Planet Rotation Limits Habitability
August 15, 2014
Life can't exist on a planet that rotates too fast or slow. This is another Goldilocks problem for astrobiologists to consider.
VIEW HEADLINES ONLY
New Ways to Find E.T.
August 11, 2014
SETI researchers may not have to wait by the stellar radio dial for their imaginary friends to call in. They might eavesdrop on their pollution.
Io Volcanoes Go Hyperactive
August 7, 2014
The volcanoes on Jupiter's moon are bursting out at record rates, and nobody knows why. Is it the new normal?
Rosetta and the Stone
August 6, 2014
A historic comet rendezvous mission begins today after ten years in space.
Saturn's F-Ring Has Quieted Down
August 4, 2014
Comparing measurements over 25 years, planetary scientists have noted a drop in bright clumps in Saturn's tenuous F-ring.
Enceladus Geysers Still Unexplained
July 31, 2014
The number of geysers has topped a hundred on Saturn's overactive moon. How could they be sustained for billions of years?
Reality Check: Favored Planet Theory Dries Up
July 26, 2014
Three "hot Jupiters" sing "how dry I am," casting serious doubt on the leading theory of planet formation.
Start Over: The Evolution of Planets Is All Wrong
July 5, 2014
Ideas about planetary evolution are so far off base with observations of exoplanets, it's time to wipe the slate clean.
Keeping Titan Old
June 21, 2014
As the Cassini orbiter makes its 103rd close pass by Titan, have long-agers found ways to keep it billions of years old?
Beware of Misinterpreting Water Claims
June 16, 2014
A claim of vast reservoirs of water deep in the earth is based on indirect evidence, and likely has little or nothing to do with surface water or floods.
Lunar Tunes: Do Impacts Ring a Bell?
June 12, 2014
By looking at current dust and craters, cosmologists think they can hear the echoes of an impact that created the moon. Is that lunar, or looney?
Anti-Creation Rhetoric Lacks Creativity
June 8, 2014
One would think, after so many decades, the secular scientists would come up with some original arguments for combating their favorite nemesis, the creationists.
To Be Habitable, a Planet Needs Inhabitants
June 6, 2014
In a chicken-or-egg conundrum, astrobiologists are asking whether inhabitants are needed to make a planet habitable.
Astrobiology Hopes Dim with Exoplanet Findings
June 3, 2014
Harsh "space weather" around dim red dwarf stars may make planets uninhabitable. "Godzilla Earths" may not fare much better.
Mars Rivers Carved by Lava, Not Water
June 2, 2014
A controversial theory is being revived: lava carved Mars channels. This could discourage hopes to find life on the red planet.