The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight. The results were published today in Science as one article in a five-paper special section on the Curiosity mission. The Sample Analysis at Mars [continue reading]
New research supports theory that life started on Mars New evidence has emerged which supports the long-debated theory that life on Earth may have started on Mars. Professor Steven Benner will tell geochemists gathering today (Thursday 29 Aug) at the annual Goldschmidt Conference that an oxidized mineral form of the element molybdenum, which may have [continue reading]
TAU finds white dwarf stars may hold the key to detecting life on other planets Because it has no source of energy, a dead star — known as a white dwarf — will eventually cool down and fade away. But circumstantial evidence suggests that white dwarfs can still support habitable planets, says [continue reading]
Even dying stars could host planets with life – and if such life exists, we might be able to detect it within the next decade. This encouraging result comes from a new theoretical study of Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarf stars. Researchers found that we could detect oxygen in the atmosphere of a white [continue reading]
Astronomers from Leiden University and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON) think it may be possible to detect signs of extraterrestrial life within the next 25 years… without the need for a space mission. Their article about this will be published in The Astrophysical Journal. Artist’s impression of the European Extremely Large Telescope [continue reading]
Northern night skies have recently been alive with light. Those shimmering curtains get their start about 93 million miles away, on the Sun. An image of an aurora borealis, and moonrise in the Brooks Range in northern Alaska at the Chandler Shelf in December 2008. Image Credit: guardian.co.uk/Rolf Hicker/Barcroft Media An aurora borealis (aurora australis [continue reading]