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Astrobiology
First 'Oumuamua, then Borisov, and now ATLAS have shown us that interstellar interlopers are real. Here's what the newest one teaches us.
As the closest icy ocean world to
Earth, Ceres may be a promising candidate in the search for signs of ancient life.
The hunt for extraterrestrial life begins with planets like Earth. But our inhabited Earth once looked very different than Earth does today.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile will image the southern sky using the largest digital camera ever built.
Long before the search for biosignatures, scientists imagined a cosmos teeming with intelligent life.
A Cambridge-based team claims to find molecules on an exoplanet that are only produced by life on Earth. Don't fall for the unfounded hype.
In all the known Universe, Earth is the only planet known to have native life. What should guide us in expanding humanity beyond our world?
Planets can create nuclear power on their own, naturally, without any intelligence or technology. Earth already did: 1.7 billion years ago.
In his new book, the popular science writer tells the story of how scientists discovered the “gaseous ocean” we all swim in — and the trillions of invisible life forms we share it with.
“I want to change the way we think about the past altogether,” says Dr. Betül Kaçar, an astrobiologist who studies the origin of life.
A new SETI study shows how far the field of technosignatures has come.
Seeking life beyond the Solar System, we first look to the closest star systems with Earth-like planets. Here's why that's not good enough.
Life may have arisen far earlier — and more rapidly — than previously thought.
If humanity lives in an otherwise barren Universe, we'll have to forge philosophy that fills the void.
Life might be more common across the Universe than the "Hard Steps Model" suggests.
Motility was suggested as a promising "biosignature" as early as the 1960s, but the technology was insufficient — until now.
Astronomer Adam Frank reflects on some responses to his recent appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast.
Earth is actively broadcasting and actively searching for intelligent civilizations. But could our technology even detect ourselves?
Known as orphaned planets, rogue planets, or planets without parent stars, these "outliers" might be the most common type of planet overall.
Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres.
Astronomer Adam Frank asks: With so many extraordinary claims, why can't anybody produce the proof?
How did life on Earth begin? Is there life on other worlds? An answer to either question will reflect heavily on the other.
MIT Scientist Jason Soderblom describes how the NASA mission will study the geology and composition of the surface of Jupiter’s water-rich moon and assess its astrobiological potential.
Here's the dark side of first contact.
Mars and Earth were sister planets in many ways, with early similar conditions. Why did Mars die? The leading explanation isn't universal.
Could life be widespread throughout the cosmos, in the subsurface oceans of ice-covered worlds? NASA's Europa Clipper mission investigates.
Caption:“At this time in Mars’ history, we think CO2 is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and water percolating through the rocks is full of CO2 too,” Joshua Murray says.
Scientists might be looking for Martian life in the wrong place.
Finding life beyond our Solar System requires understanding its host planet.
So far, Earth is the only planet that we're certain possesses active life processes. Here's what we shouldn't assume about life elsewhere.