Astrobiology
What’s the Right Depth to Search for Life on Icy Worlds?
Are we alone? Is there life beyond Earth? These are the questions that plague the very essence of science, and…
Perseverance Begins the Next Phase of its Mission, Studying an Ancient River Bed on Mars
On February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance (Percy) Rover successfully landed in the dried-up lakebed known as Jezero Crater on Mars,…
How to Search for Life as we Don’t Know it
A NASA-funded study by a team from the University of Arizona has identified possible tools for identifying life on other…
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…
There’s Enough Sunlight Getting Through Venus’ Clouds to Support High-Altitude Life
Carl Sagan once famously, and sarcastically, observed that, since we couldn’t see what was going on on the surface of…
Ocean Worlds With Hydrogen-Rich Atmospheres Could be the Perfect Spots for Life
A new study has identified another class of exoplanet that could drastically increase the odds of finding life beyond the…
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…
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.…
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…