Habitability
1 in 10 Red Giants are Covered in Spots, and They Rotate Surprisingly Quickly
Sunspots are common on our Sun. These darker patches are cooler than their surroundings, and they're caused by spikes in…
Deep Down in Ocean Worlds, it’s Difficult to Tell Where the Oceans End and the Rock Begins
We all know what water is. And what rock is. The difference is crystal clear. Well, here on Earth it…
More Evidence that Europa’s Oceans Could be Habitable
At first glance, Jupiter's moon Europa doesn't seem much like Earth. It's a moon, not a planet, and it's covered…
A 2nd Planet has been Confirmed for Proxima Centauri
Our closest stellar neighbour is Proxima Centauri, a small red dwarf star about 4.2 light years away from us. It's…
Astronomers Have Found the Star/Exoplanet Combo That’s the Best Twin to the Sun/Earth
At times, it seems like there's an indundation of announcements featuring discoveries of "Earth-like" planets. And while those announcements are…
Ocean Circulation Might Be the Key to Finding Habitable Exoplanets
We've found thousands and thousands of exoplanets now. And spacecraft like TESS will likely find thousands and thousands more of…
NASA’s Perseverance Rover is Going to Jezero Crater, Which is Looking Better and Better as a Place to Search for Evidence of Past Life on Mars
In 2018, NASA decided that the landing site for its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover would be the Jezero Crater. At…
The Perfect Stars to Search for Life On Their Planets
We tend to think of our Earthly circumstances as normal. A watery, temperate world orbiting a stable yellow star. A…
TESS Finds its First Earth-Sized World in the Habitable Zone of a Star
NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) has found its first Earth-sized planet located in the habitable zone of its host…
Without a Magnetosphere, Planets Orbiting Flare Stars Don’t Stand a Chance
Earthlings are fortunate. Our planet has a robust magnetic shield. Without out magnetosphere, the Sun's radiation would've probably ended life…