Habitability
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…
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…
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…
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…
Which Stars are Lethal to their Planets?
Many years ago, there was a viral YouTube video called "History of the entire world, i guess," which has been…
Europe Has Big Plans for Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
Saturn's moon, Enceladus, is a gleaming beacon that captivates our intellectual curiosity. Its clean, icy surface makes it one of…
Mars’ Gale Crater was Filled with Water for Much Longer Than Anyone Thought
Even with all we've learned about Mars in recent years, it doesn't stack up against all we still don't know…
Earth’s Long-Term Habitability Relies on Chemical Cycles. How Can We Better Understand Them?
We, and all other complex life, require stability to evolve. Planetary conditions needed to be benign and long-lived for creatures…
The LIFE Telescope Passed its First Test: It Detected Biosignatures on Earth.
We know that there are thousands of exoplanets out there, with many millions more waiting to be discovered. But the…
If Exoplanets Have Lightning, it’ll Complicate the Search for Life
Discovering exoplanets is almost routine now. We've found over 5,500 exoplanets, and the next step is to study their atmospheres…