NASA’s Cassini spacecraft scientists announce that a form of chemical energy that can feed life appears to exist on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and Hubble researchers report additional evidence of plumes erupting from Jupiter’s moon Europa.

( Read more... )

The older I get, the more it becomes clear that most of humankind's problems stem from intentional ignorance: Choosing to hold onto problematic beliefs despite evidence that shows these beliefs lead to harm, or could, or when they're simply no longer useful or relevant and get in the way of building a better future.

If you know something causes ( Read more... )

How amazing is this? Russian cosmonauts have discovered living organisms clinging to the windows of the International Space Station:


( Read more... )

If you're reading my blog, you're probably someone familiar with the Fermi Paradox: If our galaxy is billions of years old, and stars like ours are common, and especially now that we believe all stars have planets and Earth-like planets are common, why the heck haven't we been visited by other aliens yet? Stars much older than ours abound, and we ( Read more... )

...because the internets are full of it:

First, WTFBBQ - we've known that there's LIFE ON MARS ALL ALONG! Go here to read the formal paper.


( Read more... )

Here's a great video by Neil DeGrasse Tyson covering a couple of super-cool notions that combine what most excite me about astrophysics and life. This is the essence of science fiction for me ( Read more... )

This is pretty entertaining: "Armchair astronaut" David Martines claims to have discovered a mysterious structure on the surface of Mars by using Google Earth (well, Google Mars). His YouTube video of the "station" has racked up 852,000 views so far; in it, he claims to have discovered the anomaly while examining Mars using Google's handy tool, and ( Read more... )

Every week or two, the KU Astrobiophysics group gives a presentation (where I talked about aliens in SF a few weeks ago). Next week, former astronaut Steve Hawley presents this intriguing-sounding seminar:

Astrobiophysics Seminar - "Fossil Microorganisms in Mars Rocks?"
NASA astronaut and KU Physics and Astronomy Professor Steve HawleyThursday ( Read more... )

Didn't you just know it?


( Read more... )

NASA's Kepler mission has now discovered more than 1200 Earthlike planets. Of those, Kepler scientists have confirmed many Earth-size planets, including those in the habitable zone, where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface ( Read more... )