A new analysis of known exoplanets has revealed that Earth-like conditions on potentially habitable planets may be much rarer than previously thought. The work focuses on the conditions required for oxygen-based photosynthesis ...
Astrobiology
Jun 23, 2021
2
256
Astronomers have identified more than 4,000, and counting, confirmed exoplanets—planets orbiting stars other than the sun—but only a fraction have the potential to sustain life.
Planetary Sciences
May 4, 2021
0
293
Almost half a century ago the creators of Star Wars imagined a life-sustaining planet, Tatooine, orbiting a pair of stars. Now, 44 years later, scientists have found new evidence that that five known systems with multiple ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2021
1
2139
One day, humankind may step foot on another habitable planet. That planet may look very different from Earth, but one thing will feel familiar—the rain.
Astronomy
Apr 5, 2021
0
4538
In the quest for habitable planets beyond our own, NASA is studying a mission concept called Pandora, which could eventually help decode the atmospheric mysteries of distant worlds in our galaxy. One of four low-cost astrophysics ...
Astronomy
Mar 24, 2021
0
71
The weathering of silicate rocks plays an important role to keep the climate on Earth clement. Scientists led by the University of Bern and the Swiss national center of competence in research (NCCR) PlanetS, investigated ...
Space Exploration
Mar 11, 2021
0
220
Mars may now be considered a barren, icy desert but did Earth's nearest neighbour once harbour life?
Space Exploration
Feb 18, 2021
1
66
The astronomy research instrument CRIRES+ is designed to study planets outside our solar system. It is now in operation at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The Institute of Astrophysics ...
Astronomy
Feb 16, 2021
0
10
If there's an advanced extraterrestrial civilization inhabiting a nearby star system, we might be able to detect it using its own atmospheric pollution, according to new NASA research. The study looked at the presence of ...
Astrobiology
Feb 11, 2021
2
893
It is now possible to capture images of planets that could potentially sustain life around nearby stars, thanks to advances reported by an international team of astronomers in the journal Nature Communications.
Astronomy
Feb 10, 2021
5
275
