Researchers have released a list of the top five potential habstars in our galaxy, three of which can be seen from Earth with the naked eye.
Astronomers said yesterday that they, or at least their telescopes, had laid eyes for the first time on planets beyond the solar system
European researchers have begun work on a research programme to create a flotilla of orbiting mirrors that could return clear pictures of exo-planets, worlds that circle other stars.
Peter N. Spotts argues that better technology and robust funding is the required fuel to help in the search for intelligent life beyond Earth.
Allen Tough argues that if extraterrestrial intelligent life exists in the universe then it will have sent probes out to look for life (similar to Voyage or the the Spirit rover). Seth Shostak looks at his argument and whether or not scientists should be looking for extraterrestrial probes.
One tenth of the stars in our galaxy might provide the right conditions to support complex life, according to a new analysis by Australian researchers. And most of these stars are on average one billion years older than the Sun, allowing much more time, in theory, for any life to evolve.
NASA researchers are creating "virtual planets" to simulate a plausible range of habitable planets, and to find out how they might appear to planet-finding missions of the future.
New calculations by Lineweaver and Daniel Grether, both of the University of New South Wales in Australia, predict that there are at least 30 billion Jupiters are out there orbiting sunlike stars in the Milky Way galaxy.
Planet-hunting pioneers have entered a new frontier, reporting that they've detected two planets that may be smaller than Saturn, circling stars like our own. The discoveries represent a major step toward the 'Holy Grail' of finding other worlds like Earth, experts said.