Creating a cosmic family tree
Astronomers traced the genealogy of a kilonova explosion by using models to find its most likely parent stars.
Category: What is out in space?
What is matter and dark matter? What kinds of things happen in space? What do we know about the physics in space?
How to spot colorful life on icy exoplanets
In recent decades, astronomers have discovered more than 5000 planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system, with nearly 9000 more…
When life detoxifies itself, it leaves behind a helpful sign
Scientists found that a methylated gas produced by life as a waste product of detoxification could serve as a remotely observable sign of…
How do we choose which planets to search for life?
Scientists used computer models to determine how likely a planet is to be habitable by its age, size, and distance from its sun.
Why did a bunch of asteroids hit the Earth billions of years ago?
The first cells of life on Earth had a lot to contend with. Conditions were harsh and unpredictable. The air was thick with volcanic gases.…
Future telescopes could search for alien farms
Simulations suggest that the light observed from a distant planet around another star might be able to show evidence of ammonia and nitrous…
A detailed look at a rare meteorite
A carbonaceous meteorite that fell in Costa Rica holds organic compounds that are preserved from the earliest stages of our solar system,…
How can we search for life as we don’t know it?
It's hard to look for signs of life beyond Earth. It's a little easier if we assume that life out there is like Earth life. But what if it…
Tardigrades help us understand if rocks can be vehicles for life
Have you heard of Panspermia? The hypothesis says that life originated somewhere else and travelled to Earth on rocks through space.…
A new method of detecting extraterrestrial life
Researchers discovered computer-led chemical analysis of a sample is a powerful tool for searching for ET biochemistry without making…