To support alien life, a planet doesn’t have to be exactly like Earth, but it does need a few key ingredients. First, it should orbit its star at the right distance, where temperatures allow liquid ...

The upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory should be able to spot the glint of water on habitable planets, and maybe more ...

Our galaxy is full of strange worlds, but what would happen if we could bring some of them into our own Solar System? Moving ...

Get full access to The Daily Beast for $1 Researchers say they’ve confirmed the first atmosphere around a rocky planet in a habitable zone beyond our solar system. NASA Astronomers have identified ...

This summer, exoplanet science—the study of planets orbiting stars beyond our sun—took a big step forward. Reports of helium ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A new planetary habitability model could make the search for aliens more efficient by quickly identifying rocky worlds unlikely to ...

A rocky world orbiting within its star’s habitable zone may be surrounded by a helium-rich atmosphere, providing the strongest evidence yet that planets with Earth-like conditions could support life ...

Click here for an explanation of each section [Celestial bodies that serve as conversation starters] NoneThere are no ...

The newly discovered exoplanets, designated as GJ 9827 b, c and d, are located fairly close to their host star, completing orbits within 6.2 days. ESO A nearby 'super‑Earth' just 25 light years from ...

There is no chance in hell our species will be able to reach another Earth-like planet in the Universe in the foreseeable future, so the only way we can get a sense of the habitability of such places ...