Tranquility Science Duty Logs

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230504.0005
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty: 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.2 percent
- Oxygen = 21.8 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.27 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Two sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.02 magnitude.

Today's project : X-ray Activity Variations and Coronal Abundances of the Star-Planet Interaction candidate HD 179949.

We carry out detailed spectral and timing analyses of the Chandra X-ray data of HD 179949, a prototypical example of a star with a close-in giant planet with possible star-planet interaction (SPI) effects. We find a low coronal abundance A(Fe)/A(H)≈0.2 relative to the solar photospheric baseline of Anders & Grevesse (1989), and significantly lower than the stellar photosphere as well. We further find low abundances of high First Ionization Potential (FIP) elements A(O)/A(Fe)≲1, A(Ne)/A(Fe)≲0.1, but with indications of higher abundances of A(N)/A(Fe)≫1,A(Al)/A(Fe)≲10. We estimate a FIP bias for this star in the range ≈−0.3 to −0.1, larger than the ≲−0.5 expected for stars of this type, but similar to stars hosting close-in hot Jupiters. We detect significant intensity variability over time scales ranging from 100 s - 10 ks, and also evidence for spectral variability over time scales of 1-10 ks. We combine the Chandra flux measurements with Swift and XMM-Newton measurements to detect periodicities and determine that the dominant signal is tied to the stellar polar rotational period, consistent with expectations that the corona is rotational-pole dominated. We also find evidence for periodicity at both the planetary orbital frequency and at its beat frequency with the stellar polar rotational period, suggesting the presence of a magnetic connection between the planet and the stellar pole. If these periodicities represent an SPI signal, it is likely driven by a quasi-continuous form of heating (e.g., magnetic field stretching) rather than sporadic, hot, impulsive flare-like reconnections.




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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230508.0005
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty: 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.3 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.26 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Two sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.08 magnitude.

Today's project : A multi-purpose 1-D hydrodynamics code for planetary atmospheres.

We present a new 1-D multi-physics simulation code with use cases intended for, but not limited to, hydrodynamic escape problems of planetary atmospheres and planetary accretion models. Our formulation treats an arbitrary number of species as separated hydrodynamic fields, couples them via friction laws, allows for a multi-band flux-limited radiation transport, and tracks ionization fronts in high-energy irradiation bands. Besides coupling various known numerical solution techniques together, we improve on the numerical stability of deep hydrostatic atmospheres by using a well-balanced scheme, hence preventing unphysical driving of atmospheric in- or outflow. We demonstrate the correct physical behaviour of the individual code modules and present a few simple, new applications, such as a proof-of-concept simulations of combined core-powered mass-loss and UV-driven atmospheric escape, along with a fully time-dependent core-collapse giant planet simulation. The multi-species nature of the code opens up the area of exploring simulations that are agnostic towards the dominant atmospheric species and can lead to implementations of advanced planetary evolution schemes.




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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230509.0115
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty: 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.4 percent
- Oxygen = 21.4 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.24 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Two sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.0014 magnitude.

Today's project : DREAM II. The spin-orbit angle distribution of close-in exoplanets under the lens of tides.

The spin-orbit angle, or obliquity, is a powerful observational marker that allows us to access the dynamical history of exoplanetary systems. Here, we have examined the distribution of spin-orbit angles for close-in exoplanets and put it in a statistical context of tidal interactions between planets and their stars. We confirm the observed trends between the obliquity and physical quantities directly connected to tides, namely the stellar effective temperature, the planet-to-star mass ratio, and the scaled orbital distance. We further devised a tidal efficiency factor combining critical parameters that control the strength of tidal effects and used it to corroborate the strong link between the spin-orbit angle distribution and tidal interactions. In particular, we developed a readily usable formula to estimate the probability that a system is misaligned, which will prove useful in global population studies. By building a robust statistical framework, we reconstructed the distribution of the three-dimensional spin-orbit angles, allowing for a sample of nearly 200 true obliquities to be analyzed for the first time. This realistic distribution maintains the sky-projected trends, and additionally hints toward a striking pileup of truly aligned systems. The comparison between the full population and a pristine subsample unaffected by tidal interactions suggests that perpendicular architectures are resilient toward tidal realignment, providing evidence that orbital misalignments are sculpted by disruptive dynamical processes that preferentially lead to polar orbits. On the other hand, star-planet interactions seem to efficiently realign or quench the formation of any tilted configuration other than for polar orbits, and in particular for antialigned orbits.




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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230510.0300
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty: Ensign Jyclops Jansma + 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.3 percent
- Oxygen = 21.4 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.26 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.0011 magnitude.

Today's project : Photosynthesis Under a Red Sun: Predicting the absorption characteristics of an extraterrestrial light-harvesting antenna.

Here we discuss the feasibility of photosynthesis on Earth-like rocky planets in close orbit around ultra-cool red dwarf stars. Stars of this type have very limited emission in the \textit{photosynthetically active} region of the spectrum (400−700 nm), suggesting that they may not be able to support oxygenic photosynthesis. However, photoautotrophs on Earth frequently exploit very dim environments with the aid of highly structured and extremely efficient antenna systems. Moreover, the anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, which do not need to oxidize water to source electrons, can exploit far red and near infrared light. Here we apply a simple model of a photosynthetic antenna to a range of model stellar spectra, ranging from ultra-cool (2300 K) to Sun-like (5800 K). We assume that a photosynthetic organism will evolve an antenna that maximizes the rate of energy input while also minimizing fluctuations. The latter is the 'noise cancelling' principle recently reported by Arp et al. 2020. Applied to the Solar spectrum this predicts optimal antenna configurations in agreement with the chlorophyll Soret absorption bands. Applied to cooler stars, the optimal antenna peaks become redder with decreasing stellar temperature, crossing to the typical wavelength ranges associated with anoxygenic photoautotrophs at ∼3300 K. Lastly, we compare the relative input power delivered by antennae of equivalent size around different stars and find that the predicted variation is within the same order of magnitude. We conclude that low-mass stars do not automatically present light-limiting conditions for photosynthesis but they may select for anoxygenic organisms.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230511.0045
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.1 percent
- Oxygen = 21.5 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.25 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Unchange magnitude.

Today's project : Improved precision of radial velocity measurements after correction for telluric absorption.

Context. The detection of planets around other stars by measurement of stellar radial velocity (RV) variations benefits from improvements to dedicated spectrographs that can lead to the achievement of a precision of 1 m s−1 or better. Spectral intervals within which stellar lines are contaminated by telluric lines are classically excluded from the RV processing.

Aims. We aim to estimate the potential improvement of the precision of radial velocity measurements from telluric-absorption removal and subsequent extension of the useful spectral domain.

Methods. We developed a correction method based on the online web service TAPAS that allows a synthetic atmospheric transmission spectrum to be determined for the time and location of observations. This method was applied to telluric H2O and O2 absorption removal from a series of 200 consecutive ESPRESSO exposures of the K2.5V star HD40307 available in ESO archives. We calculated the radial velocity using the standard cross-correlation function (CCF) method and Gaussian fit of the CCF, with uncorrected spectra and the ESPRESSO standard stellar binary mask on one hand, and telluric-corrected spectra and an augmented binary mask with 696 additional lines on the other.

Results. We find that the precision of radial velocity measurements is improved in the second case, with a reduction of the average formal error from 1.04 m s−1 down to 0.78 m s−1 in the case of these ESPRESSO data and this stellar type for the red arm. Using an estimator of the minimal error based on the photon noise limit applied to the full CCF, the error is reduced from 0.89 m s−1 down to 0.78 m s−1. This corresponds to a significant decrease (by about 35%) in the observing time required to reach the same precision in the red part.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230512.0330
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.2 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.29 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.03 magnitude.

Today's project : Non-detection of Helium in the Hot Jupiter WASP-48b.

Hot Jupiters orbiting extremely close to their host star may experience atmospheric escape due to the large amounts of high-energy radiation they receive. Understanding the conditions under which this occurs is critical, as atmospheric escape is believed to be a driving factor in sculpting planetary populations. In recent years, the near-infrared 10833 Å helium feature has been found to be a promising spectral signature of atmospheric escape. We use transmission spectroscopy to search for excess helium absorption in the extended atmosphere of WASP-48b, a hot Jupiter orbiting a slightly evolved, rapidly-rotating F star. The data were collected using the Habitable Zone Planet Finder spectrograph on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Observations were taken over the course of seven nights, from which we obtain three transits. No detectable helium absorption is seen, as absorption depth is measured to −0.0025±0.0021, or 1.2σ from a null detection. This non-detection follows our current understanding of decreasing stellar activity (and thus high-energy radiation) with age. We use a 1D isothermal Parker wind model to compare with our observations and find our non-detection can best be explained with a low planetary mass-loss rate and high thermosphere temperature. We explore our results within the context of the full sample of helium detections and non-detections to date. Surprisingly, comparing helium absorption with the stellar activity index logR′HK reveals a large spread in the correlation between these two factors, suggesting that there are additional parameters influencing the helium absorption strength.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230515.0340
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.1 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.27 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.05 magnitude.

Today's project : Exoplanet Volatile Carbon Content as a Natural Pathway for Haze Formation.

We explore terrestrial planet formation with a focus on the supply of solid-state organics as the main source of volatile carbon. For the water-poor Earth, the water ice line, or ice sublimation front, within the planet-forming disk has long been a key focal point. We posit that the soot line, the location where solid-state organics are irreversibly destroyed, is also a key location within the disk. The soot line is closer to the host star than the water snowline and overlaps with the location of the majority of detected exoplanets. In this work, we explore the ultimate atmospheric composition of a body that receives a major portion of its materials from the zone between the soot line and water ice line. We model a silicate-rich world with 0.1% and 1% carbon by mass with variable water content. We show that as a result of geochemical equilibrium, the mantle of these planets would be rich in reduced carbon but have relatively low water (hydrogen) content. Outgassing would naturally yield the ingredients for haze production when exposed to stellar UV photons in the upper atmosphere. Obscuring atmospheric hazes appear common in the exoplanetary inventory based on the presence of often featureless transmission spectra (Kreidberg et al. 2014, Knutson et al. 2014, Libby-Roberts et al. 2020). Such hazes may be powered by the high volatile content of the underlying silicate-dominated mantle. Although this type of planet has no solar system counterpart, it should be common in the galaxy with potential impact on habitability.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230516.0010
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.3 percent
- Oxygen = 21.4 percent
- Argon = 0.87 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.26 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Minimal elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.013 magnitude.

Today's project : The Hazy and Metal-Rich Atmosphere of GJ 1214 b Constrained by Near and Mid-Infrared Transmission Spectroscopy.

The near-infrared transmission spectrum of the warm sub-Neptune exoplanet GJ 1214 b has been observed to be flat and featureless, implying a high metallicity atmosphere with abundant aerosols. Recent JWST MIRI LRS observations of a phase curve of GJ 1214 b showed that its transmission spectrum is flat out into the mid-infrared. In this paper, we use the combined near- and mid-infrared transmission spectrum of GJ 1214 b to constrain its atmospheric composition and aerosol properties. We generate a grid of photochemical haze models using an aerosol microphysics code for a number of background atmospheres spanning metallicities from 100 to 1000 × solar, as well as a steam atmosphere scenario. The flatness of the combined data set largely rules out atmospheric metallicities ≤300 × solar due to their large corresponding molecular feature amplitudes, preferring values ≥1000 × solar and column haze production rates ≥10−10 g cm−2 s−1. The steam atmosphere scenario with similarly high haze production rates also exhibit sufficiently small molecular features to be consistent with the transmission spectrum. These compositions imply that atmospheric mean molecular weights ≥15 g mol−1 are needed to fit the data. Our results suggest that haze production is highly efficient on GJ 1214 b and could involve non-hydrocarbon, non-nitrogen haze precursors. Further characterization of GJ 1214 b's atmosphere would likely require multiple transits and eclipses using JWST across the near and mid-infrared, potentially complemented by groundbased high resolution transmission spectroscopy.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230517.0230
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.4 percent
- Oxygen = 21.7 percent
- Argon = 0.87 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.22 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Four (!!!) sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Slightly elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.011 magnitude.

Today's project : DMPP-3: confirmation of short-period S-type planet(s) in a compact eccentric binary star system, and warnings about long-period RV planet detections.

We present additional HARPS radial velocity observations of the highly eccentric (e∼0.6) binary system DMPP-3AB, which comprises a K0V primary and a low-mass companion at the hydrogen burning limit. The binary has a 507 d orbital period and a 1.2 au semi-major axis. The primary component harbours a known 2.2 M⊕ planet, DMPP-3A b, with a 6.67 day orbit. New HARPS measurements constrain periastron passage for the binary orbit and add further integrity to previously derived solutions for both companion and planet orbits. Gaia astrometry independently confirms the binary orbit, and establishes the inclination of the binary is 63.89±0.78∘. We performed dynamical simulations which establish that the previously identified ∼800 d RV signal cannot be attributed to an orbiting body. The additional observations, a deviation from strict periodicity, and our new analyses of activity indicators suggest the ∼800 d signal is caused by stellar activity. We conclude that there may be long period planet 'detections' in other systems which are similar misinterpreted stellar activity artefacts. Without the unusual eccentric binary companion to the planet-hosting star we could have accepted the ∼800 d signal as a probable planet. Further monitoring of DMPP-3 will reveal which signatures can be used to most efficiently identify these imposters. We also report a threshold detection (0.2 per cent FAP) of a ∼2.26 d periodicity in the RVs, potentially attributed to an Earth-mass S-type planet interior to DMPP-3A b.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230518.0030
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.3 percent
- Oxygen = 21.7 percent
- Argon = 0.87 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.23 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Four (!!!) sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Slightly elevated interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.01 magnitude.

Today's project : De novo evolution of macroscopic multicellularity

While early multicellular lineages necessarily started out as relatively simple groups of cells, little is known about how they became Darwinian entities capable of sustained multicellular evolution1,2,3. Here we investigate this with a multicellularity long-term evolution experiment, selecting for larger group size in the snowflake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) model system. Given the historical importance of oxygen limitation4, our ongoing experiment consists of three metabolic treatments5—anaerobic, obligately aerobic and mixotrophic yeast. After 600 rounds of selection, snowflake yeast in the anaerobic treatment group evolved to be macroscopic, becoming around 2 × 104 times larger (approximately mm scale) and about 104-fold more biophysically tough, while retaining a clonal multicellular life cycle. This occurred through biophysical adaptation—evolution of increasingly elongate cells that initially reduced the strain of cellular packing and then facilitated branch entanglements that enabled groups of cells to stay together even after many cellular bonds fracture. By contrast, snowflake yeast competing for low oxygen5 remained microscopic, evolving to be only around sixfold larger, underscoring the critical role of oxygen levels in the evolution of multicellular size. Together, this research provides unique insights into an ongoing evolutionary transition in individuality, showing how simple groups of cells overcome fundamental biophysical limitations through gradual, yet sustained, multicellular evolution.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230523.0020
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.4 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.21 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Two sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. No significant interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.04 magnitude.

Today's project : Spectroscopic follow-up of Gaia exoplanet candidates: Impostor binary stars invade the Gaia DR3 astrometric exoplanet candidates

While early multicellular lineages necessarily started out as relatively simple groups of cells, little is known about how they became Darwinian entities capable of sustained multicellular evolution1,2,3. Here we investigate this with a multicellularity long-term evolution experiment, selecting for larger group size in the snowflake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) model system. Given the historical importance of oxygen limitation4, our ongoing experiment consists of three metabolic treatments5—anaerobic, obligately aerobic and mixotrophic yeast. After 600 rounds of selection, snowflake yeast in the anaerobic treatment group evolved to be macroscopic, becoming around 2 × 104 times larger (approximately mm scale) and about 104-fold more biophysically tough, while retaining a clonal multicellular life cycle. This occurred through biophysical adaptation—evolution of increasingly elongate cells that initially reduced the strain of cellular packing and then facilitated branch entanglements that enabled groups of cells to stay together even after many cellular bonds fracture. By contrast, snowflake yeast competing for low oxygen5 remained microscopic, evolving to be only around sixfold larger, underscoring the critical role of oxygen levels in the evolution of multicellular size. Together, this research provides unique insights into an ongoing evolutionary transition in individuality, showing how simple groups of cells overcome fundamental biophysical limitations through gradual, yet sustained, multicellular evolution.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230525.0105
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.5 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.20 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. No significant interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.012 magnitude.

Today's project : An In-Depth Look at TOI-3884b: a Super-Neptune Transiting a M4 Dwarf with Persistent Star Spot Crossings

We perform an in-depth analysis of the recently validated TOI-3884 system, an M4 dwarf star with a transiting super-Neptune. Using high precision light curves obtained with the 3.5 m Apache Point Observatory and radial velocity observations with the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF), we derive a planetary mass of 32.6 +7.3 -7.4 Earth Masses and radius of 6.4 +/- 0.2 Earth Radii. We detect a distinct star spot crossing event occurring just after ingress and spanning half the transit for every transit. We determine this spot feature to be wavelength-dependent with the amplitude and duration evolving slightly over time. Best-fit star spot models show that TOI-3884b possesses a misaligned (λ = 75 +\- 10 degrees) orbit which crosses a giant pole-spot. This system presents a rare opportunity for studies into the nature of both a misaligned super-Neptune and spot evolution on an active mid-M dwarf.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 290525.0300
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.2 percent
- Oxygen = 21.4 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.21 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Three sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. No significant interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Dimmed with 0.014 magnitude.

Today's project : Expanding the limits of chemical searches within ultra-hot Jupiters: New detections of Ca I, V I, Ti I, Cr I, Ni I, Sr II, Ba II, and Tb II in KELT-9 b

Cross-correlation spectroscopy is an invaluable tool in the study of exoplanets. However, aliasing between spectral lines makes it vulnerable to systematic biases. This work strives to constrain the aliases of the cross-correlation function to provide increased confidence in the detections of elements in the atmospheres of ultra-hot Jupiters (UHJs) observed with high-resolution spectrographs. We use a combination of archival transit observations of the UHJ KELT-9 b obtained with the HARPS-N and CARMENES spectrographs and show that it is possible to leverage each instrument’s strengths to produce robust detections at a substantially reduced signal-to-noise. Aliases that become present at low signal-to-noise regimes are constrained through a linear regression model. We confirm previous detections of H I, Na I, Mg I, Ca II, Sc II, Ti II, Cr II, Fe I, and Fe II, and detect eight new species, Ca I, Cr I, Ni I, Sr II, and Tb II, at the 5σ level, and Ti I, V I, and Ba II above the 3σ level. Ionised terbium (Tb II) has never before been seen in an exoplanet atmosphere. We further conclude that a 5σ threshold may not provide a reliable measure of confidence when used to claim detections, unless the systematics in the cross-correlation function caused by aliases are taken into account.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230530.1200
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.3 percent
- Oxygen = 21.7 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.21 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Four sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Limited significant interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.3 magnitude.

Today's project : Ponderings on the Possible Preponderance of Perpendicular Planets.

This project took three days, that's why now one single report instead of three days with each incomplete readouts.

Misalignments between planetary orbits and the equatorial planes of their host stars are clues about the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Earlier work found evidence for a peak near 90∘ in the distribution of stellar obliquities, based on frequentist tests. We performed hierarchical Bayesian inference on a sample of 174 planets for which either the full three-dimensional stellar obliquity has been measured (72 planets) or for which only the sky-projected stellar obliquity has been measured (102 planets). We investigated whether the obliquities are best described by a Rayleigh distribution, or by a mixture of a Rayleigh distribution representing well-aligned systems and a different distribution representing misaligned systems. The mixture models are strongly favored over the single-component distribution. For the misaligned component, we tried an isotropic distribution and a distribution peaked at 90∘, and found the evidence to be essentially the same for both models. Thus, our Bayesian inference engine did not find strong evidence favoring a "perpendicular peak", unlike the frequentist tests. We also investigated selection biases that affect the inferred obliquity distribution, such as the bias of the gravity-darkening method against obliquities near 0∘ or 180∘. Further progress in characterizing the obliquity distribution will probably require the construction of a more homogeneous and complete sample of measurements.

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand

[Ferre Flamand]

Tranquility Station/Ops + Tranquility Science Lab - Stardate 230531.0030
Reporting Officer: LtCmdr Ferre Flamand
Other Officers on Duty : 6 (NPC)

Duty Log - Daily Scientific and Observation Report

Surface environmental conditions
- Nitrogen = 77.1 percent
- Oxygen = 21.6 percent
- Argon = 0.88 percent
- Neon, Helium, Krypton = 0.0008 percent
- Carbon dioxide = 0.23 percent
- Water vapor = 0 - 4 percent

Daystar condition = Thermal radiation within acceptable margins. Four sunspot-groupings detected with rather minor flares. Limited significant interference can be expected. Warming-up sequence at normal rate within range.

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) its variable magnitude intervals within range. Brightened with 0.11 magnitude.

Today's project : The Spin-Orbit Misalignment of TOI-1842b: The First Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin Effect for a Warm Sub-Saturn around a Massive Star.

The mechanisms responsible for generating spin-orbit misalignments in exoplanetary systems are still not fully understood. It is unclear whether these misalignments are related to the migration of hot Jupiters or are a consequence of general star and planet formation processes. One promising method to address this question is to constrain the distribution of spin-orbit angle measurements for a broader range of planets beyond hot Jupiters. In this work, we present the sky-projected obliquity (λ=−68.1+21.2−14.7∘) for the warm sub-Saturn TOI-1842b, obtained through a measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect using WIYN/NEID. Using the projected obliquity, the stellar rotation period obtained from the TESS light curve, and the projected rotation velocity from spectral analysis, we infer the 3D spin-orbit angle (ψ) to be ψ=73.3+16.3−12.9∘. As the first spin-orbit angle determination made for a sub-Saturn-mass planet around a massive (M∗=1.45M⊙) star, our result presents an opportunity to examine the orbital geometries for new regimes of planetary systems. When combined with archival measurements, our observations of TOI-1842b support the hypothesis that the previously established prevalence of misaligned systems around hot, massive stars may be driven by planet-planet dynamical interactions. In massive stellar systems, multiple gas giants are more likely to form and can then dynamically interact with each other to excite spin-orbit misalignment

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LtCmdr Ferre Flamand