Habitability

Does Life Really Need Planets? Maybe Not

Do we have a planetary bias when it comes to understanding where life can perpetuate? It's only natural that we…

2 weeks ago

Habitable Worlds are Found in Safe Places

When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we hone in on the habitable zone. A…

2 months ago

Establishing a New Habitability Metric for Future Astrobiology Surveys

The search for exoplanets has grown immensely in recent decades thanks to next-generation observatories and instruments. The current census is…

2 months ago

Plants Would Still Grow Well Under Alien Skies

Photosynthesis changed Earth in powerful ways. When photosynthetic organisms appeared, it led to the Great Oxygenation Event. That allowed multicellular…

3 months ago

Dark Oxygen Could Change Our Understanding of Habitability

The discovery of dark oxygen at an abyssal plain on the ocean floor generated a lot of interest. Could this…

4 months ago

How Vegetation Could Impact the Climate of Exoplanets

The term 'habitable zone' is a broad definition that serves a purpose in our age of exoplanet discovery. But the…

4 months ago

Ocean Salinity Affects Earth’s Climate. How About on Exoplanets?

There's a link between Earth's ocean salinity and its climate. Salinity can have a dramatic effect on the climate of…

4 months ago

Elliptical Orbits Could be Essential to the Habitability of Rocky Planets

A seismic shift occurred in astronomy during the Scientific Revolution, beginning with 16th-century polymath Copernicus and his proposal that the…

5 months ago

Habitable Planet’s Orbiting Red Dwarf Suns Could at Risk from Far-Ultraviolet Radiation

The question of whether or not red dwarf stars can support habitable planets has been subject to debate for decades.…

5 months ago

Planetary Habitability Depends on its Star’s Magnetic Field

The extrasolar planet census recently passed a major milestone, with 5500 confirmed candidates in 4,243 solar systems. With so many…

5 months ago