Like the lead character of “Project Hail Mary,” some scientists are proposing ways that life might exist beyond a star’s “habitable zone,” often considered the gold standard of potential livability ...

Life on Earth is a precious thing, especially given what astronomers know about the visible universe. Although researchers ...

“Project Hail Mary,” the movie adaptation to Andy Weir’s 2021 novel about a science teacher attempting to save the Earth from sun-eating microbes, was released in March 2026 to stellar ratings from ...

Out of the 6,000 known exoplanets, it's these rocky worlds that are most worthy of attention in the search for life beyond ...

If we're to find extraterrestrial life in the universe, astronomers have pinpointed the best places to look for it. They have ...

Scientists have identified 45 Earth-like exoplanets that are the strongest known candidates for hosting extraterrestrial life.

Unlike our Moon, they can keep water in oceans liquid for more than 4 billion years.

When it comes to the space sciences, nothing is quite as exciting as the search for alien life, and NASA thinks it has a good idea of where to look.

How can we identify stars likely to host planets suitable for life? This question has long motivated astronomers, and an ...

A new estimate of the number of habitable planets orbiting the most common type of stars in our galaxy could have huge consequences for the search for life. According to a recent study, tens of ...

If we discover alien life, what will it look like? We have no way of knowing, but the hunt for extraterrestrial life can now include purple bacteria, according to a group of astronomers who are ...

The molten planet, with an atmosphere rich in sulfur-bearing gases, is unlike anything astronomers have ever smelled.