Habitability Whether Rocks Weather or Not?
Habitable zone estimations take the climate regulation of the carbon cycle into account. But are we drawing the edges of the habitable zone too wide?
Could we detect signs of life on a massive super-Earth?
We have one canonical idea of what life looks like on Earth: nitrogen, water, carbon dioxide. But would this be true on another world? When looking for life in the atmospheres of exoplanets, we might want to consider searching for something completely different.
Gamma Ray Bursts vs. All Life on Earth
Asteroids and volcanoes are familiar harbingers of global doom. But what about Gamma Ray Bursts? Is another doomsday lurking?
Searching for Life via Exoplanet Smog
Today’s paper proposes a detection method for technologically advanced life that goes beyond the usual SETI signals: looking at exoplanet atmospheres not just for the presence of life in general, but for the chemical signatures of intelligent life.
Will we find signs of tectonics on Pluto? And what would that mean?
New Horizons will arrive at Pluto in mid-2015. Images of ancient tectonic features on its surface may provide evidence for the existence of an ancient, subsurface ocean.
Exomoons disguised as aliens
Exoplanets with moons could mimic alien life-signs.