extraterrestrial life

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Methane Hints at Life on Mars
 Methane Hints at Life on Mars 
Jan 15, 2009 4:38 PM CST

Methane Hints at Life on Mars

Gas released in high concentrations could be from bacteria

(Newser) - The discovery of high methane concentrations on Mars may hint that underground life exists on the red planet, the Houston Chronicle reports. Scientists funded by NASA and other institutions, using Earth-based telescopes, have found plumes of methane in such high concentrations they believe bacteria, which can also produce the gas...

Saturn's Moon Hints at Water

High speeds strongly hint at liquid water's presence

(Newser) - Plumes of gas and dust firing off one of Saturn's moons are moving at speeds “hard to do without liquids,” astronomers say, strongly suggesting the presence of water and raising the possibility of the moon supporting life. As Enceladus continues “helpfully spewing out its innards,” evidence...

UFO Video Raises a Fuss in Turkey

Objects spotted near Istanbul during 4-month stretch 'serious challenge to science'

(Newser) - Video taken of strange objects in the night sky over Turkey has been deemed authentic—well, at least by UFO researchers. A night watchman shot the video over multiple nights earlier this year, and it shows hovering craft and strange constellations of lights, the Sun reports. A self-described expert who...

Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life

Precision mirrors could show stargazers planets far, far away

(Newser) - Telescope technology currently in the works will use light measurements to search for planets beyond our solar system whose orbit around a star means they could support life, Wired reports. The system, called nulling interferometry, uses tiny mirrors that move at atomic levels to combine the power of several telescopes,...

Mars Toxin Dims Hopes for Red Planet Life

Rocket fuel chemical found is soil, but could be from Earth

(Newser) - The Phoenix lander has found a toxin in Mars soil that considerably decreases the odds of finding Martian life, Science.com reports. The chemical, perchlorate, is a harsh oxidizing agent often used in solid rocket fuel, so researchers are double checking to ensure it wasn’t carried from Earth. The...

NASA Briefs White House on Possible Martian Life

Red planet could support greenery, reports show

(Newser) - NASA has briefed the White House on its plan to announce a new finding on the "potential for life" on Mars, Aviation Week reports. NASA has no evidence that the red planet has harbored life, but new Phoenix lander discoveries suggest it is possible—a finding that Phoenix officials...

Discoveries Boost Hope for Alien Life

New forms of extreme bacteria fuel hope for extraterrestrial life

(Newser) - Humans have always wondered about the possibility of alien life somewhere out there. And while scientists seem to agree that the discovery of extraterrestrials will not happen soon, growing numbers are convinced it will happen. The search is being fueled in part by recent discoveries of strange new life forms...

'You Might Be Able to Grow Asparagus' on Mars

'Flabbergasted' scientists see soil able to support life on red planet

(Newser) - Samples of Martian soil analyzed by instruments onboard the Phoenix lander have earth-bound scientists “flabbergasted.” Why? Readings indicate that the extraterrestrial loam could, perhaps has, and possibly will, support life, Reuters reports. Along with ice the lander discovered earlier, “We basically have found what appears to be...

New Planets Yield Hopes of Life Beyond

Rocky, Earth-like orbs appear to be out there; might we indeed have company?

(Newser) - The discovery, announced last week, that rocky, Earth-sized planets appear to be circling sun-sized stars in our own galaxy should thrill the closet Star Trek geek in all of us, Natalie Angier writes in the New York Times. "If planets abound, scientists suspect that life abounds, too, at least...

New Telescope Joins Alien Hunt
 New Telescope Joins Alien Hunt 
Jun 11, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

New Telescope Joins Alien Hunt

Low-frequency array checks for nearby ETs

(Newser) - If ET is within a hop, skip, and a solar system, a shiny new European telescope might just turn him up, Space.com reports. Made up of up to 25,000 antennae scattered throughout Europe, the LOFAR, or Low Frequency Array, will be able to scan light signals overlooked by...

Stowaway Molecules Could Taint Mars Results

Microscopic hitchhikers might provide false evidence in search for life

(Newser) - Missions searching for signs of life on Mars could be fooled by organic molecules that hitched a ride from Earth, a new study suggests. University of Florida researchers using simulated Martian conditions found that ATP, an energy-storing molecule fundamental to terrestrial life, could survive the trip and hang around for...

On Mars, 'Something That Looks Like Ice'

Phoenix probe sends home photos from arctic region

(Newser) - The Phoenix probe sent home photos today of what looks like ice just under Mars' rocky surface, Space.com reports. "The thrusters have excavated two to six inches and, sure enough, we see something that looks like ice,” one mission scientist said. NASA picked the landing spot, in...

Spacey Colorado Man Captures 'Alien' On Video

Film of 'less wrinkly ET' to be aired today

(Newser) - A Denver man claims to have film of an alien peering through a window, and plans to show it to the media today, the Denver Post reports. The closely encountered alien is said to be 4 feet tall and appears "innocent, benevolent, youthful" and less "wrinkly" than ET...

Phoenix Touches Down on Mars
 Phoenix Touches Down on Mars 
updated
May 25, 2008 7:14 PM CDT

Phoenix Touches Down on Mars

NASA now awaits first photos of historic mission

(Newser) - The Phoenix probe has landed safely on Mars' icy surface and begun its search for life, Space.com reports. Exultant NASA scientists are now awaiting a second radio signal to see how much power it has left—a critical element of the mission. And they await the probe's first snapshots....

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens
 Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens 
May 14, 2008 10:04 AM CDT

Vatican: OK to Believe in Aliens

If God wants to create aliens, 'we can't limit his freedom,' says astronomer

(Newser) - Believing in God doesn’t mean you can’t believe in aliens, the Vatican’s chief astronomer told L’Osservatore Romano. God may well have created other creatures, including intelligent ones. “We cannot place limits on God’s creative freedom,” he noted.

Saturn Moon Holds Recipe for Life

Life's 'building blocks' found in massive geysers

(Newser) - Basic components of life like heat, organic chemicals, and water have been found on a Saturn moon, Reuters reports. A spacecraft flying over Enceladus this month spotted 500-mile-high geysers spouting off its surface, containing water vapor and the organic molecules found in living things. Though no one’s saying there’...

Hidden Ocean Found on Saturn Moon
Hidden Ocean Found on
Saturn Moon
Mar 21, 2008 4:13 AM CDT

Hidden Ocean Found on Saturn Moon

Watery Titan and salty Mars could have evidence of life

(Newser) - NASA has unlocked two more of the solar system's secrets, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The Cassini orbiter discovered evidence of an underground ocean churning deep below the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and the Mars Odyssey spacecraft has found ancient salt deposits on the red planet. Both discoveries have...

Methane Found on Far-off Planet
 Methane Found on Far-off Planet
Mar 19, 2008 4:59 PM CDT

Methane Found on Far-off Planet

Compound, crucial ingredient in early-life chemistry, detected 63 light years away

(Newser) - Methane, one of the simplest compounds known to play a role in the chemical genesis of life, was discovered for the first time to exist on a planet outside Earth’s solar system, the BBC reports. The planet, designated HD 189733b, is 63 light years away and also contains water,...

Sky's the Limit in Powerful New Searches for Alien Life

Pioneering technology rachets up ET hunt

(Newser) - Powerful new instruments will help scientists in their search for extra-terrestrial life, the Christian Science Monitor writes. New telescopes will make it possible for the SETI Institute to scan millions of star systems for alien radio signals. Only a thousand have been analyzed in detail so far, but the institute...

Mars Was Too Salty for Life
Mars Was Too Salty for Life
Feb 16, 2008 7:58 AM CST

Mars Was Too Salty for Life

Rock analysis shows even microbes couldn't have survived in planet's early history

(Newser) - Hopes that Mars may once have supported life have taken a blow with the discovery that the planet has been too salty for life for much of its history, the BBC reports. "It was salty enough that only a handful of known terrestrial organisms would have a ghost of...

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