Tag

Methane

All articles tagged with #methane

space18 hours ago•12 min saved

Titan's Methane Rivers Echo Earth's Hydrology, Flowing Through Ice

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, hosts standing surface liquid—methane and ethane—driven by a slow hydrological cycle that forms rivers, rain, lakes and seas, with bedrock of water ice and surface features mapped by Cassini-Huygens; Kraken Mare and Ligeia Mare are fed by Vid Flumina, and a Dragonfly rotorcraft mission is planned for the 2030s to study Titan up close; while Earthlike in form, Titan's cycle uses different liquids and conditions, and life as we know it is unlikely.

via Space Daily|

#dragonfly-mission #ethane #methane

space4 days ago•13 min saved

Webb Reveals Atmosphere on a Jupiter-sized World Orbiting a White Dwarf

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected an atmosphere around WD 1856 b, a Jupiter-sized planet that orbits the Earth-sized white dwarf WD 1856+534—marking the first atmospheric detection for a world around a dead star. Transmission spectroscopy during a transit revealed hydrocarbons, likely methane, plus a hazy cloud layer and a faint glow from the planet’s night side, indicating residual heat. The planet, about 80 light-years away, completes a close 34-hour orbit and is roughly seven times wider than its star, suggesting a past heating event and likely inward migration after the star’s transformation. The team plans additional Webb transits to better pin down its chemistry and formation history.

via Space Daily|

#jwst #methane #space

astronomy9 days ago•64 min saved

Methane, aerosols and a warm nightside on a planet circling a white dwarf

JWST/NIRSpec PRISM transmission spectra of WD 1856 b, a Jupiter-sized planet transiting a nearby white dwarf, reveal methane and other hydrocarbons, a scattering aerosol haze, and a nightside thermal emission. The atmosphere is metal-rich (CH4 at a few percent to ~7–20% in retrievals) with an opaque cloud deck near 100 mbar, and the planet’s nightside temperature is about 390–412 K, much warmer than the 160 K equilibrium expected for this system. Mass is constrained to ~4.3–10.9 Jupiter masses. The data imply a reheating event during migration into the white dwarf phase, most consistent with high-eccentricity migration and tidal circularization rather than common-envelope evolution, offering a rare window into the fate of giant planets around Sun-like stars after stellar death.

via Nature|

#aerosols #astronomy #exoplanet-atmosphere

world17 days ago•4 min saved

US and Qatar warn EU methane rules could trigger Europe’s gas crunch

US and Qatar warn ahead of an EU energy ministers meeting that the proposed methane monitoring rules could trigger a Europe-wide gas crunch and higher prices, arguing exporters cannot meet the standards, even as Brussels signals a potential watering down of the rules; independent modelling has suggested there may be enough compliant gas, keeping the debate on energy security and prices ongoing.

via Financial Times|

#eu-energy #methane #natural-gas

science21 days ago•11 min saved

Methane on the Nightside of an Ultra-Hot Exoplanet Points to Unexpected Vertical Winds

JWST/NIRSpec observations of WASP-121b across its orbit reveal methane on the nightside even though the dayside reaches ~3,000°C, a temperature that should break methane apart. The study attributes this to vigorous vertical atmospheric circulation that lifts methane-rich gas from cooler depths to higher altitudes, replenishing it faster than it would be destroyed. Silicon monoxide was also detected on the dayside, consistent with silicate vaporisation. The findings challenge current ultra-hot Jupiter models that emphasize horizontal flows and suggest atmospheric chemistry and dynamics in these extreme planets may be more complex than previously thought.

via Space Daily|

#atmospheres #exoplanets #jwst

environment28 days ago•14 min saved

Beef’s Environmental Toll: 15,400 Litres of Water and 99 kg CO2e Per Kilogram

Two peer‑reviewed datasets estimate that producing one kilogram of beef from dedicated herds uses about 15,400 litres of water and emits roughly 99 kg CO2e (100-year GWP). Water use is mostly for feed; the range across systems is wide (roughly 3,000–26,000 L/kg). Emissions come mainly from enteric methane, land‑use change, and farm operations; dairy-beef has a smaller footprint (~33 kg CO2e/kg) and the global average is about 60 kg CO2e/kg. Reducing beef consumption would cut both water use and emissions, with chicken as a lower‑footprint alternative (~90% reduction for the same protein). The article notes debates on green water, GWP timeframes, and regenerative grazing, but beef remains the most environmentally intensive widely consumed food.

via Space Daily|

#beef-production #carbon-footprint #environment

sciencespace1 month ago•2 min saved

JWST Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, Revealing New Chemistry

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected methane in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using the MIRI instrument, marking the first direct methane fingerprint on an interstellar object; the methane-to-water ratio is unusually high and CO2 is also abundant, pointing to a different formation environment than typical solar system comets. Methane appears buried beneath the surface and released as the comet heats near the Sun, while water vapor dissociates more widely in the coma; two observations show gas production declining with distance from the Sun, with methane and CO2 concentrated near the nucleus.

via NASA Science (.gov)|

#3i-atlas #interstellar-comet #jwst

astronomy1 month ago•8 min saved

JWST Uncovers Methane in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, Hinting at Hidden Chemistry

Using JWST's MIRI instrument, astronomers directly detected methane in the coma of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS—the first methane detection in an ISO. The methane-to-water ratio is unusually high, while carbon dioxide remains abundantly released near the nucleus, reinforcing 3I/ATLAS’s CO2-rich chemistry and signaling formation conditions outside our Solar System. Complementary detections from Hubble, ALMA, and SPHEREx show a ranging volatile inventory, including cyanogen, nickel, methanol, and HCN; near-infrared data reveal water, CO2, and CO. Methane likely sublimated from subsurface ice as the comet heated near perihelion, pointing to a formation history unlike typical Solar System comets. The findings appear in ApJL 2026 by Belyakov et al.

via Sci.News|

#3iatlas #astronomy #interstellar-object

space1 month ago•70 min saved

Methane Revelation: JWST Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

JWST observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, taken near and after perihelion, detect methane for the first time on an interstellar object. The methane-to-water ratio is higher than in most solar-system comets, and the methane appears after perihelion because it is buried deeper in the nucleus and only sublimates with extended solar heating; concurrently water vapor declined as the comet crossed the snow line, while CO2 and methane persisted, suggesting 3I/ATLAS formed in a different environment and preserves primordial methane ice, providing insight into other planetary systems.

via Space|

#3iatlas #interstellar #jwst

science1 month ago•4 min saved

Webb spots methane fingerprint in ancient interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (MIRI) detected methane gas and an unusually high CO2-to-water ratio in interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS during December 2025 observations, marking the first direct methane detection in an interstellar object. The data imply formation in conditions distinct from the Solar System and suggest the comet, possibly up to 10 billion years old, formed far from our Sun; as it warmed near the Sun, buried methane thawed and CO2 was released, with gas production fading as it receded into interstellar space. These findings help illuminate chemical environments in distant planetary systems.

via BBC Sky at Night Magazine|

#3iatlas #astrochemistry #interstellar

science1 month ago•2 min saved

Webb Detects Methane in Interstellar Comet, Revealing Hidden Chemistry

NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope detected methane in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS for the first time, finding a high methane-to-water ratio and strong carbon dioxide near the nucleus, with water vapor spreading through the coma. Observations on two dates as the comet receded from the Sun suggest methane was buried beneath the surface, indicating a formation chemistry quite different from most Solar System comets.

via European Space Agency|

#comet-3iatlas #interstellar #jwst

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Volcanic Plume Reveals a Natural Route to Methane Destruction in the Atmosphere

Scientists studying the 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption found a high-altitude chemical reaction—driven by volcanic ash, seawater salt, and sunlight—that produced chlorine radicals capable of destroying methane in the stratosphere. Satellites tracked a lasting formaldehyde signal and estimated about 900 tons/day of methane removal, though far more methane entered the atmosphere than was destroyed. The work shows methane oxidation can be measured from orbit, with implications for methane budgets and potential future deliberate removal.

via Indian Defence Review|

#atmosphere #chlorine-radicals #methane

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Volcanic Plume Reveals Chlorine-Driven Methane Cleanup in the Atmosphere

Researchers analyzing the 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption found unusually high formaldehyde in the plume, indicating methane was being rapidly destroyed by chlorine radicals formed in sunlight-activated reactions. The study demonstrates a natural methane-removal pathway in volcanic plumes and quantifies about 900 metric tons per day of methane destroyed—far less than the eruption’s total methane output—while suggesting chlorine-mediated methane destruction could inform future atmospheric cleanup research, though practical application remains uncertain.

via ScienceAlert|

#atmosphere #chlorine #formaldehyde

science2 months ago•3 min saved

Volcanic plume may act as a methane cleaner, study finds

A 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano released about 330 gigagrams of methane but simultaneously destroyed roughly 900 megagrams per day through chlorine-driven reactions in the plume, with methane breakdown detectable for about 10 days as the cloud drifted toward South America. The findings suggest a natural mechanism that could inspire engineered methane-removal approaches, though practical deployment and safety concerns, plus measurement challenges, remain.

via Gizmodo|

#atmospheric-chemistry #chlorine #climate-change

science2 months ago•8 min saved

Volcanic plume acts as methane scrubber, study finds

A 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai produced a volcanic plume whose ash and seawater chemistry, energized by sunlight, generated reactive chlorine that destroyed methane in the atmosphere, a finding that could alter global methane budgets and spur climate-tech ideas.

via ScienceDaily|

#atmospheric-chemistry #climate-change #hunga-tonga-hunga-haapai