Interstellar Updates

 

These are items of interest to the interstellar exploration community that we’ve found in our quest for information that will help us advance toward our goals.  If you know of anything we’ve overlooked, or any sources of such information we should monitor, or if you would like to be added to our IRG-updates mailing list and receive these updates in you email every weekday, please send that information to info@irg.space.

You can now search our database of interstellar updates and find items of interest to you.

September 04, 2025 updates

SwRI-proposed mission could encounter and explore a future interstellar comet like 3I/ATLAS up close
https://www.swri.org/newsroom/press-releases/swri-proposed-mission-could-encounter-explore-future-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-close

The Hot-Neptune Initiative (HONEI) – I. Two hot sub-Neptunes on a close-in eccentric orbit (TOI-5800 b) and a farther-out circular orbit (TOI-5817 b)
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa55523-25/aa55523-25.html

Nitrogen chemistry of hycean worlds on the example of K2-18b
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf1476/8247987

Snapshot of a new interstellar comet: 3I/ATLAS has a red and featureless spectrum
https://academic.oup.com/mnrasl/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnrasl/slaf095/8247984

Searching for GEMS: TOI-7149 b, an Inflated Giant Planet Causing a 12% Transit of a Fully Convective M-dwarf
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/adf6db

On the synergetic use of Ariel and JWST for exoplanet atmospheric science
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02657

Observational Tests of Terrestrial Planet Buffering Feedbacks and the Habitable Zone Concept
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02848

A second low-mass planet orbiting the nearby M-dwarf GJ 536
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03134

Search for Past Stellar Encounters and the Origin of 3I/ATLAS
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03361

Is the composition of the Solar atmosphere unusual, and if so, why? Possible interpretations
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03435

Predictions of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Galactic Exoplanet Survey. III. Detectability of Giant Exomoons of Wide Separation Giant Planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.03492

The Influence of Cold Jupiters in the Formation of Close-in planets. II. Collisional Growth of Planetesimals
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02745

Near-Discovery SOAR Photometry of the Third Interstellar Object: 3I/ATLAS
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02813

Multi-band Spectral and Astrometric Characterization of the HIP 99770 b Planet with SCExAO/CHARIS and Gaia
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02665

September 03, 2025 updates

Hot Rocks Survey – III. A deep eclipse for LHS 1140c and a new Gaussian process method to account for correlated noise in individual pixels
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa54198-25/aa54198-25.html

The planetary-mass-limit VLT/SINFONI library – Spectral extraction and atmospheric characterization via forward modeling
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa54894-25/aa54894-25.html

The New Generation Planetary Population Synthesis (NGPPS) – VII. Statistical comparison with the HARPS/Coralie survey
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa52485-24/aa52485-24.html

Migration and Evolution of giant ExoPlanets (MEEP) II: Super-Jupiters and Lithium-rich Host Stars
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf1455/8245869

The Response of Planetary Atmospheres to the Impact of Icy Comets. II. Exo-Earth Analogs
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adf43c

VLT/MUSE Detection of the AB Aurigae b Protoplanet with Hα Spectroscopy
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf7a0

Parameter Space Exploration of Low-to-moderate-temperature Hydrothermal Systems on Ocean Worlds Using a Monte Carlo Framework
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/adf558

Dynamic analysis for the photonic electric solar wind sail spacecraft
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020740325008355

A Comprehensive Framework for Assessing Terrestrial Analogue Field Sites for Ocean Worlds
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JE008803

Atmospheric composition and circulation of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b with joint NIRPS, HARPS and CRIRES+ transit spectroscopy
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.00151

An Analysis of the Radius Gap in a Sample of Kepler, K2 and TESS exoplanets orbiting M Dwarf Stars
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01930

Constraints on the possible atmospheres on TRAPPIST-1 b: insights from 3D climate modeling
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02120

First JWST thermal phase curves of temperate terrestrial exoplanets reveal no thick atmosphere around TRAPPIST-1 b and c
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02128

Sub-Jupiter Gas Giants Orbiting Giant Stars Uncovered using a Bayesian Framework
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.02507

Improved characterization of the TOI-2141 system: a dense sub-Neptune with non-transiting inner and outer companions
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.00762

Onset of CN Emission in 3I/ATLAS: Evidence for Strong Carbon-Chain Depletion
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01647

September 02, 2025 updates

Analysis of multiple gravity-assist solution space based on feasible domains
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576525005545

The Evidence of Things Not Seen: Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence in an Enchanted Universe
https://www.proquest.com/openview/5abe3e4e94dacc6332c4e0809cc18bb5/

Evaporating Exospheres in Young Planetary Systems & Interdisciplinary Outreach Programming in Informal Environments
https://www.proquest.com/openview/71825d21eb86661e862f27f953eb122a/

The case for a rectangular format space telescope for finding exoplanets
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2025.1441984/full

A Theoretical Framework for Electromagnetically-Driven Warp Drives Using Morgan’s Law
https://zenodo.org/records/16997695

Improving radial velocity precision with CARMENES-PLUS
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10686-025-10020-0

XUE: The CO2-rich terrestrial planet-forming region of an externally irradiated Herbig disk
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa55718-25/aa55718-25.html

From a Different Star: 3I/ATLAS in the Context of the Ōtautahi–Oxford Interstellar Object Population Model
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adfbf4

Surveying orbits in cislunar space for telescope-starshade observatories
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S009457652500551X

Modelling magnetic star-planet interaction in the iconic M dwarfs Proxima Centauri, YZ Ceti and GJ 1151
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20891

September 01, 2025 Updates

Analytical Approximation of the Propulsion Dynamics of Magnetic Sail with Fixed Solar Incidence Angle
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1270963825009216

The Warp Drive: Superluminal Travel within General Relativity
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20348

Discussions on Art, Technology, and Space Science
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=DImBEQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA88&dq=interstellar+spacecraft&ots=Ity-_0icaI&sig=mTW29Eml0rmWluQxJDFK-VxhLFI#v=onepage&q=interstellar%20spacecraft&f=false

Transiting Planetary Debris near the Roche Limit of a White Dwarf on a 4.97hr Orbit — and its Vanishing
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.18348

A Silent Universe and the Future of AGI: A Message to Future Intelligence on Why Co-Evolution Is the Only Rational Path
https://philpapers.org/rec/RUPASU

Interstellar Mission Design of a Fusion-Powered Spacecraft to Proxima b
https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/items/90b3f3e1-bb96-4006-8701-7f2e593fb009

Projections of Earth’s technosphere: Scenario modeling, worldbuilding, and overview of remotely detectable technosignatures
https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.00067

OGLE-2014-BLG-1760: A Jupiter–Sun Analogue Residing in the Galactic Bulge
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/adf641

Asteroseismology of HD 23734, HD 68703, and HD 73345 using K2-TESS Space-based Photometry and High-resolution Spectroscopy
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf1446/8244697?searchresult=1

Stringent Upper Bounds on Atmospheric Mass Loss from Three Neptune-Sized Planets in the TOI-4010 System
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21166

TOI-1438: A rare system with two short-period sub-Neptunes and a tentative long-period Jupiter-like planet orbiting a K0V star
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21533

How stellar mass and disc size shape the formation and migration of super-Earths
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21627

The Impact of Enhanced EUV Flux on the Upper Atmosphere of Earth-like Exoplanets
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.21745

August 29, 2025 Updates

Beyond the Goldilocks Zone: Reconsidering the Ontological Conditions for Interstellar Life
https://www.davidpublisher.com/Public/uploads/Contribute/68a6860536641.pdf

Origins of Life: The Possible and the Actual
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202508.1593/v1

JWST Imaging of Edge-on Protoplanetary Disks. IV. Mid-infrared Dust Scattering in the HH 30 Disk
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9c6f

XUE: The CO2-rich terrestrial planet-forming region of an externally irradiated Herbig disk
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/09/aa55718-25/aa55718-25.html

The chemistry of the universe
https://academic.oup.com/astrogeo/article-abstract/66/4/4.27/8215754

HD 28471: a near-resonant compact multiplanet system with a possible cold giant planet
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/staf1405/8241365

The Impact of Silicate Grain Coagulation on Millimeter Emission from Massive Protostellar Disks
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adf49c

Population characteristics: Surveys and exoplanet frequencies
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780443214394000043

Sound Velocity and Grüneisen Parameter in Shock-Melted Silica at Deep Earth Pressures
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JB031366

VIPER: A high-resolution multimode fiber-fed VIPA spectrograph concept for characterizing exoplanet atmospheric escape
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20169

Do White Dwarfs Sample Water-Rich Planetary Material?
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20172

CONAN: A Python package for modeling lightcurve and radial velocity data of exoplanetary systems
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20196

The impact of pre-main sequence stellar luminosity on giant planet formation
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20291

Diamond-loaded polyimide aerogel scattering filters and their applications in astrophysical and planetary science observations
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.20406