruder from Mars orbit.
www.space.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:44 AM
China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe captures images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS www.space.com/astronomy/co...
3I/ATLAS: the facts doctorlinda.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/3...
3I/ATLAS: the facts
Many (IMHO) flaky “news” sites are publishing stories about how 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft. Not. Anything “could be.” But this comet is not an alien spacecraft. 3I/ATLAS is the third int…
doctorlinda.wordpress.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
3I/ATLAS: the facts doctorlinda.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/3...
Brilliant. I feel better now. 😄
New article dropping today on a very important and timely topic — the potential planetary system of Zeta² Reticuli, and what it might mean for planetary security #exoplanets 🔭
In space there will be no need to scream - Limits to the presence of giant planets in the $ζ^2$ Ret system
The search for life beyond our Solar system has been a long and difficult endeavour. The majority of current efforts are focused on the potential detection of biosignatures. However, their detection a...
arxiv.org
November 4, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Brilliant. I feel better now. 😄
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
We've collected 65 individual exoplanet atmosphere composition measurements to look for population-level trends 🔭 #exoplanets
To do this, we had to create a toolkit to standardize between definitions of . We call it ExoComp. (Yes, that's a Star Trek reference 😀).
To do this, we had to create a toolkit to standardize between definitions of . We call it ExoComp. (Yes, that's a Star Trek reference 😀).
October 31, 2025 at 1:35 PM
We've collected 65 individual exoplanet atmosphere composition measurements to look for population-level trends 🔭 #exoplanets
To do this, we had to create a toolkit to standardize between definitions of . We call it ExoComp. (Yes, that's a Star Trek reference 😀).
To do this, we had to create a toolkit to standardize between definitions of . We call it ExoComp. (Yes, that's a Star Trek reference 😀).
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
New paper using ALMA data has been featured on Science!
https://www.science.org/content/article/missing-wind-milky-way-s-giant-black-hole-finally-found
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #BlackHole
https://www.science.org/content/article/missing-wind-milky-way-s-giant-black-hole-finally-found
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #BlackHole
Missing wind from Milky Way’s giant black hole finally found
Astronomers may have glimpsed a long-predicted wind of gas blowing out from Sagittarius A*
www.science.org
October 28, 2025 at 8:21 PM
New paper using ALMA data has been featured on Science!
https://www.science.org/content/article/missing-wind-milky-way-s-giant-black-hole-finally-found
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #BlackHole
https://www.science.org/content/article/missing-wind-milky-way-s-giant-black-hole-finally-found
#Astronomy #RadioAstronomy #ALMA #BlackHole
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Remainder: The #WowSignal had nothing to do with #3IATLAS. In 1977, they were over three times farther apart than Neptune is from the Sun! 🙂
October 28, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Remainder: The #WowSignal had nothing to do with #3IATLAS. In 1977, they were over three times farther apart than Neptune is from the Sun! 🙂
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
To make water, exoplanets might just need some pressure
A reaction between hydrogen and magma at high pressure can produce water, which might explain evidence for ‘wet planets’ in places where water can’t condense. 🧪🔭
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A reaction between hydrogen and magma at high pressure can produce water, which might explain evidence for ‘wet planets’ in places where water can’t condense. 🧪🔭
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
To make water, exoplanets might just need some pressure
A reaction between hydrogen and magma at high pressure can produce water, which might explain evidence for ‘wet planets’ in places where water can’t condense.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 10:22 AM
To make water, exoplanets might just need some pressure
A reaction between hydrogen and magma at high pressure can produce water, which might explain evidence for ‘wet planets’ in places where water can’t condense. 🧪🔭
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A reaction between hydrogen and magma at high pressure can produce water, which might explain evidence for ‘wet planets’ in places where water can’t condense. 🧪🔭
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/d41...
☑️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
I do like checking in on the K2-18b habitability saga every once in a while.
Judging on this paper, it looks like the argument that everyone's favorite sub-Neptune could reflect enough sunlight to keep temperatures clement might not hold up.🔭🧪
doi.org/10.3847/1538...
Judging on this paper, it looks like the argument that everyone's favorite sub-Neptune could reflect enough sunlight to keep temperatures clement might not hold up.🔭🧪
doi.org/10.3847/1538...
Planetary Albedo Is Limited by the Above-cloud Atmosphere: Implications for Sub-Neptune Climates - IOPscience
Planetary Albedo Is Limited by the Above-cloud Atmosphere: Implications for Sub-Neptune Climates, Jordan, Sean, Shorttle, Oliver, Quanz, Sascha P.
doi.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:32 AM
I do like checking in on the K2-18b habitability saga every once in a while.
Judging on this paper, it looks like the argument that everyone's favorite sub-Neptune could reflect enough sunlight to keep temperatures clement might not hold up.🔭🧪
doi.org/10.3847/1538...
Judging on this paper, it looks like the argument that everyone's favorite sub-Neptune could reflect enough sunlight to keep temperatures clement might not hold up.🔭🧪
doi.org/10.3847/1538...
Reposted by Prof. Abel Méndez
Excellent Halloween display found this morning in the @haverfordcollege.bsky.social Astronomy Library. Skeleton is reading Stellar Structure by Chandrasekhar of course! :) 🔭🧪🎃
October 29, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Excellent Halloween display found this morning in the @haverfordcollege.bsky.social Astronomy Library. Skeleton is reading Stellar Structure by Chandrasekhar of course! :) 🔭🧪🎃