Mysterious Ecosystem May Hold Clues to Alien Life
Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reveal that the extreme oasis of life deep in the Caribbean Sea may hold clues to life on other…
Astrobiology
Martian Meteorite Reveals the Possibility of Life on Mars
An unusual feature embedded deep within a fragment of a Martian meteorite is helping to make the case for the possibility of life on Mars….
New Guidelines for the Search for Alien Life on Other Planets
Using an altitude-dependent photochemical model with the enhanced lower boundary conditions necessary to carefully explore abiotic oxygen and ozone production on lifeless planets with a…
Astronomers Discover First Evidence of Water Ice Clouds Outside Our Solar System
Using the FourStar imager at Las Campanas Observatory, scientists have discovered evidence of water ice clouds on a newly discovered brown dwarf WISE J085510.83-071442.5 (W0855)…
Radio Signals from Jupiter Could Aid in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life on Its Moons
A new study reveals that radio signals generated from Jupiter could help researchers scan its giant moons for extraterrestrial life. Powerful radio signals that Jupiter…
Early Chemistry of a Star’s Protoplanetary Disc Shapes Life-Friendly Atmospheres
A new study reveals that the chemistry of a star’s protoplanetary disc could influence the later composition of planetary atmospheres. Born in a disc of…
New Study Presents “Water World” Theory for the Emergence of Life
A new study describes how electrical energy naturally produced at the sea floor might have given rise to life, assembling decades of field, laboratory and…
New Modeling Reveals that Tilted Orbits Could Make More Worlds Habitable
New research from astrobiologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center reveals that large amplitude, high frequency obliquity oscillations on Earth-like exoplanets can suppress the ice-albedo…
Scientists Simulate the Extreme Conditions of the Fluid Reservoirs in the Crust of Europa
Researchers have developed an experiment to help explain and recreate the extreme conditions of the fluid reservoirs in the crust of Europa. Water, salts and…
Habitable Zones Near Red Dwarf Stars Smaller than Previously Thought
A newly published study reveals that habitable zones near red dwarf stars may be smaller than previously thought. The researchers believe that the exoplanets orbiting…
Astronomers Develop New Method of Gauging the Atmospheric Pressure of Exoplanets
With the aid of computer simulations of the chemistry of Earth’s own atmosphere that isolate what are called “dimer molecules,” astronomers developed a new method…
Scientists Discover Evidence of Water in Martian Meteorite
NASA scientists have discovered evidence of past water movement throughout a Martian meteorite known as Yamato 000593. A team of scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space…
Online Database Tracks Organic Nano-Particles Across the Universe
New updates to the PAH Infrared Spectroscopic Database allow scientists to map the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and track its role across the universe….
New Technique to Search Space Dust for Molecules Critical for Life
Researchers at Goddard’s Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory have developed a new technique to search space dust for molecules that are critical for life. While the origin…
Searching for Life on Earth-Like Planets May Be a Mistake, Need to Consider Superhabitable Planets
A newly published study states that searching for life on Earth-like planets may be a mistake and details why scientists need to consider non-Earth-like “superhabitable”…
Astrobiologists Search for Signs of Life on Dying Planets
Using computer models of the climates and biospheres, astrobiologists are researching how signs of life might look on dying planets. If life does exist anywhere…
Updated Theory Details How Biomolecules Were Able to Form Inside Asteroids
In a newly published study, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reexamine the unipolar induction mechanism for heating asteroids, detailing how biomolecules were once able to…
How to Distinguish Habitable Worlds Apart from Lifeless Gas Giants
A new study demonstrates how to distinguish between cloudy mini-Neptunes and volatile-dominated super-Earths based on the differences in the wing steepness and relative depths of…