Life in the universe? Almost certainly. Intelligence? Maybe not
(PhysOrg.com) -- We are likely not alone in the universe, though it may feel like it, since life on other planets is probably dominated by microbes or other nonspeaking creatures, according to...
View ArticleNew book suggests Earth perhaps not such a benevolent mother after all
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the past 50 years it has become commonplace to think of Earth as a nurturing place, straining mightily to maintain equilibrium so that life might continue and flourish.
View ArticleAstronomers do it Again: Find Organic Molecules Around Gas Planet (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- Peering far beyond our solar system, NASA researchers have detected the basic chemistry for life in a second hot gas planet, advancing astronomers toward the goal of being able to...
View ArticleDetecting Life-Friendly Moons
The search for life-friendly real estate around distant stars doesn't have to be limited to planets. New research shows that habitable exomoons can be detected with a new method using current technology.
View ArticleA Drop in the Bucket
A new technique is being developed to detect water in the protoplanetary disks of other solar systems. If successful, it would help in our understanding of how habitable planets form.
View ArticleSeeing the Closest Aliens Will Take Centuries
As telescopes become more advanced, we’ll be able to see more details about planets orbiting other stars - including indications that those planets have life. However, it would probably take many...
View ArticleWas Venus once a habitable planet?
(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's Venus Express is helping planetary scientists investigate whether Venus once had oceans. If it did, it may even have begun its existence as a habitable planet similar to Earth.
View ArticleEvidence for ET is mounting daily, but not prove
(AP) -- Lately, a handful of new discoveries make it seem more likely that we are not alone - that there is life somewhere else in the universe.
View ArticlePenn State expert determined to find life on Earth-like planets
Thanks to popular Hollywood films like "E.T.,""Avatar" and "Super 8," life on other planets seems highly conceivable to people who have considered the idea that we are not alone in the universe. Jim...
View ArticleResearchers find smart decisions for changing environmental times
You've just been told you're going on a trip. The only problem is, you don't know where you're going, how you'll be traveling, or what you'll do when you get there.
View ArticleAlien life more likely on 'Dune' planets
Desert planets strikingly like the world depicted in the science fiction classic "Dune" might be the more common type of habitable planet in the galaxy, rather than watery planets such as Earth,...
View ArticlePotential survival of extreme life forms on eccentric exoplanets
(Phys.org)—Astronomers have discovered a veritable rogues' gallery of odd exoplanets—from scorching hot worlds with molten surfaces to frigid ice balls.
View ArticleTau Ceti: Sun-like star only twelve light years away may have a habitable planet
(Phys.org)—An international team of astronomers has discovered that Tau Ceti, one of the closest and most Sun-like stars, may host five planets, including one in the star's habitable zone ('Goldilocks...
View ArticleFuture evidence for extraterrestrial life might come from dying stars
(Phys.org)—Even dying stars could host planets with life—and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. This encouraging result comes from a new theoretical study of...
View ArticleResearchers find massive impacts dispersed chlorine, helped make Earth habitable
(Phys.org) —Life as we know it may not have existed if the Earth wasn't repeatedly bombarded by massive planetary bodies more than 4 billion years ago according to new research conducted by scientists...
View ArticleLife may be harder to identify on some exoplanets
Finding life on exoplanets may be more difficult than people thought, said Feng Tian, a professor at the Center for Earth System Science at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The report was...
View ArticleThe long shot of life elsewhere
Recent research suggests that there may be as many as 40 billion habitable planets in our galaxy. A number that large has some scientists speculating that the universe might be teeming with life.
View ArticleNew technique measures mass of exoplanets
To date, scientists have confirmed the existence of more than 900 exoplanets circulating outside our solar system. To determine if any of these far-off worlds are habitable requires knowing an...
View ArticleHabitable exoplanets are bad news for humanity
Last week, scientists announced the discovery of Kepler-186f, a planet 492 light years away in the Cygnus constellation. Kepler-186f is special because it marks the first planet almost exactly the same...
View ArticleMove over exoplanets, exomoons may harbour life too
In the Star Wars universe, everyone's favourite furry aliens, the Ewoks, famously lived on the "forest moon of Endor". In scientific terms, the Ewok's home world would be referred to as an exomoon,...
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