extraterrestrial life

NASA’s Europa Clipper is launching in October, and it’s set to unveil the secrets of one of the most intriguing celestial bodies in our solar system. Coming along for the ride is a commemorative plate that symbolizes humanity’s fascination with Jupiter’s mysterious moon Europa and our relentless quest to find extraterrestrial life.The M3 MacBook Airs are as Good as Ever, and That’s the ProblemEuropa represents a fascinating target. The Jovian moon is of huge interest to scientists, primarily due to its suspected ocean,…

UFOs are back in the news this week with the release of a long-awaited Pentagon report that was designed to address public interest in the topic. What Should Fans Take Away from Imaginary?UFOs (or, rather, UAP, as they’re now known), were injected back into public consciousness last year thanks largely to a former high-ranking intelligence official, David Grusch, who, after quitting his post at a prominent defense agency, went public with a variety of weird claims about aliens and spacecraft. Specifically, Grusch claimed…

A recent SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) effort focused on a famous supernova from 1987, working under the premise that aliens might use such events to draw attention to themselves with synchronized beacons. Although this hunt came up short, it lays the groundwork for future searches using the same innovative strategy.Nvidia’s Almost Worth 2 Trillion. Is It a Bubble, or Is It Just Getting Started?This principle, called the SETI Ellipsoid strategy, offers a potential solution to a challenging problem: How…

A new NASA experiment will take to the skies on a balloon, scanning the space between the stars of our galaxy and listening for cosmic ingredients to understand how the Milky Way evolved over time.First Full-Color Images From Webb Space TelescopeGUSTO, or Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory, is launching no earlier than Thursday from the largest ice shelf in Antarctica known as the Ross Ice Shelf, according to NASA. From there, the telescope will float 120,000 feet over Antarctica while…

In a groundbreaking study, NASA has unveiled a revelation that expands the search for extraterrestrial life. Researchers have identified 17 exoplanets positioned beyond our solar system that might boast subsurface oceans beneath their icy exteriors. The intriguing aspect lies in the possibility of periodic eruptions, resembling geysers, breaking through the frozen crusts of these distant worlds. Subsurface OceansThe research, conducted by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, included a meticulous analysis of…

Astronomers have now found more than 5,500 planets around other stars, or exoplanets, most of them detected by means of the small dip in the star’s light that happens when the planet passes across its face, and the planet’s shadow thus passes across the Earth. Hundreds of these sit in their parent star’s “habitable zone", which means they orbit neither so close that any water on their surfaces would boil away, nor so far that it would be frozen. Since water is vital to every form of life known on Earth, such…

In a cosmic twist, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unveiled a celestial supply chain involving ice-covered pebbles shuttling water to newly forming planets around young stars. This groundbreaking discovery challenges traditional beliefs about the origin of Earth's water and sheds light on the interconnectedness of solar system regions from its far regions to its very centre. The JWST's unparalleled vision penetrated the dust and gas surrounding four young stars, exposing protoplanetary disks- dense gas…

The SETI Institute, a leading non-profit in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, has received a transformative $200 million gift from the estate of Franklin Antonio, a long-time supporter who passed away last year.What Inspired Dominic Monaghan's Performance in Moriarty?The recent $200 million gift from Franklin Antonio’s estate, announced last week, will likely serve as a game-changer for the SETI Institute. Antonio was a big supporter of the Institute’s work for more than 12 years, and his donation is expected…

I discovered over the past several years that I’m not as rare as I once thought I was. There are many people out there who have a science and arts interest and aren’t quite sure how to combine them. I wrote this for people who have more than one interest, maybe more than two, and they’re not sure what to do about that. I wrote it for people who think that it’s too late to have that life or career they wanted to have because of personal, financial, logistical challenges. As an older returning student, I had thought, “It’s…

Planetary protection is, more than ever, a major responsibility for humankind. Ensuring that no alien matter is carried back to Earth by spacecraft returning from an interplanetary mission is not the whole issue, however, as planetary protection also involves making sure that the planets and other celestial bodies that we visit remain pristine, in order not to jeopardize scientific research.Taking out the Trash (in Space)Formulating policies for planetary protection issues and keeping them up-to-date is the responsibility…