Astrobiology
Rocky Planets Might Need to be the Right age to Support Life
In a new study, a team of Earth scientists shows how scientists could look for signs of a carbon-silicate cycle…
How to Prevent our Spacecraft From Contaminating Mars
A new report by the National Academies of Sciences highlights the importance of planetary protection for future missions destined for…
Advanced Civilizations Could be Using Dyson Spheres to Collect Energy From Black Holes. Here’s how we Could Detect Them
Black holes are more than just massive objects that swallow everything around them - they’re also one of the universe’s…
Micrometeorites Churn up the Surface of Europa. If you Want to Find Life, You’ll Need to dig Down a Meter or So
According to new research, impact craters caused by micrometeorites are the best place to look for evidence that life exists…
There are Probably Many More Earth-Sized Worlds Than Previously Believed
In the past decade, the discovery of extrasolar planets has accelerated immensely. To date, 4,424 exoplanets have been confirmed in…
Cassini Saw Methane in Enceladus’ Plumes. Scientists Don’t Know How it Could be There Without Life
Even though the Cassini mission at Saturn ended nearly four years ago, data from the spacecraft still keeps scientists busy.…
Bad News, Life Probably can’t Exist on Venus. Good News, it Could be in Jupiter’s Clouds
A new NASA-supported study by an international team of researchers has determined that life is more likely to exist in…
To Take the Best Direct Images of Exoplanets With Space Telescopes, we’re Going to Want Starshades
The Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS) has released a special edition of papers dedicated to educating the…
Most Exoplanets won’t Receive Enough Radiation to Support an Earth-Like Biosphere
According to new research, most extrasolar planets do not get enough radiation to support photosynthesis, which places limits on how…
Astrobiologists Detect a Signature of Life Remotely. Don’t get too Excited, Though, it was With a Helicopter Here on Earth
Chirality is a word normally found in biological textbooks that will occasionally pop up in the astronomy community, usually when…