New climate models have found that the amount and location of land on a planet's surface can significantly impact its habitability. Astronomers have identified substantial differences in surface temperature, sea ice and water ...
Astrobiology
Jul 11, 2022
0
306
Nitriles, a class of organic molecules with a cyano group—that is, a carbon atom bound with a triple unsaturated bond to a nitrogen atom—are typically toxic. But paradoxically, they are also a key precursor for molecules ...
Astronomy
Jul 8, 2022
1
641
Communications across the vastness of interstellar space could be enhanced by taking advantage of a star's ability to focus and magnify communication signals. A team of graduate students at Penn State is looking for just ...
Astronomy
Jul 6, 2022
0
239
Within the solar system, most of our astrobiological research is aimed at Mars, which is considered to be the next-most habitable body beyond Earth. However, future efforts are aimed at exploring icy satellites in the outer ...
Astrobiology
Jul 1, 2022
0
17
Life on Earth began in the oceans. In the search for life on other planets, the potential for liquid water is therefore a key ingredient. To find it, scientists have traditionally looked for planets similar to our own. Yet, ...
Astrobiology
Jun 27, 2022
4
260
According to a new NASA laboratory experiment, rovers may have to dig about 6.6 feet (two meters) or more under the Martian surface to find signs of ancient life because ionizing radiation from space degrades small molecules ...
Astrobiology
Jun 27, 2022
5
262
Scientists using data from NASA's Curiosity rover have measured the total organic carbon—a key component in the molecules of life—in Martian rocks for the first time.
Astrobiology
Jun 27, 2022
0
513
An innovative scientific instrument, the Compact Color Biofinder, developed by a team of University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers, may change the game in the search for signs of extraterrestrial life.
Astrobiology
Jun 25, 2022
0
1324
The extremely salty, very cold, and almost oxygen-free environment under the permafrost of Lost Hammer Spring in Canada's High Arctic is the one that most closely resembles certain areas on Mars. So, if you want to learn ...
Astrobiology
Jun 21, 2022
1
379
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," said Carl Sagan. This phrase is the standard that astronomers will be applying to a curious signal captured with China's "Sky Eye" telescope that might be a transmission ...
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2022
0
648
