Daniel Apai

Not Earth-like Yet Temperate? More Generic Climate Feedback Configurations Still Allow Temperate Climates in Habitable Zone Exo-Earth Candidates Earth's climate is influenced by over a dozen feedbacks, but only three dominate its long-term climate behavior. Models of the exoplanet habitable zone (HZ) assume that this is similar for other Earth...

What if Earth-sized HZ worlds don’t have exactly Earth-like climate feedbacks? Climate Chaos, Snowballs, run-aways - but also many temperate yet not-Earth-like worlds! Congrats to Chaucer Langbert on this cool study!
arxiv.org/abs/2602.10369 @uarizonalpl.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social

How did the launch *feel*? An incredible 24 hours! After a picture-perfect launch, Pandora is now in orbit, with solar panels deployed and alive (receiving commands from ground! After seven years of working on this project, …

Pandora is up in orbit! But how did the launch feel, up close and personal? Read my blog about my experience: distantearths.com/how-did-the-...

Pandora Mission Launches to Explore Atmospheres on Alien Worlds NASA's new, small observatory — launched successfully on January 11th — has a big mission: to characterize exoplanet atmospheres.

Martin: It is a compact spacecraft. Built on existing Blue Canyon spacecraft bus and a telescope from Livermore. No propulsion. These article give a more technical overview of the mission:
skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-ne...
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025arXi...

NASA’s Pandora telescope will study stars in detail to learn about the exoplanets orbiting them The findings from Pandora will complement data from the James Webb Space Telescope to give astronomers more insight into stars and planets outside our solar system.

Our NASA’s Pandora space telescope is on orbit!! Congrats to the team and NASA, LSP, SpaceX, and everyone who helped to get to this exciting point! What will Pandora do and why is it important for exoplanet science? Read my short article on this: theconversation.com/nasas-pandor...

Spotted a Sonora bobcat this morning just when it snatched a white-winged dove. Such a beautiful animal!

#ArtAdventCalendar day 20. Already!

Here's an animation of a space elevator. Made with #Blender3d because of course.

#SciArt #spaceart

Please repost 😊

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

I had fun talking about exoplanets and search for habitable worlds at The Explorers Club live event in Sedona. Sam Schwann, underwater explorer and artist followed with very cool videos of ocean exploration and swimming with sharks! Will do this again soon - next time in Tucson!

Enjoyed talking w Bruce Dorminey in Iceland about our universal framework to assess which exoplanets & moons may be habitable. Key for search for life beyond Earth! His story: @forbes.com
www.forbes.com/sites/bruced...
@stewardobservatory.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social @uarizona.bsky.social

Much enjoyed last week's Sagan Summer School. Great to see friends, colleagues, & meet early-career scientists! My lecture and blog post on the future of exoplanet/sub-neptune research are now online:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSzY...
distantearths.com/sub-neptunes... @stewardobservatory.bsky.social

For 40 years, Michelle Cournoyer has supported students and faculty, solved problems, and shown up with heart. As she prepares to retire this August, we celebrate the impact of a true Steward Observatory legend: bit.ly/3GWkAQv

Exoplanet demographics are key: Integrative. A key point from today's talk by Daniel Apai at #sagan2025 on future prospects of key planetary processes and trends in the sub-Neptune population. #exoplanets

New model helps to figure out which distant planets may host life As NASA rolls out more powerful telescopes in the future, scientists will need a way to determine where to point them. A new approach could help.

A new model helps scientists assess whether environments on alien worlds could support specific forms of life, real or hypothetical, based on known biological limits and uncertain data.

By @danielapai.bsky.social @uarizona.bsky.social:
buff.ly/M4VdDsu

When is an alien world habitable? Steward Observatory's @danielapai.bsky.social explores this question in his latest article in The Conversation: bit.ly/43vZKQw

With all the buzz about the latest potential sign of life on a distant planet, Steward Observatory's astronomy professor @danielapai.bsky.social puts the discovery in context. Read his take: bit.ly/3S1fYKB

While we're on the topic of biosignatures, I'd like to re-up my last two papers about the challenges of observing O₂ (a key biosignature) on 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩-𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 exoplanets with the biggest upcoming optical/IR telescopes ever built:

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025AJ.....

ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AJ.....

Exciting nights! We are integrating the first prototype telescope based on Nautilus multi-order diffractive optics! At Mt Lemmon Sky Center. Our telescope is unique, custom-built to demonstrate broadband imaging with a light, flat lens! @stewardobservatory.bsky.social @uarizona.bsky.social

Here is a great postdoc opportunity at LPL with Sukrit Ranjan to study photochemistry and atmospheric escape for terrestrial planets. arizona.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

PUBLISHED!!! Go check out IF we will be able to look for a key biosignature (oxygen!) with the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Extremely Large Telescope!

🔭🪐🧪

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

The Art of Planetary Science is in full swing at @uarizonalpl.bsky.social Come visit this weekend!

Happy to announce we have joined BlueSky and look forward to sharing information about the amazing discoveries we make at CSS. Stick around for some neat stuff! #astronomy #asteroids #planetarydefense

Glen Schneider (1955–2025) was a self-confessed "umbraphile" -- a "shadow-lover" who pursued solar eclipses around the globe and earned a world record for the greatest number of total solar eclipses ever experienced. Read about his work and lasting legacy: bit.ly/4hVUaet

Glenn was an exceptional scholar and kind colleague whose office door was always open. His debris disk images will continue to inspire. As a dedicated solar eclipse chaser, he captured the rare ethereal beauty of science around the globe. Ad Astra, Glenn! nicmosis.as.arizona.edu:8000/UMBRAPHILLIA...

I am thrilled to speak in the College of Science Lecture Series "Can We Talk?". On March 27, Chris Impey and I will explore a really cool topic: communicating with alien civilizations!
science.arizona.edu/community-en...
@stewardobservatory.bsky.social @uarizona.bsky.social @uarizonalpl.bsky.social

Excellent study of a very exciting substellar companion in the Pleiades!

Space Astronomy Summer Program Fostering hands-on astronomy, engineering, and public outreach project opportunities to serve upper-division undergraduate students.

Unlike in 2024 I won't be offering a topic this year but this is really a unique program for students in astrophysics, software engineering, instrument calibration/support, and public outreach/scientific writing.

Check out the SASP @spacetelescope.bsky.social & apply!
www.stsci.edu/opportunitie...

A great visit to White Sands National Park. We enjoyed a hike deep into the dune fields. Amazing wind-sculpted landscape! Pretty cool that the gypsum ultimately originates from layers deposited by the Permian Sea on the Pangea supercontinent about 250 million years ago!

Have questions to NASA Astrophysics Division Director and about Program Analysis Groups? Attend the Joint PAG Session at the AAS on January 12. More info here: cor.gsfc.nasa.gov/copag/meetin...

Our exoplanets and astrobiology research group – what a thrill to work with this amazing team on exploring new worlds! @gabeweible.bsky.social @stewardobservatory.bsky.social @bemiles.bsky.social @sailorsupernova.bsky.social @matthewmurphy.bsky.social @kevinkhu.bsky.social

An Impact in Elysium Planitia

This image shows an impact crater in Elysium Planitia that was first discovered by the Mars Context Camera that formed between February 2012 and June 2014.

More: uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_03...

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
#Mars #science #NASA