Exoplanets

A New Frontier Is Opening in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

The reason we haven’t found life elsewhere in the universe is simple: We haven’t really looked until now.

The Washington Post

How Many Alien Civilizations Are Out There? A New Galactic Survey Holds a Clue

The Milky Way is full of habitable real estate, with roughly half of all sunlike stars hosting Earth-size worlds that could be friendly to life.

National Geographic

Two Dozen Exoplanets That Might be More Habitable Than Earth

Do we need to change our search parameters when looking for extraterrestrial life?

Air & Space Magazine

Scientists Move to Find Alien Civilizations Using “Technosignatures”

There are specific marks on a planet that intelligent life may leave. To find technological civilizations among the stars, we just need to know what to look for.

Forbes

Astronomers Have Found a Planet Like Earth Orbiting a Star Like the Sun

The discovery of the exoplanet KOI-456.04 orbiting the star Kepler-160 suggests we should more aggressively look for habitable planets around sun-like stars.

MIT Technology Review

Planets With Hydrogen-Rich Atmospheres Could Harbor Life

Lab experiments show that yeast and E. coli survive and reproduce in hydrogen-rich conditions.

Science News

A Good Week for Planet Formation

Building planets is an intricate process but we’re finding clues to some new possibilities.

Life Unbounded, Scientific American

The Age of Interstellar Visitors

As astronomers get better at finding the comets and asteroids of other stars, they’ll learn more about the universe and our place in it.

Quanta Magazine

First Water Detected in the Atmosphere of a Habitable-Zone Planet

While the planet itself may not be habitable, it suggests others could be.

Ars Technica

Life on Alien Worlds Could Be More Diverse Than on Earth

Earth is the only place in the universe where we know life exists. But with billions of other star systems out there, it might not be the best place for life.

Astronomy Magazine

Astronomers Get Serious About Alien Technosignatures

The hunt for alien technosignatures heats up.

Forbes

The Interiors of Exoplanets May Well Hold the Key to Their Habitability

Determining whether a distant planet is truly habitable may require an understanding of its inner dynamics — which will for sure be a challenge to achieve.

Many Worlds

This Could Be the Most Earth-Like Exoplanet Discovered Yet

The CARMENES team found evidence of two planets around Teegarden, called Teegarden b and c.

Gizmodo

Exoplanets With Complex Life May Be Very Rare, Even in Their “Habitable Zones”

The term “habitable zone” can be a misleading one, since it describes a limited number of conditions on a planet to make it hospitable to life.

Many Worlds

Moon Blobs, Collapsars, and Long Planets

A roundup of recent research with astrobiological implications.

Life, Unbounded, Scientific American

Why Exploring Alien Life Is No Longer a Laughing Matter

Culturally and scientifically, we’re no longer giggling about alien life.

The Globe and Mail

It’s Time to Start Taking the Search for E.T. Seriously, Astronomers Say

Some scientists are pushing for NASA to make looking for alien technology an official goal.

Science News

Have Aliens Found Us? A Harvard Astronomer on the Mysterious Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua

Avi Loeb discusses why we need to consider the possibility that the object was sent by aliens, the dangers of unscientific speculation, and what belief in an advanced extraterrestrial civilization has in common with faith in God.

The New Yorker

Thinking About Distant Civilizations Isn’t Speculative

Avi Loeb on the mysterious interstellar body ‘Oumuamua.

DER SPIEGEL

A $100-Million Startup Shares Incredible Plan to Propel Spacecraft With Giant Lasers

Breakthrough Starshot is moving ahead with an audacious vision for space exploration.

Big Think

A Frozen Super-Earth May Orbit Barnard’s Star

At just six light years away, the candidate planet would be the second-closest world known beyond our solar system — and a prime target for future studies.

Scientific American