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Astrobiology news
Exoplanets could be hiding their atmospheres
Most of the exoplanets we've discovered orbit red dwarf stars. This isn't because red dwarfs are somehow special, simply that they are common. About 75% of the stars in the Milky Way are red dwarfs, so you would expect red ...
Astrobiology
Sep 20, 2024
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Life might thrive on the surface of Earth for an extra billion years
The sun is midway through its life of fusion. It's about 5 billion years old, and though its life is far from over, it will undergo some pronounced changes as it ages. Over the next billion years, the sun will continue to ...
Astrobiology
Sep 20, 2024
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Plants could still grow well under alien skies
Photosynthesis changed Earth in powerful ways. When photosynthetic organisms appeared, it led to the Great Oxygenation Event. That allowed multicellular life to evolve and resulted in the ozone layer. Life could venture onto ...
Astrobiology
Sep 20, 2024
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Scientists scan TRAPPIST-1 for technosignatures
If you are going to look for intelligent life beyond Earth, there are few better candidates than the TRAPPIST-1 star system. It isn't a perfect choice. Red dwarf stars like TRAPPIST-1 are notorious for emitting flares and ...
Astrobiology
Sep 19, 2024
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Volcanoes may help reveal interior heat on Jupiter moon
By staring into the hellish landscape of Jupiter's moon Io—the most volcanically active location in the solar system—Cornell astronomers have been able to study a fundamental process in planetary formation and evolution: ...
Astrobiology
Sep 19, 2024
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Detailed model suggests organic matter on Mars was formed from atmospheric formaldehyde
Although Mars is currently a cold, dry planet, geological evidence suggests that liquid water existed there around 3 to 4 billion years ago. Where there is water, there is usually life. In their quest to answer the burning ...
Astrobiology
Sep 19, 2024
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Could interstellar quantum communications involve Earth or solve the Fermi paradox?
Thus far, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has used strategies based on classical science—listening for radio waves, telescopes watching for optical signals, telescopes in orbit scouring light from the ...
Projecting what Earth will look like 1,000 years from now could assist in search for advanced civilizations
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is regularly plagued by the fact that humanity has a very limited perspective on civilization and the nature of intelligence itself. When it comes right down to it, the ...
Astrobiology
Sep 12, 2024
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Keeping mold out of future space stations
Mold can survive the harshest of environments, so to stop harmful spores from growing on future space stations, a new study suggests a novel way to prevent its spread.
Space Exploration
Sep 11, 2024
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Could comets have delivered the building blocks of life to ocean worlds like Europa, Enceladus and Titan?
Throughout Earth's history, the planet's surface has been regularly impacted by comets, meteors, and the occasional large asteroid. While these events were often destructive, sometimes to the point of triggering a mass extinction, ...
Astrobiology
Sep 9, 2024
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Why are we so fascinated with aliens?
Robert Smith is convinced the aliens have won. "The invasion has happened—it's all over," says the University of Alberta space historian who teaches a course on the history of extraterrestrials.
Astrobiology
Sep 6, 2024
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Life on alien planets probably wouldn't experience day and night—here's how that may change evolution
Do aliens sleep? You may take sleep for granted, but research suggests many planets that could evolve life don't have a day and night cycle. It's hard to imagine, but there are organisms living in Earth's lightless habitats, ...
Astrobiology
Sep 4, 2024
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Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiraling out of control: Why that's so dangerous
The idea that aliens may have visited the Earth is becoming increasingly popular. Around a fifth of UK citizens believe Earth has been visited by extraterrestrials, and an estimated 7% believe that they have seen a UFO.
Astrobiology
Sep 3, 2024
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Researchers start first low frequency search for alien technology in distant galaxies
The SETI Institute, the Berkeley SETI Research Center and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research announced a study using the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) in Western Australia. Led by Dr. Chenoa Tremblay ...
Astrobiology
Aug 26, 2024
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In the hunt for alien life, is man truly 'the measure of all things?'
Enrico Fermi's lunchtime question at wartime Los Alamos, "Where is everybody?" has been both a gift and a problem to scientists ever since. Known as "Fermi's Paradox," it simply asks, why, since life on Earth is ubiquitous ...
Professor proposes how a black hole in orbit around a planet could be a sign of an advanced civilization
In 1971, English mathematical physicist and Nobel-prize winner Roger Penrose proposed how energy could be extracted from a rotating black hole. He argued that this could be done by building a harness around the black hole's ...
Astronomy
Aug 23, 2024
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Astrobiologist explores likelihood of life originating on Earth
Florida Tech astrobiologist Manasvi Lingam has asked life's biggest questions from a young age. Though he can't recall his exact queries, he says his interests were perfectly consistent with those of other children: dinosaurs ...
Astrobiology
Aug 23, 2024
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The Wow! Signal deciphered—it was hydrogen all along, study says
In 1977, astronomers received a powerful, peculiar radio signal from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Its frequency was the same as neutral hydrogen, and astronomers had speculated that any ETIs attempting ...
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2024
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Exoplanets may contain more water than previously thought
We know that the Earth has an iron core surrounded by a mantle of silicate bedrock and water (oceans) on its surface. Science has used this simple planet model until today for investigating exoplanets—planets that orbit ...
Astrobiology
Aug 20, 2024
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Rocks collected on Mars hold key to water and perhaps life on the planet: Researchers urge bringing them back to Earth
Over the course of nearly five months in 2022, NASA's Perseverance rover collected rock samples from Mars that could rewrite the history of water on the red planet and even contain evidence for past life on Mars.
Astrobiology
Aug 14, 2024
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More news
New research finds lake under Mars ice cap unlikely
What impact does ozone have on an exoplanet?
Other news
New method developed to relocate misplaced proteins in cells
Genome sequence analysis identifies new driver of antimicrobial resistance
New data science tool greatly speeds up molecular analysis of our environment
Exploring extremes in the search for life on Mars
Webb cracks case of inflated exoplanet
Citizen science collaboration yields precise data on exoplanet WASP-77 A b
