Extraterrestrial Life, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 30, 2019

NASA Teams Up with $100 Million Breakthrough Listen Project to Search for Intelligent Aliens

NASA's newest planet hunter is joining the hunt for intelligent aliens. Scientists working on the space agency's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission will collaborate with the $100 million Breakthrough Listen project in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), members of both teams announced today (Oct. 23). It's exciting that...

Jun 30, 2019

Newly-Discovered, Nearby Alien World Has 3 Blazing-Red Suns

Astronomers have discovered a planet in our galactic neighborhood that has three red suns. LTT 1445Ab, a rocky world a bit bigger than Earth, zips in a tight orbit around the biggest star in a triple-star system just 22.5 light-years from Earth, transiting between Earth and its host star on...

Apr 30, 2019

Navy Plans to Document UFO Sightings, But Keep Them Confidential

Extraterrestrials, take note: The U.S. Navy plans to set up an official reporting and investigative system that will monitor reports from its pilots about unidentified flying objects. But while this X-Files-worthy operation sounds newsy, don't expect to hear details about it anytime soon. The Navy doesn't intend to make the...

Dec 31, 2018

Is Anyone Out There? New SETI Tool Keeps Track of Alien Searches

With research on extraterrestrial life continuing across the world, a noted researcher from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute launched a new tool to help researchers keep track of results. Jill Tarter, a co-founder of the institute who inspired the fictional character Ellie Arroway in the Carl Sagan novel...

Nov 30, 2020

Alien hunters detect mystery signal coming from the closest star system

Astronomers hunting for radio signals from alien civilizations have detected an intriguing signal from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star system to the sun, The Guardian reported. The researchers are still preparing a paper on the discovery, and the data has not been made public, according to The...

Nov 30, 2020

Extraterrestrial evidence: 10 incredible findings about aliens from 2020

Here on the little space rock we call Earth, humans often wonder whether or not we are alone in this universe. Though that question was not answered in 2020, many discoveries seemed to increase the prospect of extraterrestrial entities existing. Findings on the closest planet to us, in the outer...

Jun 30, 2020

Are UFOs a threat? We need to investigate, says former head of secret US program

There's no denying that America has an enduring fascination with unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. However, UFO interest extends far beyond the U.S. — sightings are reported worldwide, and multiple observations in far-flung locations describe aerial objects that are uncannily similar to each other, Luis Elizondo, former head of a...

Mar 31, 2020

New origin story of 'Oumuamua interstellar visitor does not involve aliens

Our solar system's first known interstellar visitor may have a very violent origin story. The mysterious object 'Oumuamua, which was spotted zooming through the inner solar system in October 2017, is probably a fragment of a larger body that was torn apart by gravitational forces during a close flyby of...

Mar 23, 2021

To be declassified: UFO broke sound barrier with no sonic boom

More inexplicable sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) will be released for public scrutiny in June — including a UFO that broke the sound barrier without producing a sonic boom. Speaking on Fox News, the former director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, said Saturday (March 20) that the sightings are...

Mar 25, 2021

Legacy of shattered alien-seeking Arecibo telescope will live on for millions of years

Arecibo Observatory radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which made Earth's first attempt to contact aliens, shaped pioneering cosmic research for nearly six decades. Its collapse in December last year, preceded by two cable failures and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) decision to decommission and dismantle the telescope, marked the end...

Mar 26, 2021

We should study 'dead' alien worlds, and maybe (carefully) seed them with life

The search for life in the universe tends to focus on habitable environments. But to answer questions about how life emerged and spread, as well as the limits of habitability, researchers may want to consider looking at dead worlds — and perhaps even (very carefully) seeding them with life. The...

Apr 23, 2021

Proxima Centauri shoots out humongous flare, with big implications for alien life

Scientists have spotted one of the largest stellar flares ever recorded in our galaxy. The jets of plasma shot outward from the sun's nearest neighbor, the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri. The flare, which was around 100 times more powerful than any experienced in our solar system, could change the...

May 6, 2021

Roswell UFO crash: What is the truth behind the 'flying saucer' incident?

There is a spaceship that looks like a flying saucer in Roswell. Thousands of motorists drive past it every day, and hundreds of people go inside. It's on North Main Street in this southeastern New Mexico city, its metal skin gleaming as it basks in the glow of the sun....

May 18, 2021

'Library of the Great Silence' invites E.T. to share long-term survival strategies

Intelligent aliens will soon have a space here on Earth where they can share how they made it through their technological adolescence. We haven't yet heard from any such beings, of course. Some researchers find this Great Silence puzzling, given how old the universe is and how many potentially habitable...

May 19, 2021

UFO answers coming soon? The Pentagon to report on mysterious sightings.

We could soon start getting answers to some vexing UFO questions. Over the past few years, we've learned that U.S. Navy pilots commonly see unidentified flying objects, some of which appear to be far faster and more maneuverable than their own aircraft. You've probably seen footage of a few such...