Tagged: Extraterrestrial life

Interstellar comet update - Out of Space

Duncan Steel • Sep 19, 2019 •

• asteroids,
• astrobiology,
• astronomy,
• comets,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• interstellar comet,
• Milky Way,
• organic chemicals,
• origin of life,
• panspermia,
• solar system,
• terrestrial supply of water,
• transpermia

The discovery of a true interstellar comet – a comet passing through the solar system having arrived, presumably, after having been thrown out of some other planetary system orbiting another star – re-opens a long-debated question in science: is life unique to Earth, or is it common in the galaxy? The panspermia hypothesis holds that life is common in the … Read More

Colonising Mars means contaminating Mars – and never knowing for sure if it had its own native life - Guest Work

Guest Author • Nov 20, 2018 •

• contamination,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• Mars,
• NASA,
• Rover

David Weintraub, Vanderbilt University The closest place in the universe where extraterrestrial life might exist is Mars, and human beings are poised to attempt to colonise this planetary neighbour within the next decade. Before that happens, we need to recognise that a very real possibility exists that the first human steps on the Martian surface will lead … Read More

If we ever came across aliens, would we be able to understand them? - Guest Work

Guest Author • Jul 29, 2016 •

• aliens,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• grammar,
• language,
• linguistics,
• SETI

James Carney, Lancaster University Many scientists believe that alien civilisations exist. For them, the question is now whether we will encounter them in the near future or a very long time from now, rather than if at all. So let’s imagine that we suddenly stand face-to-face with members of an alien species. What would we do … Read More

Saturn’s moons may be younger than the dinosaurs – so could life really exist there? - Guest Work

Guest Author • Mar 30, 2016 •

• astronomy,
• Enceladus,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• Saturn,
• SETI

David Rothery, The Open University Saturn is home to more than 60 moons – from the massive Titan and the crater-riddled Phoebe, to Enceladus with its geysers. Enceladus in particular has been put forward as a good candidate for harbouring microbial life, thanks to its warm internal ocean. After all, if intelligent life … Read More

Could life on an exoplanet spread to its neighbour? - Guest Work

Guest Author • Dec 04, 2015 •

• astrobiology,
• astronomy,
• exoplanets,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• SETI

David Rothery, The Open University Imagine two nearby exoplanets orbiting the same sun, each with its own indigenous civilisation. They’re going through history either as companionable neighbours or deadly rivals. This is a familiar situation in science fiction, but could it ever happen? With the rapidly growing number of habitable exoplanets being discovered, this scenario may seem … Read More

The prejudiced journalist - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Jun 13, 2012 •

• creationism,
• Darwin,
• Darwinism,
• evolution,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• intelligent design,
• Maggie Turnbull,
• NASA,
• Sciblogs,
• Suzan Mazur

The media interview is sometimes problematic for the scientist. There’s all the problems of getting one’s message across in a way that the public can appreciate and in the allotted time span provided by news bites. But one problem that … Continue reading → … Read More

NASA and old lace - Open Parachute

Ken Perrott • Dec 03, 2010 •

• arsenic,
• evolution,
• Extraterrestrial life,
• Isaac Asimov,
• Mono Lake,
• NASA,
• Neil deGrasse Tyson,
• periodic table,
• Phosphorus,
• Sciblogs

I managed to catch the tail end of the NASA press conference this morning. This  had created quite a flutter on the internet with some speculating that NASA was going to announce the discovery of evidence for extraterrestrial life. Well, … Continue reading → … Read More