One way to understand the potential for life on far-off planets—those in other solar systems that orbit different stars—is to study a planet's atmosphere. Telescopic images often capture traces of ...

This may be the most difficult question to answer. Life itself is not detectable with existing technology. Astronomers will need to evaluate and exclude all other potential options to build their ...

How can liquid water exist on ocean worlds enclosed by icy shells? This is what a recent study published in Nature Communications hopes to address as a team of researchers led by Texas A&M University ...

The recent detection of potential signs of ancient microbial life on Mars by NASA’s Perseverance rover has sparked renewed interest in the planet’s habitability. The rover’s analysis of a Martian rock ...

Astronomers can use telescopes to find specific molecules in the atmospheres of neighboring planets, in nebulae – clouds of interstellar dust and gas – hundreds or thousands of light-years away, or in ...

A University of Arizona professor is optimistic about finding life on a newly discovered planet located in the Alpha Centauri system, which is the closest solar system to ours. The planet is believed ...

A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal and presented at this week’s American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting 2023 examines how 17 exoplanets could harbor interior oceans of liquid ...