Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

Are We Alone: LHC doomed from the future?

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Clavascidium lacinulatum, or brown stipplescale lichen, is a common sight in the Mojave Desert. (Image Credit: Bob O'Kennan via iNaturalist) 

lichen

Learn why a lichen found in the Mojave Desert has become key evidence in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Desert Lichen Resists Intense Solar Radiation, Providing Evidence for Extraterrestrial Life

(Image Credit: Claudio Caridi/Shutterstock) 

Europa

Learn how ice crystallizes on the surface of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, may hold promise for signs of extraterrestrial life within its subsurface ocean.

Constantly Changing Ice on Jupiter's Moon Europa Hints at Possible Ocean and Life

comet coming to earth

Learn about new evidence that suggests life on Earth may have started with the help of molecules that were delivered by comets and asteroids.

Molecules From Space May Have Sparked Life on Earth Billions of Years Ago

Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious. Using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the astronomers, led by the University of Cambridge, have detected the chemical fingerprints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and/or dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), in the atmosphere of the exoplanet K2-18b, which orbits its star in the habitable zone. (Image Credit: A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge))

Artist's impression of the exoplanet K2-18b

While cautious about the findings, astronomers detected traces of a chemical that, on Earth, is produced by phytoplankton.

JWST May Have Found Strongest Evidence of Life on Exoplanet K2-18b

The first Earth-size planet orbiting a star in the “habitable zone” — the range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the surface of an orbiting planet. (Image Credit: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL-Caltech)


Kepler-186f

Learn why finding no obvious biosignatures on 40 to 80 exoplanets doesn’t mean that life doesn’t exist outside Earth. It just provides a way to narrow the search.

When Searching for Life on Exoplanets, a Lack of Its Signs Is Only a Starting Point