New book gives insider's view of cosmic search for life
Whether life exists anywhere besides Earth is a burning question that, at long last, may soon be answered.
Astrobiology
Apr 16, 2024
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News tagged with signs of life
Water persisted in Mars' Gale crater for longer than previously thought, study finds
Billions of years ago, Mars was home to abundant water, and its Gale crater contained a lake. Gradually, the climate changed, drying the red planet and creating the dusty desert world we know today.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 22, 2024
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1342
The combination of oxygen and methane could reveal the presence of life on another world
In searching for life in the universe, a field known as astrobiology, scientists rely on Earth as a template for biological and evolutionary processes. This includes searching for Earth analogs, rocky planets that orbit within ...
Astrobiology
Oct 19, 2023
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Did life exist on Mars? Other planets? With AI's help, we may know soon
Scientists have discovered a simple and reliable test for signs of past or present life on other planets—"the holy grail of astrobiology."
Astrobiology
Sep 25, 2023
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Forget the habitable zone—we need to find the computational zone
Astronomers are currently searching for signs of life in the "habitable zones" of nearby stars, which is defined as the band around a star where liquid water can potentially exist. But a recent paper argues that we need to ...
Astrobiology
Apr 10, 2023
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Astrobiologist suggests we look for signs of life from elsewhere in the galaxy by studying space dust
Tomonori Totani, an astrobiologist with the University of Tokyo is proposing that the search for life beyond Earth be expanded to the study of space dust. In his paper published in the journal International Journal of Astrobiology, ...
There could be alien life on Mars, but will our rovers be able to find it?
Robotic rovers are currently exploring the surface of Mars. Part of a rover's mission is to survey the planet for signs of life. There might be nothing to find—but what if there is, and the rovers just can't "see" it?
Planetary Sciences
Feb 25, 2023
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43
Spanish lagoon proposed as Mars 'astrobiological time-analog'
The ongoing search for signs of life on Mars relies in part on terrestrial analogs—places on Earth closely resembling the past or current geology and climate of the red planet that can be readily explored.
Astrobiology
Feb 8, 2023
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Four ways to spot hints of alien life using the James Webb Space Telescope
The study of exoplanets, worlds which orbit stars other than our sun, is currently being transformed by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We will shortly gain our first insight into conditions on rocky, potentially ...
Astrobiology
Oct 24, 2022
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Spectroscopy used to look for life on Mars by rovers capable of probing deeper sediments
An international team of researchers has found evidence indicating that despite the hostile environmental conditions on Mars, the equipment used by rovers on its surface should be capable of detecting evidence of life if ...
