A science-first examination of stellar lifetimes, directed panspermia, genetic intervention claims, and the evolutionary time-window hypothesis THE CENTRAL QUESTION If technological civilizations exist and value the continuation of life, might they ever accelerate evolution on a world whose habitable era could close before intelligence emerges? This page examines that possibility without treating it as established […]
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence gets a new home at Oxford
The University of Oxford has been selected as the new international headquarters for the Breakthrough Listen initiative, the world’s largest Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project. SETI received a significant boost in 2015 with the launch of Breakthrough Listen, a $100-million-dollar private venture focusing on searching for technosignatures, signals from technologically advanced extraterrestrial species. The […]
Building blocks of life found in OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample
Scientists have made a promising discovery in a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu. The analysis revealed the presence of water and large amounts of carbon, suggesting that Bennu may contain the building blocks of life. This supports the long-standing theory that asteroids and comets may have played a crucial role in delivering the materials […]
What is astrobiology?
Astrobiology is a multidisciplinary scientific field that studies the possibility of life in the universe, including how life emerged on Earth. It involves the search for life beyond Earth, studying environments that could support life, and investigating interactions between planets and their stars. Astrobiologists, who may be experts in biology, astronomy, chemistry, and other fields, […]
The Weather On Titan: Windy With A Chance Of Methane Mist
In 2005, the European Space Agency’s Huygens probe landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and sent back images of a landscape shaped by forces similar to those on Earth. However, unlike Earth where water shapes the surface, on Titan, where the temperature is -179 degrees Centigrade, it is methane that shapes the surface. Methane exists […]
Evidence of alien life may exist in the fractures of icy moons around Jupiter and Saturn
Scientists are delving into the geology of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and Saturn’s moon Titan, focusing on features known as “strike-slip faults” which are similar to Earth’s San Andreas fault. These faults are created by the immense gravitational pull of the gas giants, which generate tidal forces as the moons’ elliptical orbits bring them closer and […]
