Victoria Meadows
November 20, 2018
Study brings new climate models of small star TRAPPIST 1’s seven intriguing worlds

Not all stars are like the sun, so not all planetary systems can be studied with the same expectations. New research from a University of Washington-led team of astronomers gives updated climate models for the seven planets around the star TRAPPIST-1.
June 25, 2018
UW part of NASA network coordinating search for life on exoplanets

Researchers with the UW-led Virtual Planetary Laboratory are central to a group of papers published by NASA researchers today in the journal Astrobiology outlining the history — and suggesting the future — of the search for life on exoplanets, or those orbiting stars other than the sun.
May 14, 2018
Orbital variations can trigger ‘snowball’ states in habitable zones around sunlike stars

Aspects of an otherwise Earthlike planet’s tilt and orbital dynamics can severely affect its potential habitability — even triggering abrupt “snowball states” where oceans freeze and surface life is impossible, according to new research from UW astronomers.
May 1, 2018
UW astrobiologist Victoria Meadows receives SETI Institute’s Frank Drake Award

Victoria Meadows, University of Washington astrobiologist, professor of astronomy and leader of NASA’s UW-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory, has been named recipient of the 2018 Frank Drake Award from the SETI Institute. She is the first woman to receive the award.
November 27, 2017
Less life: Limited phosphorus recycling suppressed early Earth’s biosphere

The amount of biomass – life – in Earth’s ancient oceans may have been limited due to low recycling of the key nutrient phosphorus, according to new research by the University of Washington and the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
April 19, 2017
Proxima b discoverer to join UW astrobiologists for May 3 lecture, discussion

The lead investigator of the research team that discovered Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet, will join UW astrobiologists May 3 to discuss the planet’s potential for life and even the possibility of sending spacecraft to the world.
February 15, 2017
Early Earth as exoplanet: NASA highlights just-published UW Virtual Planetary Laboratory research

Recently published research from the UW’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL) using ancient Earth as a stand-in for hypothetically habitable exoplanets has been highlighted by NASA in a feature article. Leading the research was Giada Arney, who was a UW astronomy doctoral student when doing the work and is now with NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center.
August 29, 2016
New discovery Proxima b is in host star’s habitable zone — but could it really be habitable?

The world’s attention is now on Proxima Centauri b, a possibly Earth-like planet about 4.22 light-years away. It’s in its star’s habitable zone — but could it in fact be habitable? If so, the planet evolved very different than Earth, say researchers at the University of Washington-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory.
February 29, 2016
Life or illusion? Avoiding ‘false positives’ in the search for living worlds

New research from the UW-based Virtual Planetary Laboratory will help astronomers better identify — and thus rule out — “false positives” in the search for life beyond Earth.
November 12, 2015
‘Pale orange dot’: Early Earth’s haze may give clue to habitability elsewhere in space

An atmospheric haze around a faraway planet — like the one which probably shrouded and cooled the young Earth — could show that the world is potentially habitable, or even be a sign of life itself.
October 5, 2015
Where to look for life? UW astronomers devise ‘habitability index’ to guide future search

Astronomers with the University of Washington’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory have created the “habitility index for transiting planets” to rank exoplanets to help prioritize which warrant close inspection in the search for life beyond Earth.
September 3, 2015
Earth observations show how nitrogen may be detected on exoplanets, aiding search for life

Observations of nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere by a NASA spacecraft 17 million miles away are giving astronomers fresh clues to how that gas might reveal itself on faraway planets, thus aiding in the search for life.
June 22, 2015
Spectrum of life: Nonphotosynthetic pigments could be biosignatures of life on other worlds

To find life in the universe, it helps to know what it might look like. If there are organisms on other planets that do not rely wholly on photosynthesis — as some on Earth do not — how might those worlds appear from light-years away?
April 22, 2015
UW key player in new NASA coalition to search for life on distant worlds

The NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory, based at the University of Washington, has long brought an interdisciplinary approach to the study of planets and search for life outside our solar system. Now, a new NASA initiative inspired by the UW lab is embracing that same team approach to bring together 10 universities and two research institutions in the ongoing search for life on planets around other stars.
March 11, 2015
‘Chaotic Earths’: Some habitable exoplanets could experience wildly unpredictable climates

New research by UW astronomer Rory Barnes and co-authors describes possible planetary systems where a gravitational nudge from one planet with just the right orbital configuration and tilt could have a mild to devastating effect on the orbit and climate of another, possibly habitable world.
December 2, 2014
‘Mirage Earth’ exoplanets may have burned away chances for life

Planets orbiting close to low-mass stars are prime targets in the search for life. But new research led by an astronomy graduate student at the UW indicates some such planets may have long since lost their chance at hosting life because of intense heat during their formative years.
March 4, 2014
‘Dimer molecules’ aid study of exoplanet pressure, hunt for life

UW astronomers have developed a new method of gauging the atmospheric pressure of exoplanets, or worlds beyond the solar system, by looking for a certain type of molecule. And if there is life out in space, it may one day be revealed by this method.
July 18, 2013
A warmer planetary haven around cool stars, as ice warms rather than cools

In a bit of cosmic irony, planets orbiting cooler stars may be more likely to remain ice-free than planets around hotter stars. This is due to the interaction of a star’s light with ice and snow on the planet’s surface.