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Astrobiology news
Giant impacts may strip small icy moons of subsurface oceans
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists used simulations to understand the role disruptive impacts play on icy moons with subsurface oceans in our solar system. A recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy ...
Astrobiology
3 hours ago
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How studying astronauts could help tackle aging on Earth
Astronauts who undergo long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station often return with health problems that resemble some age-related conditions in people on Earth.
Space Exploration
8 hours ago
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Early Earth's auroral belts may have formed a natural ion-beam reactor for prebiotic chemistry
We usually think of auroras as beautiful lights in the night sky. I see them as visible traces of a connection between the sun, Earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere. This led me to an origin-of-life question: Could the ...
Young sunlike system reveals comets may carry water toward forming planets
Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets—comets in other solar systems—orbiting a young star similar to our sun. The observations point to a possible mechanism for how water might be transported ...
Astrobiology
Sep 2, 2026
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More than 120 molecular species found in giant cloud near Milky Way's center
Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied ...
Peptides can form well-defined structures in harsh, Venus-like conditions
When exploring solar system bodies for signs of past or present life, scientists have mainly focused on planets that have (or had) a liquid surface similar to Earth's. However, mounting evidence suggests that the ingredients ...
Astrobiology
Aug 31, 2026
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Manganese's emission lines shine a light on galactic evolution
In a new study, a team of astronomers has identified wavelengths of light that could be useful for tracing the chemical evolution of the universe. Using computational modeling to simulate how electrons interact with manganese ...
Astronomy
Aug 31, 2026
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Discovery reveals rapid pathways to complex aromatic molecules in space
A team of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Chemistry has uncovered a faster way large carbon-based molecules may form in space, helping solve a long-standing mystery about how some of the ...
Astrobiology
Aug 27, 2026
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Mars rovers give scientists a ground‑level view of the red planet—peek inside their NASA control room
Lights blink on as I enter the Rover Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, at 7:30 a.m. I'm the first to arrive, even though I already feel late.
Astrobiology
Aug 27, 2026
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Venus's mysterious clouds may hide an exceptionally strong light absorber
Venus appears pale yellow in visible light, but ultraviolet images reveal dramatic dark and bright patterns moving with the planet's upper sulfuric acid clouds. Scientists have known about these markings for roughly a century, ...
Astrobiology
Aug 27, 2026
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Why some lava-covered exoplanets retain atmospheres for billions of years
Stanford researchers have offered an explanation for why some sizzling, lava-covered worlds nestled tightly around their stars can retain their atmospheres. At such close quarters, intense stellar radiation should strip away ...
Astrobiology
Aug 26, 2026
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ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
Human-related microbes may survive moon's South Pole
Some of Earth's microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the moon's South Pole region, NASA scientists say.
Astrobiology
Aug 19, 2026
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Radio telescopes help scientists map molecules in space and uncover where and how stars form
You may have heard the phrase "we are made of star-stuff." This statement by the astronomer Carl Sagan refers to the fact that elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were forged in the centers of the first stars. But how ...
Astronomy
Aug 16, 2026
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What a dry meteorite tells us about water on Mars
Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic ...
Astrobiology
Aug 13, 2026
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Space travel doesn't affect the strength of heart muscle cells, study finds
It's common to see images of astronauts on the International Space Station exercising, running on special treadmills and pedaling cycles designed for tight quarters.
Space Exploration
Aug 12, 2026
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The ESCAPE mission will study the evolution of exoplanet atmospheres
The habitable zone concept is useful for understanding which worlds might, possibly, maybe, be habitable. It highlights exoplanets at the right distances from their stars for liquid water to potentially exist on their surfaces. ...
Astrobiology
Aug 11, 2026
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Mars could have carried liquid water more recently than we thought
For decades, astronomers have assumed that the Martian surface froze solid around 3 billion years ago and has stayed that way ever since. If this were really the case, any liquid water would have long since either been locked ...
Venus's polygonal plains could point to a watery past
Venus may be overwhelmingly inhospitable today, but many planetary scientists believe that it wasn't always this way. Billions of years ago, some observational evidence suggested that our planetary neighbor may have looked ...
Zodiacal dust in exoplanetary systems could hinder our search for life on other worlds
If you've ever been under a dark sky in the early morning before dawn, you may have seen a faint glow, almost like a column of light rising from the east. It's sometimes known as the false dawn because it appears before true ...
Astrobiology
Aug 3, 2026
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More news
Could quantum physics help us find Earth 2.0?
Scientists advance space agriculture for future moon and Mars missions
Alien world chemistry found inside meteorite that struck New Jersey home
Are we missing the universe's 'noosignatures?'
Six massive landslides discovered on icy Pluto
Other news
A crystalline sponge reveals structures of large 'beyond rule of 5' molecules
Waterlogged seeds reveal melons' ancient journey
Helium-3 lifts new quantum computing concept with faster tunneling rates
Nautilus array to track missing exoplanet atmospheres
