Venus, with its crushing atmospheric pressure and scorching surface temperatures, seems an unlikely place for life to take hold. But while the surface of this planet remains completely inhospitable, Venus’ atmosphere may be capable of harboring microbial life, according to new research.

Enceladus is one of the most fascinating objects in the Solar System. Parked in orbit around Saturn, the ice-covered moon features a warm subterranean ocean and the basic chemical ingredients for life. But could alien microbes actually survive there? A new experiment suggests the answer is yes.

It’s been less than a year since astronomers detected seven planets around TRAPPIST-1, a remarkable star system located 39 light years from Earth. New research suggests life could take root on at least two of these planets, thanks to a fortuitous orbital quirk. But other scientists aren’t so sure, saying TRAPPIST-1…

It’s generally agreed that some kind of microbe will be the first form of life we discover on another planet, moon, or other space rock. But hardly anyone thinks we’ll find an alien virus, which is weird, given how prolific and successful these biological entities are on Earth. A new study seeks to correct this…

Space is great, and it is very fun to have an agency that funds research missions to explore things far from our little planet. On Wednesday, NASA announced two new potential robotic missions: one to the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and one to Saturn’s moon Titan.

Humans have had such a dramatic impact on Earth that some scientists say we’ve kickstarted a new geological era known as the Anthropocene. A fascinating new paper theorizes that alien civilizations could do the same thing, reshaping their homeworlds in predictable and potentially detectable ways. The authors are…

From the moment that seven Earth-sized planets were discovered in orbit around TRAPPIST-1—an ultracool dwarf star located 39 light years away—astronomers have been busy trying to learn everything they can about this intriguing star system, particularly its potential to foster life. Recently, an international team of…

Saturn’s moon Titan is a world of contrast; both eerily familiar and strikingly alien. Its calm seas and enormous sand dunes might remind you of Earth, until you learn that what’s flowing across Titan’s surface is not water, but liquid hydrocarbons. Titan’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere seems to have some of the…

Earlier this year, Earthlings rejoiced when scientists announced the discovery of three rocky exoplanets in the habitable zone of TRAPPIST-1, an “ultracool dwarf” star located just 39 light years away. Soon after, astronomers brought us back down Earth, pointing out that it might be hard for life to survive on a world…

With Ridley Scott’s latest installment in his classic Alien franchise, now’s the perfect time to wildly speculate about extraterrestrials. In Alien: Covenant and so many other movies like it, our cosmic neighbors turn out to be real assholes. They’re always trying to conquer Earth, or eat humans, or do other weird…

It feels like we’re constantly searching for a friend out there in the cosmos, only to be repeatedly disappointed. But what if, in our quest to discover life beyond Earth, we’ve overlooking a more important question? What if the question we should really be asking is, how do we ensure life spreads beyond Earth?

Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus is the latest target in the perennial excitement around finding extraterrestrial life. Its warm subterranean ocean is thought to contain all the right ingredients to harbor alien microbes, which would arguably be the biggest scientific discovery in human history. While finding microbes—even…

Over 70 percent of our planet is covered in water, and we tend to think that’s a lot. A new study suggests that our world is special in this regard, and that most habitable planets are dominated by oceans that consume over 90 percent their surface area. That may be good for primitive marine life, but not so good for…

Some SETI researchers believe the best way to detect aliens is to search the skies for their laser beams. In the largest survey of its kind, astronomers scanned 5,600 stars in search of these optical signals—and they found...absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. Here’s what that means to SETI and the ongoing hunt for alien…

Saturn’s moon Enceladus features a warm subterranean ocean covered in ice. In an extraordinary new finding, scientists have confirmed the existence of a chemical energy source within this moon’s water that’s capable of sustaining living organisms here on Earth. Enceladus is now officially the best place beyond Earth…