Habitability
Shallow Pockets of Water Under the ice on Europa Could Bring Life Close to its Surface
New research from Standford University has found an explanation for the most prominent features on Europa, based on similar featured…
Machine Learning Will be one of the Best Ways to Identify Habitable Exoplanets
A new study has shown how machine learning will aid next-generation telescopes in the search for water on exoplanets.
It Turns out, We Have a Very Well-Behaved Star
Should we thank our well-behaved Sun for our comfy home on Earth? Some stars behave poorly. They're unruly and emit…
Eggshell Planets Have a Thin Brittle Crust and No Mountains or Tectonics
Planets without plate tectonics are unlikely to be habitable. But currently, we've never seen the surface of an exoplanet to…
Rocky Planets Might Need to be the Right age to Support Life
In a new study, a team of Earth scientists shows how scientists could look for signs of a carbon-silicate cycle…
A Technique to Find Oceans on Other Worlds
A new study shows how next-generation observatories could directly observe oceans on exoplanets, which could narrow the search for extraterrestrial…
Mars Was Too Small to Ever be Habitable
Mars and water. Those words can trigger an avalanche of speculation, evidence, hypotheses, and theories. Mars has some water now,…
Ocean Worlds With Hydrogen-Rich Atmospheres Could be the Perfect Spots for Life
A new study has identified another class of exoplanet that could drastically increase the odds of finding life beyond the…
Most Exoplanets won’t Receive Enough Radiation to Support an Earth-Like Biosphere
According to new research, most extrasolar planets do not get enough radiation to support photosynthesis, which places limits on how…
A New Technique for “Seeing” Exoplanet Surfaces Based on the Content of their Atmospheres
A new study takes a look at how the presence of a surface can affect an exoplanets atmosphere, giving astrobiologists…