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Possible Subterranean Life Means More Exoplanets Could Harbor Life

Artistic representation of the current five known potential habitable worlds. Will this list broaden under a new habitability model? Credit: The Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) When we think of life on other planets, we tend to imagine things (microbes, plant life and yes, humanoids) that exist on the surface. But Earth’s biosphere doesn’t stop at …

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Purple Bacteria — Not Green Plants — Might Be the Strongest Indication of Life

Astrobiologists continue to work towards determining which biosignatures might be best to look for when searching for life on other worlds. The most common idea has been to search for evidence of plants that use the green pigment chlorophyll, like we have on Earth. However, a new paper suggests that bacteria with purple pigments could …

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Are Titan's Dunes Made of Comet Dust?

A new theory suggests that Titan’s majestic dune fields may have come from outer space. Researchers had always assumed that the sand making up Titan’s dunes was locally made, through erosion or condensed from atmospheric hydrocarbons. But researchers from the University of Colorado want to know: Could it have come from comets?

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Science Fiction is Learning About Exoplanets From Science

As long as it has existed as a genre, there has been a notable relationship between science fiction and science fact. Since our awareness of the Universe and everything in it has changed with time, so have depictions and representations in popular culture. This includes everything from space exploration and extraterrestrial life to extraterrestrial environments. …

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Dying Stars Could Have Completely New Habitable Zones

Aging stars that become red giants increase their luminosity and can wreak havoc on planets that were once in the star’s habitable zones. When the Sun becomes a red giant and expands, its habitable zone will move further outward, meaning Earth will likely lose its atmosphere, its water, and its life. But for planets further …

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NASA Selects Bold Proposal to “Swarm” Proxima Centauri with Tiny Probes

Humans have dreamed about traveling to other star systems and setting foot on alien worlds for generations. To put it mildly, interstellar exploration is a very daunting task. As we explored in a previous post, it would take between 1000 and 81,000 years for a spacecraft to reach Alpha Centauri (of which Proxima Centauri is …

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Want to Find Life? See What's Missing in an Atmosphere

In the search for life, astrobiologists have proposed that various chemicals, like methane, could be potential biosignatures. But a new study suggests that missing chemicals might make an even stronger case there’s life in the world. For example, if a terrestrial planet has much less carbon dioxide in its atmosphere than other planets in the same system, life could cause the difference. Fortunately, this is the kind of signal JWST could search for.