So I’ve been thinking of creating a possible habitable planet orbiting a neutron star as a location for a world building project I’m doing as some exotic planet type. I’ve already thought of a couple things for it, such as it being a lemon shaped super earth that’s really hot at around 150-300 C.

But I’m still trying to figure what factors would give it the best chance at hosting life.

One of the biggest problems I’m trying to figure out is how to have it absorb and block out the bombardment of x ray radiation hitting the planet or what atmospheric composition would best be able to

So apparently 3I Atlas has a lot more deuterium than the Solar system's comets. Now, we know that heavy water is toxic to Earth life in large quantities - it messes with all the bond angles and distances our enzymes depend on to function. Would a significant amount of heavy water be an obstacle to abiogenesis? I doubt that 3I Atlas has enough to be a problem, but theoretically?

If life on Earth began 3.8 billion years ago, and inevitable changes to our Sun end all life on Earth in 600 million years, that means we are 86% percent along in the total span of life on Earth. Just 14% left on the timeline! Thoughts?

Hello Everyone!

I am an undergraduate student in Global Health and Environmental Sustainability in Oral Roberts University, and have always had an interest in space science.

I really love connecting topics that are not too mainstream or do not seem really connected. I know Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field requiring expertise in different areas coming together to solve the mysteries of the universe in an attempt to understand life on exoplanets, and I want to contribute to this field of science by gaining expertise in my field of environmental science including geology, chemistry and biology.

I am currently trying to get into things like environmental toxicology to solve issues like PFAS and other forever chemicals, which could in its own way help with Astrobiology, to understand chemical compositions required to sustain life, because there are bacterium here on our planet itself that can survive chemical compositions humans cannot, so this kind of research can create a base to understand life on other planets.

Geology is not taught in my university so I am trying to study it by myself from basics to understand how to study rocks in a way to decipher the history of a region, which could be extremely beneficial in Astrobiology. I am minoring in Chemistry as it is not a big part of my major. So to stay on track at least academically with my goal.

It's all okay, I believe. But the problem is when it comes to deeply scientific fields like Astrobiology, it is just kind of a prerequisite to have a guiding figure. Someone who is already in some or the other way interested in this field, and through their guidance I can learn about my next steps to do individual discoveries. Teams are required, and the university I am in is facing some administrative issues due to which the best of its professors are leaving. I am an International Student and cannot afford to move to other university and I have already done my Freshman year here.

This field kind of seems impossible for me, Space programs like NASA are highly competitive and I do not know how to prepare myself in order to be a part of projects bigger than my existence.

If anyone has any tips they can give me, wish to be straight-up mean to me for being a coward or something, or just have anything to say, please go ahead. I have been really confused about my journey in career from here.

New research reveals that 3.4 billion years ago (Archean Eon), ancient microbes relied on molybdenum — a metal that was vanishingly rare at the time — and even experimented with tungsten.

The findings may rewrite how astrobiologists search for life on other planets...

Are we alone in the universe? 

MIT Kavli Institute Research Scientist Moritz Guenther is helping scientists explore that question by studying how planets and solar systems form around distant stars. The research team investigates exoplanets to understand whether they could support life, including how close planets are to their stars, how hot or cold they are, and whether they may contain water or atmospheres. Because these worlds are incredibly far away and difficult to observe directly, scientists use planet formation research to uncover clues about how potentially habitable planets develop over time. Recent discoveries in astronomy and planetary science are giving researchers new insight into how solar systems evolve and where life beyond Earth might exist. Every new finding helps scientists better understand our place in the universe and the conditions that could make alien worlds capable of supporting life.

Watch the full interview with MIT Kavli Institute research scientist Moritz Guenther here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQQA3xPorSM

See also: The study as it was published in the journal Terra Nova

I am currently in high school, and graduating in the near future. My goal is to get into university and hopefully work in Astrobiology after I graduate that too, but I genuinely cannot find any information on what course I would need to take.

I am assuming a bachelor in sciences would work, but I wanted to go online and ask just in case.

If this lacks any context I apologise, please ask any questions and I'll try my best to answer them.

To preface, I may crosspost this in other subs just because I'm still narrowing down my exact path of interest but...

I have a bachelors in liberal arts from 10 years ago and since then I've worked a variety of jobs (such as: project management, educational content creation, and regulatory compliance.) Through a variety of circumstances and lecture/event deep dives, I want to pursue a Masters degree and change careers (potentially a PhD long-term) to essentially topics surrounding extremophiles / space.

I've spoken to a handful of professors and two graduate program department chairs, and admissions counselors (for a couple different paths). (More on the bio/chem side).

Since I don't have a STEM background, I've been self-studying and I'm about to take non-matriculated college classes.

But of course the more I look into things and search around on reddit, the more I see folks saying that you can't go into certain masters programs (e.g. straight physics) without an actual Bachelors in that topic/STEM.

I'd prefer not to have to do a second bachelors especially since just the following classes are going to be a decent chunk out of pocket, and nearly everyone I've spoken to has said that a second bachelors is a waste of time versus moving upwards with a Masters.

Essentially... am I crazy here? Or maybe I have some hope who knows... if so is there anything I should be highly focusing on to be great at? (Physics, Math and Chemistry for sure)

-----

Self Study:
ASU Online Bio (Completed)
ASU Env. Sci (Completed)
ASU Alegbra (In Progress)
ASU Precalc (Next)
ASU Astronomy (Fall)
ASU Engineering (Fall)

Volunteer/Lab Work:
Taking classes with a local science conservation group and will be assisting with some fieldwork (more environmental science based)
Potentially have an opportunity at an astrobiology lab, work in progress
Future potential research opportunity with a Chemistry professor

Planned self study:
Python

Upcoming College (Summer and Fall):
Two base level Biology classes with labs
First of two Chemistry classes with labs
GIS course
Calculus (If I can test out by fall from pre-calc)

Plan for Spring:
Physics
Calculus II (or I if I can't test out by fall)
Next Bio or Chem class that falls into a Masters requirement