New data from the Mars Science Laboratory demonstrating the presence of methane presents novel challenges to explain how it was formed and what it suggests about the potential for life to exist or be supported on Mars. A ...
Space Exploration
Sep 26, 2018
2
14
By looking at Earth's full natural history and evolution, astronomers may have found a template for vegetation fingerprints—borrowing from epochs of changing flora—to determine the age of habitable exoplanets.
Astronomy
Sep 24, 2018
1
113
In August of 2016, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet around Proxima Centauri – the closest star to our solar system. In addition, they confirmed that ...
Astronomy
Sep 17, 2018
15
1953
In recent years, the number of confirmed extra-solar planets has risen exponentially. As of the penning of the article, a total of 3,777 exoplanets have been confirmed in 2,817 star systems, with an additional 2,737 candidates ...
Astronomy
Aug 22, 2018
0
21
Earthbound detectives rely on fingerprints to solve their cases; now astronomers can do the same, using "light-fingerprints" instead of skin grooves to uncover the mysteries of exoplanets.
Astronomy
Jul 31, 2018
0
179
There may be more habitable planets in the universe than we previously thought, according to Penn State geoscientists, who suggest that plate tectonics—long assumed to be a requirement for suitable conditions for life—are ...
Astronomy
Jul 30, 2018
3
668
Life as we know it needs water to thrive. Even so, we see life persist in the driest environments on Earth. But how dry is too dry? At what point is an environment too extreme for even microorganisms, the smallest and often ...
Space Exploration
Jul 24, 2018
0
67
While the Moon is uninhabitable today, there could have been life on its surface in the distant past.
Space Exploration
Jul 23, 2018
10
300
New findings, published in the journal Astrobiology, suggest that large craters are the prime locations in which to find the building blocks of life on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
Space Exploration
Jul 20, 2018
32
189
Detecting biomarkers in glacial lakes on Earth could pave the way for astrobiologists to detect evidence for life on other worlds, and also unravel the properties of the environments in which that life lived.
Space Exploration
Jul 16, 2018
0
40
