The Astronomer Royal answers some of the world’s – and the universe’s – biggest questions.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Articles on Alien life
Displaying 61 - 80 of 85 articles
There has been much excitement this week about the possibility of water – and life – on some newly discovered exoplanets. But we can look closer to home for evidence of ET.
We continue to search for intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. But if we find ET there are those who question whether we should make contact or not.
There’s now strong evidence that Europa might be a worthwhile place to search for life.
Mysterious radiation that appears to come from star HD 164595 is more likely to have a terrestrial origin.
Scientists have finally found an Earth-like planet we may actually be able to visit.
Complex life may be rare in the universe because most planets become either too hot or too cold before life has a chance to get a foothold. This might explain why we have yet to bump into E.T.
The number of known exoplanets doubled this week to more than 3,200. But why have only a handful of these those new planets caught people’s imagination?
A philosopher argues that now is the time to figure it out, before we make the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life.
There are technological ways to hide a planet from intergalactic detection – as well as ways to signal that we’re just sitting here, eager for contact.
It’s an ambitious plan to send a micro-spaceship to our stellar neighbour but is this possible with today’s technology or even technology in the near future?
A US$100-million plan has been announced to send tiny probes out in space in search of life elsewhere in the universe. But are they looking in the right place?
If we do find life on Mars, it will be difficult to prove that we didn’t bring it there from Earth. An insider talks us through what’s at stake.
Our panel of experts speculate on which of science’s biggest questions could be answered in the coming months.
A hint of oxygen and a whiff of methane in a distant exoplanet’s atmosphere may be the first evidence we discover of alien life.
There’s a lot of speculation about a star behaving strangely in our galaxy. But even if it’s not evidence of alien intelligence, it’s sure to be an amazing discovery.
Two independent teams have found compounds including nitrogen and carbon dioxide on Comet 67P, which can form sugars and amino acids.
Given Earth is our sole example of life in the universe, it’s hard to know what we’re looking for elsewhere in the cosmos.
Astronomers have been looking for signs of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe for centuries. But the search has so far found nothing. So what makes this latest hunt so different?
Why the Breakthrough Listen project is a step in the right direction in our hunt for life beyond Earth.
Top contributors
-
Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
-
Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University
-
Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
-
Professor of Physics, Deputy Director (Solar System) at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL
-
Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Space Science, University of Birmingham
-
Researcher at Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics and the Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University
-
Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State
-
Professor and Director of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW Sydney
-
Lecturer in Astrobiology and Principal Technical Officer at Bayfordbury Observatory, University of Hertfordshire
-
Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
-
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina
-
Professor (Physics), University of Southern Queensland
-
John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University
-
Senior Lecturer in Geology, University of Aberdeen
-
Ernest Rutherford Fellow, The Open University
