Astrobiology
Could Comets have Delivered the Building Blocks of Life to “Ocean Worlds” like Europa, Enceladus, and Titan too?
Throughout Earth's history, the planet's surface has been regularly impacted by comets, meteors, and the occasional large asteroid. While these…
Did Earth’s Multicellular Life Depend on Plate Tectonics?
How did complex life emerge and evolve on the Earth and what does this mean for finding life beyond Earth?…
Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life
Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other…
How Did Life Get Started on Earth? Atmospheric Haze Might Have Been the Key
A recent study accepted to The Planetary Science Journal investigates how the organic hazes that existed on Earth between the…
Astrobiology: Why study it? How to study it? What are the challenges?
Universe Today has proudly examined the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, and exoplanets, and what they can teach…
NASA Selects New Technology to Help Search for Life on Mars
The day when human beings finally set foot on Mars is rapidly approaching. Right now, NASA, the China National Space…
Europa Clipper Could Help Discover if Jupiter's Moon is Habitable
Since 1979, when the Voyager probes flew past Jupiter and its system of moons, scientists have speculated about the possibility…
If Earth is Average, We Should Find Extraterrestrial Life Within 60 Light-Years
A new study estimates that there could be 11,000 habitable planets within 100 parsecs of our Sun, the nearest being…
The Most Compelling Places to Search for Life Will Look Like “Anomalies”
A new study considers how future astrobiology studies could search for life "as we don't know it" on exoplanets.
The 2nd Annual Penn State SETI Symposium and the Search for Technosignatures!
This year's Penn State SETI Symposium provided a good rundown of the field and the kinds of studies scientists will…