Life

Liz Light Echoes

Alien ingredients? Precursor molecules for life found where planets are born

By Elizabeth Rayne 1 month ago

Liz Human Eye

What if there was more than one origin of life?

By Elizabeth Rayne 2 months ago

Artwork depicting a potentially habitable planet orbiting the nearby red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. Credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser

The Red Sky Paradox: Why do we orbit a star like the Sun instead of a red dwarf?

By Phil Plait 4 months ago

cutaway diagram of Enceladus

Deep sea bacteria spurn the Sun, instead using Earth's internal heat for photosynthesis

By Phil Plait 8 months ago

Hubble Space Telescope image of Mars taken near its closest approach to Earth in 2016. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), J. Bell (ASU), and M. Wolff (Space Science Institute)

Mars methane mysteriously missing

By Phil Plait 10 months ago

Artwork depicting Earth without water (left) versus the actual planet observed from space (right). Credit: David Gallo/WHOI and NASA/NOAO

Why is Earth still habitable after billions of years? In part, we're just lucky.

By Phil Plait 10 months ago

Processed image from the Japanese Akatsuki spacecraft showing Venus in ultraviolet (left) which emphasizes clouds, and infrared (right) which shows its thermal signature. Credit: JAXA/ISAS/DARTS/Kevin M. Gill

UPDATE: Life above hell? Serious doubt cast on Venus phosphine finding

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

Venus in ultraviolet shows interesting — and difficult to explain — contrasts in the cloud blanket. Credit: JAXA / ISAS / DARTS / Damia Bouic

So, astronomers may have found evidence of life on Venus

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

venus hero

Rocket Lab shooting for the clouds of Venus with life-searching 2023 mission

By Jeff Spry 1 year ago

Mr. DNA from Jurassic Park

DNA nearly a billion years old is being warped to figure out how life could evolve on other planets

By Elizabeth Rayne 1 year ago