Tag: Astrobiology
-
Horror movie ‘Life’ draws upon real-life biology and worst-case space scenarios
An astronaut administers a shock to an alien life form in a Petri dish aboard the International Space Station, in a scene from the movie “Life.” Bad idea? (CTMG via YouTube) A real-life organism provides the inspiration for the alien monster at the center of “Life,” a horror movie that’s set on the International Space Station.…
-
Looking for life: Scientists find 7 possibly Earthlike planets orbiting ultracool star
A diagram shows seven exoplanets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star known as TRAPPIST-1. If the planets were transported to our own solar system, they’d all lie within Mercury’s orbit. (ESO Illustration) A second look at an exoplanet system 40 light-years from Earth has brought a bonanza for astronomers: not two, not three, but seven alien worlds…
-
Scientists narrow list of landing sites for NASA’s next Mars rover
The delta inside Jezero Crater offers one of the best locations on Mars to look for the remains of ancient microbes, according to scientists. Jezero Crater received the most votes during a ranking of potential destinations for NASA’s Mars 2020 rover last week. This image combines information from two instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter:…
-
Marijuana fans mix with space fans at The Goodship Company’s Seattle SETI salon
SETI astronomer Seth Shostak (far left) takes questions from the audience while The Goodship Company’s art director, Greg Lundgren, looks on. GeekWire’s Alan Boyle is the guy with his head down in the front row. (Goodship Photo / Ben Lindbloom) Is Seattle’s Goodship Higher Education Series about bringing together cannabis users? Or is it about deep…
-
Far out, man! SETI astronomer will explain the search for aliens to potential potheads
SETI astronomer Seth Shostak has been seeking alien signals for more than two decades. (SETI Institute Photo) You don’t have to be stoned to appreciate SETI scientist Seth Shostak’s perspective on the search for extraterrestrials – but it wouldn’t hurt. That’s what the Goodship Higher Education Series is counting on when the SETI Institute’s senior astronomer…
-
Video: How will we get to Alpha Centauri? Researchers work on an antimatter drive
An artist’s conception shows a positron rocket engine. (Positronics Research via NASA) Project Blue’s scientists still have to raise more than $800,000 over the next 15 days to reach their initial crowdfunding goal for a mission to observe Alpha Centauri’s alien planets, but they’re already thinking about how future explorers could get there. It would take…
-
Project Blue kicks off $1 million crowdfunding campaign to seek out Alpha Centauri’s alien Earths
An artist’s concept shows Project Blue’s telescope monitoring Alpha Centauri. (Credit: Project Blue) How much would you pay to find out whether Alpha Centauri’s twin suns possess blue planets like Earth? Project Blue is hoping it’s at least $10, and maybe thousands of dollars. That’s the point behind the project’s Kickstarter campaign, which aims to raise…
-
Study suggests Saturn’s moon Dione has underground ocean
This view from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft looks toward Saturn’s icy moon Dione, with giant Saturn and its rings in the background, just prior to the mission’s final close approach to the moon on Aug. 17, 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Scientists crunching data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft believe Saturn’s moon Dione has a liquid ocean…
-
A not-so-simple response: Messages beamed to aliens amid debate over perils
The European Space Agency’s Cebreros Station in Spain was due to transmit an 866-second encoded radio message in the direction of Polaris, 434 light-years away. (Credit: ESA) More than 3,000 messages were beamed toward the North Star today by a powerful radio telescope – and although the exercise was largely symbolic, it serves to revive a debate…
-
Hubble readings firm up evidence for plumes of water at Jupiter’s moon Europa
This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Hubble data were taken on Jan. 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions. (Credit: W. Sparks / STScI…