Extraterrestrial life news, features and articles
Are we alone in the universe? Live Science follows the researchers trying to answer that question and reports on what we've learned about aliens. From how scientists search for extraterrestrial life and whether the U.S. government is hiding evidence of "non-human intelligence" to the strange, scientific excuses for why humans haven't found aliens yet and the disturbing reason why aliens may never have visited Earth, our expert writers and editors tackle it all with the latest news, features and articles about extraterrestrial life.
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—Aliens: Facts about extraterrestrial life and how scientists are looking for it
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'I have no doubt that life is out there': Why radio astronomers are convinced alien contact is only a matter of timeBook excerpt In the book "The Echoing Universe: How Radio Astronomy Helps Us See the Invisible Cosmos," astrophysicist Emma Chapman describes the hidden corners of space that only radio waves can reveal — and makes the case for contacting aliens.
By Emma Chapman Published
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Declassified Apollo 12 images show UFOs on the moon — Space photo of the weekNewly declassified images from the Apollo 12 mission highlight strange, unidentified lights spotted by astronauts on the moon.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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The government is very serious about UFOs. So why are researchers being stymied?An unidentified anomalous phenomena researcher discusses the stigma faced by similar experts conducting their studies into other UAP events while the government continues to release reports on the topic.
By Darrell Evans Published
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Scientists squished microbes into a steel 'sandwich' — and made a profound discovery about life in space"Extremophile" bacteria could survive asteroid impacts that are strong enough to launch them into space, suggesting that life could travel between planetary bodies.
By Damien Pine Published
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SETI scientists reveal 100 'signals of interest' from collapsed Arecibo ObservatoryA crowd-sourced search for alien intelligence called SETI@Home is in its final stages, analyzing 100 'signals of interest' with the world's largest radio telescope.
By Brandon Specktor Published
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Advanced alien civilizations could be communicating 'like fireflies' in plain sight, researchers suggestA new paper posits that advanced alien civilizations may communicate through subtle flashes, like fireflies do on Earth. The thought experiment suggests that we need to avoid human biases in our search for extraterrestrial life.
By Harry Baker Published
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Scientists are debating a 70-year-old UFO mystery as new images come to lightTwo new peer-reviewed papers claim thousands of unexplained light flashes in vintage Palomar telescope images show statistical ties to nuclear tests and UFO reports. Not everyone agrees with the paper's conclusion.
By Sharmila Kuthunur Published
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Is it aliens? Here's why that's the least important question about 3I/ATLAS.Conspiracy theories have raged about 3I/ATLAS being an unnatural object. But the alien question, while fun, generates misinformation and distracts from the science.
By Laura Nicole Driessen Published
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Chinese scientists hunt for alien radio signals in 'potentially habitable' TRAPPIST-1 systemResearchers in China have conducted the most thorough search yet for alien radio signals in the nearby TRAPPIST-1 system, which may harbor potentially Earth-like planets.
By Mark Thompson Published
