Aliens

Ripley Has a Habit of Removing Her Jumpsuit at the Worst Moment in This 1986 Aliens Spoof

Back when Aliens was the number one movie in America, Sigourney Weaver took to Saturday Night Live for their 12th season opener, and took part in an Aliens spoof. The skit is… sort of interesting, but the joke on Ripley randomly removing her jumpsuit for no reason is pretty classic. Also, E.T. had it coming.…

How Astronomers Will Solve the ‘Alien Megastructure’ Mystery 

KIC 8462852 has quickly become one of the biggest astronomical mysteries of the decade. It’ll be months before we have any firm answers on this fitfully flickering star, but astronomers intend to get to the bottom of it. How? “If we could catch it in the act of dimming again, that would really help,” Penn…

The power of Star Wars is such that, even a month after release, high-res stills from The Force Awakens are big news. As part of an interview with Neal Scanlan about the 110 practical alien creatures made for the film, USA Today has a gallery of new images showcasing some of the most prominent aliens.

The Case of the So-Called Alien Megastructure Just Got Weirder

It’s probably not aliens. Seriously guys, it’s very, very unlikely that it’s aliens. But the weird, flickering star known as KIC 8462852 still isn’t sitting right with astronomers. In fact, it just got a lot weirder. Ever since KIC 84628532 was spotted in the Kepler Space Telescope’s dataset, astronomers have puzzled over what the heck…

You’re Going to Want These Blair Witch, Lost Boys, and Alien Posters in Your Life

If you’re like us, you can’t get enough pop culture art. New movies, old classics, cult oddities—we love it all, and a new show at Los Angeles’ Hero Complex Gallery combines all of that and more. The show is called “Quattro with a Shotgun” and features the work of four ultra-talented artists you may not…

Mysterious Wow! Signal Came From Comets, Not Aliens, Claims Scientist

In 1977, astronomer Jerry R. Ehman observed a data signal so unique he drew a red circle around it and wrote “Wow!” to emphasize the discovery. The source of the signal was never identified, leading some to say it was aliens. But a new study suggests it wasn’t aliens at all—but rather a hydrogen cloud…

Alien Life May Be Hiding in These Brilliant Star Clusters 

For three decades, humans have searched for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth, and yet we’ve only sampled a tiny drop of our vast cosmic ocean. If we’re ever to find a radio-hot, spacefaring civilization, we need to know where to point our telescopes. But the answer may be simpler than we thought. According to…

These Caricatures Of Sci-Fi Icons Are Absolutely Perfect

Some of the best art takes your favorite thing and presents it in a new, fun way. Kevin Greene is a master at this. He takes famous, recognizable sci-fi characters and makes them look like they belong on a wall at a famous Italian restaurant. Greene has released a book called Heroes and Villains: The…

Everything You Need to Know About Cassini’s Final Enceladus Flyby

An important chapter in our exploration of the solar system concludes tomorrow, when NASA’s Cassini probe makes its final close flyby of Enceladus, an icy moon orbiting Saturn with a global ocean beneath its surface. Cassini has already collected samples to determine if Enceladus’ seawater might be habitable—but we still have some unfinished business with…

SETI: KIC 8462852 Is Not Shooting Alien Laser Beams At Us

Everyone’s favorite alien-megastructure-that-never-was got another affirmation that it’s just a goddamn star today. According to SETI, there are NO EXTRATERRESTRIAL LASERS emanating from the baffling stellar body. That’s right—no laser pulses beaming at the Earth from star KIC8462852! Believe it or not, this is a real thing that SETI researchers say we might expect to…

Mork and Mindy Was One of the Most Unlikely Miracles in the History of Television

Groundbreaking sitcom Mork and Mindy was always doomed to fail. This weird comedy about an alien and his human pal reached a U.S. audience of 60 million viewers every week, and launched Robin Williams’ career. And then, it tanked. We talked to the show’s writers and director, who told us the fascinating story of the…

Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Making of Mork and Mindy

For one year, Mork and Mindy was arguably the most successful science fiction TV show ever made. The comedy about an alien and his human best friend turned Robin Williams into a global sensation. How did this miracle happen, and why didn’t it last? To find out, I talked to the people who made the…

Your Least Favorite Aliens Character Could Star In the Upcoming Sequel

Some fans of James Cameron’s Aliens consider Newt the worst part of the movie: Her high-pitched scream, laughable dialogue, it can be painful. If you are one of these people, I have some potentially bad news: Newt might be the star of Neill Blomkamp’s Aliens sequel. Talking to Icons of Fright, Aliens star Michael Biehn…

At The End Asks: Would You Become A Slave To Escape A Doomed Earth?

In this short film, a nearby supernova spells certain doom for Earth, and an alien fleet offers a choice: humans can escape, but only if they agree to become enslaved in space. The film follows one couple who have to come to grips with what it will cost to survive. Jason Whitmore’s film splits its…

The Story Behind Bhen On The Cover Of The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction

This is a neat little story: The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction has produced some fantastic covers over the years, and since the 1970s, they’ve included a little green alien on some of the covers. Over on their blog, they’ve gone back to look at why he was included. But in 1975, when public…

Sorry, Alien Hunters: No Signs of Life From KIC 8462852

A few weeks back, the humans of planet Earth worked themselves into a frenzy over the possibility that the Kepler space telescope had discovered an alien megastructure. Since then, the astronomers behind the hubbub have had their heads down, hunting for the technobabble that might lend credence to the wild theory. Surprise! They haven’t found…

Here’s Your Exclusive Excerpt From One of This Fall’s Most Exciting Space Novels, Planetfall

Emma Newman’s novel Planetfall is getting a ton of buzz, with people comparing it to Ursula K. Le Guin. And now you can see for yourself why, with our exclusive excerpt. In Planetfall, Renata “Ren” Ghali lives on an alien planet, in a seemingly perfect colony, underneath the mysterious structure called God’s City. But long-buried…

One Of The Scariest Aliens In Film History Gets An Adorably Cute Makeover

The Xenomorph from the Alien series has got to be one of, if not the, most terrifying creatures ever in film history. Even in the bad films of the franchise, the alien looks awesome. But one author imagined, what if he wasn’t so scary? Enter Alien Next Door, a picture book by artist Joey Spiotto.…

This Clever Short Film Reveals the “Truth” About Crop Circles

In Chris Thomas’ deadpan sci-fi comedy Cropped, a brassy, jaded British tour guide runs afoul of her latest group, who aren’t afraid to admit their love of all things extraterrestrial. Naturally, there’s a twist … and it’s not what you’ll expect. Here’s the official description: Cropped is about a group of UFO enthusiasts who clash…

Most Earth-Like Worlds Haven’t Been Born Yet

With NASA’s Kepler mission still turning up cosmic wonders, and a slew of exoplanet-hunting scopes on deck, the chance of finding a second Earth has never seemed higher. And yet, time may be against us when it comes to meeting our squishy galactic brethren: according to a new theoretical study, 92% of Earth-like worlds haven’t…