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Rising Hopes for Alien Discovery in 2025: What Happened to the Excitement?

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Artist's impression of K2-18b exoplanet

Artist’s Impression of Exoplanet K2-18b

A. Smith/N. Mandusudhan

The quest for extraterrestrial life intensified this year when scientists detected intriguing signals from exoplanets containing molecules associated with life on Earth. Although subsequent attempts to confirm these findings were unsuccessful, exoplanet researchers believe the resulting discussions provided valuable insights for future alien detection efforts.

In April, Nick Madhusudan and his team at the University of Cambridge announced they observed “the first hints of another world, possibly inhabited.” These signals originated from K2-18b, an exoplanet approximately eight times the mass of Earth and located 124 light-years away within its star’s habitable zone, as observed with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

The infrared radiation emitted by K2-18b suggests its atmosphere may contain dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a molecule known to be produced solely by living organisms, particularly marine phytoplankton, here on Earth.

As expected, this discovery generated significant buzz within both media and the scientific community. However, many researchers advised caution, emphasizing that the DMS signal was weak and required additional observations and rigorous analysis for confirmation.

Now, several months later, most astronomers concur that there is currently no evidence of DMS or any biomolecules in K2-18b’s atmosphere. Should they exist, they remain undetectable. “We only know for certain that methane and carbon dioxide are present in the atmosphere of this planet,” explains Lewis Wellbanks from Arizona State University.

Claims of discovering extraterrestrial life were premature, according to Wellbanks. “It’s been shown repeatedly that this information is inaccurate. New observations indicate that those gases are not present,” he asserted.

Yet, the data spike initially attributed to DMS still requires clarification, says Jake Taylor at Oxford University. “We observed a spike—a physical phenomenon. At this point, we still don’t know what it signifies.”

Identifying the molecules responsible for these spikes requires further exploration planned for the JWST next year. Scientists can only ascertain what’s present in a planet’s atmosphere by analyzing the starlight filtering through it during the planet’s transit across its host star. This occurs four times each Earth year.

Despite the controversy surrounding this discovery, Taylor notes it also fostered positive outcomes. “This has been a significant learning experience for the entire exoplanet community. We are reassessing our definitions and statistical methods, which has been tremendously beneficial,” he states.

“This experience teaches us to calibrate our expectations,” says Wellbanks. “It’s a reminder that relying on data manipulation to validate a claim is challenging. As one wise person noted, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. This whole DMS saga falls into that category.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists Uncover Alien Bioessential Sugars in Asteroid Bennu Samples

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A collaborative effort by researchers from the U.S. and Japan examined extracts from near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu, gathered by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security Regolith Explorer) spacecraft, and uncovered several bioessential sugars, such as ribose (an RNA sugar) and glucose (a metabolic substrate).

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu consists of 12 images collected by OSIRIS-REx’s PolyCam instrument on December 2, 2018 from a range of 15 miles (24 km). Image credit: NASA / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center / University of Arizona.

“The OSIRIS-REx mission successfully returned 121.6 g of regolith (unconsolidated granular material) from Bennu to Earth on September 24, 2023, under stringent conditions,” stated Yoshihiro Furukawa, a researcher at Tohoku University, along with his team.

“The samples were preserved in high-purity nitrogen at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.”

“Initial studies revealed that Bennu possesses mineralogical and elemental traits similar to carbonaceous chondrites, is enriched in carbon and nitrogen compared to most meteorites, but resembles ungrouped carbonaceous chondrites, and has undergone extensive aqueous alteration.”

“The analyzed samples from Bennu so far include soluble organic compounds like amino acids, amines, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, nucleobases, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and a diverse array of soluble molecules comprising carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.”

“We utilized this pristine asteroid material to investigate extraterrestrial bioessential sugars.”

The research team made a notable discovery of ribose, which contains five carbon atoms, and glucose, which has six, marking the first time these sugars have been identified in extraterrestrial samples.

While these sugars do not serve as direct evidence of life, their detection—along with previously identified amino acids, nucleobases, and carboxylic acids in Bennu samples—suggests that the fundamental building blocks of biomolecules were widely distributed throughout the solar system.

Furukawa et al. We discovered the essential sugars ribose and glucose in samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. Image credit: NASA / Goddard / University of Arizona / Dan Gallagher.

In Earth life, deoxyribose and ribose serve as critical components of DNA and RNA, respectively.

DNA is the primary vehicle for genetic information within cells. RNA, on the other hand, has various roles, and its presence is vital for life as we know it.

The ribose in RNA forms the sugar-phosphate “backbone” of the molecule, linking together nucleobases that carry genetic information.

“All five nucleobases that constitute DNA and RNA, along with phosphate, have already been identified in the Bennu samples brought back by OSIRIS-REx,” Dr. Furukawa noted.

“The recent discovery of ribose confirms that all elements required to form RNA molecules are present in Bennu.”

“Finding ribose in an asteroid sample is not unexpected.”

“Ribose has previously been found in two meteorites on Earth.”

“What’s significant about the Bennu sample is that researchers did not identify any deoxyribose.”

“If Bennu is indicative of conditions, it suggests that ribose may have been more abundant than deoxyribose in the early solar system environment.”

The researchers theorize that the detected ribose, along with the absence of deoxyribose, bolsters the RNA world hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the first forms of life relied on RNA as the main molecule for storing information and facilitating the chemical reactions crucial for survival.

“Modern life relies on a complex system organized primarily by three types of functional biopolymers: DNA, RNA, and proteins,” Dr. Furukawa elaborated.

“However, early forms of life may have been simpler. RNA not only stores genetic information but can also catalyze numerous biological reactions, making it a strong candidate for the earliest functional biomacromolecule.”

“Bennu’s samples also contain glucose, a fundamental energy source for life on Earth, providing the first evidence that an essential energy source was present in the early solar system as well.”

a paper detailing these findings was published in this week’s edition of Nature Earth Science.

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Yuya Furukawa et al. Bioessential sugars found in samples from the asteroid Bennu. Nature Earth Science published online on December 2, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41561-025-01838-6

Source: www.sci.news

Mars’ Mysterious Markings: The ‘Most Obvious Signs’ of Alien Life, According to NASA

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The unusual “leopard spot” markings on Mars’ rocks might finally indicate that alien microbes could have existed on the Red Planet.

A comprehensive analysis of these rocks has shown that the intricate patterns are “the clearest signs ever found on Mars,” as stated by Sean Duffy, a NASA representative.

These rocks, estimated to be about 3.5 billion years old, were discovered in July 2024 by NASA’s Perseverance rover. Since then, planetary scientists have been exploring various hypotheses to explain these markings.

Recent information from a Nature paper suggests that while the patterns may have a geological origin, the prevailing theory now points toward ancient Martian microbes as the likely culprits.

Perseverance collected rock samples, hoping to yield a more definitive answer. If all goes well, these samples will eventually return to Earth for a thorough examination of potential signs of past life.

Leopard Spots on Bright Angel

Currently, Mars is a barren, lifeless world, but this hasn’t always been the case. Until around 3 billion years ago, Mars’ surface was rich with flowing rivers and expansive lakes.

Wherever there is water on Earth, signs of life typically follow. For two decades, NASA’s rovers have been scouring Mars for evidence suggesting that the Red Planet could have once supported life.

The Perseverance rover is exploring a site known as Jezero Crater, which was a lake in Mars’ ancient history. Similar environments on Earth often serve as habitats for microorganisms.

Within rock formations referred to as the Bright Angel formation, Perseverance uncovered stunning patterns resembling leopard spots.

“We conducted extensive observations of the entire rock formation at Bright Angel,” said Professor Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University in the US, in an interview with BBC Science Focus.

While Perseverance’s cameras captured detailed images of the patterns, a spectrometer analyzed the mineral composition. The rover even utilized radar to map the structure of the subsurface outcrop.

“Essentially, we used every tool available on these rocks except for the kitchen sink,” Hurowitz remarked.

The analysis indicated that the patterns were formed by iron-rich minerals called vivianite and greygite. On Earth, these minerals typically arise from “redox reactions,” a process in which microorganisms exchange electrons with their environment.

“On Earth, these reactions are often facilitated by microorganisms residing in sediments, which derive energy from them for metabolic activity,” Hurowitz explained. The residuals from these processes create distinctive patterns in sedimentary rocks.

However, this doesn’t mean we should rush to celebrate the discovery of alien life just yet. There are other mechanisms that could account for the leopard spot patterns without any biological influence.

For instance, heat could have driven reactions between mud and organic matter, resulting in new minerals.

Yet, the research team did not find evidence indicating that the rocks were subjected to heat. Additionally, other methods they investigated also did not seem viable. Nonetheless, Hurowitz cautioned, “We cannot dismiss these entirely.”

One of the most surprising findings is the relatively young age of these rocks. At only 3.5 billion years old, the patterns formed while Mars was already entering a phase of decline, suggesting that the planet may have been habitable for much longer than previously assumed.

Unfortunately, Perseverance has an entire planet to explore and we continue our quest to find life beyond Earth.

Perseverance drilling and photographing rock samples – Credit: NASA/JPL -CALTECH/MSSS

“If I could revisit Jezero in the future, I would have follow-up questions that I would like to address using the rover’s instruments,” Hurowitz remarked.

“However, these follow-up analyses may not necessarily provide a more conclusive answer regarding whether these features were shaped by life.”

“Ultimately, determining whether life was involved will necessitate laboratory analysis back on Earth.”

Bringing Mars to Earth

Fortunately, Perseverance is part of the initial phase of Mars’ sample return mission. Not only is it studying the rocks on Mars, but it’s also preparing to bring samples back to Earth.

Before departing from Bright Angel, the rover collected and stored samples from the rocks along with numerous similar fragments obtained during its mission on Mars.

NASA aims to collaborate with the European Space Agency on follow-up missions to retrieve these samples and return them to Earth where they can be analyzed in top-tier laboratories.

After 3.5 billion years, finding definitive evidence is challenging. Instead, researchers will seek additional signs that microbes may have left behind.

“The first logical step is to analyze the isotopic composition of iron, sulfur, and carbon in the various mineral and organic components of the rock,” Hurowitz stated.

Isotopes can be thought of as different variants of the same element. Microorganisms tend to retain particular isotopes more than their non-biological counterparts, enabling researchers to narrow down their search for evidence of life.

“These variations in isotopic composition are essential tools for investigating biological signals in ancient rocks on Earth, and we aim to apply similar methods to this Martian sample,” Hurowitz noted.

The return mission is tentatively scheduled for the 2030s, although there is a risk of cancellation due to cuts to NASA’s planetary exploration budget during the Trump administration.

“NASA is examining strategies for retrieving these samples and others,” a NASA spokesperson told BBC Science Focus. “Having explored Mars for 60 years, we will continue to look into budgetary and timing considerations for a quick and cost-effective return of these samples.”

“We hope these findings will further motivate the sample return mission,” Hurowitz added. “This will allow us to scrutinize the sample with the detail necessary to determine its historical record of life on Mars.”

“If it’s indeed life, that would suggest our planet is not the only one where life has evolved,” Frowitz concluded. “If life originated twice, how many other places might it have occurred?”

About Our Experts

Joel Hurowitz is an associate professor in the Department of Geoscience at Stony Brook University in New York, USA. He investigates the early history of Mars through measurements taken from planetary studies and Earth’s similar topographies.

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Astronomers Investigate Methods to Enhance Searches for Alien Technosignatures

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A recent study indicates that a group of astronomers in Pennsylvania, along with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, can determine when and where human deep space transmissions are most likely to be detected by extraterrestrial observers beyond our solar system. They can use observed patterns to inform searches for alien intelligence.

Analysis conducted on deep spacenetwork uplink transmission logs over the last two decades et al. It was found that these emissions mainly targeted the Sun or various planets. Image credit: Gemini AI.

“Humans primarily communicate with probes sent to explore spacecraft and other planets like Mars,” stated Pinken Hwang, a graduate student in Pennsylvania.

“Nevertheless, planets such as Mars do not obstruct entire transmissions, enabling spacecraft or celestial bodies along these interplanetary communication pathways to potentially detect signals.

“This implies that when searching for extraterrestrial communications, we need to consider planets outside our solar system that might align with our signals.”

“SETI researchers frequently scan the universe for indicators of past or current technology, referred to as Technosignatures, as potential signs of intelligent life.”

“By analyzing the direction and frequency of our most prevalent signals, we shed light on where we should enhance our chances of discovering alien technical stations.”

In this research, scientists scrutinized logs from NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), a global facility that enables two-way radio communication with human-made objects in space, serving as a relay to send commands and receive data from spacecraft.

They meticulously aligned the DSN logs with spacecraft location data to pinpoint the timing and direction of radio communications emanating from Earth.

Even though some countries have their own deep space networks, researchers argue that the NASA-operated DSN effectively represents the types of communications coming from Earth, as NASA has spearheaded the most profound space missions to date.

“The DSN establishes crucial connections between Earth and interplanetary missions, such as the NASA New Horizons spacecraft and the NASA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.”

“It emits some of humanity’s most powerful and sustained radio signals into space, and the public logs of these transmissions have enabled our team to identify temporal and spatial patterns over the past 20 years.”

This study concentrated on transmissions directed into deep space, such as signals sent to interplanetary spacecraft, rather than those intended for low-Earth orbit satellites.

The researchers found that deep-space radio signals primarily targeted spacecraft close to Mars.

Other frequent transmissions were directed at telescopes situated at the Lagrange points near Earth and various planets. These points are areas where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth keep the telescope in a relatively fixed position from the perspective of Earth.

“Based on data from the last 20 years, we found that if extraterrestrial intelligence exists where we can observe the alignment of Earth and Mars, there is a 77% chance it falls within our transmission path.

“Furthermore, if they can see consistency with another planet in a solar system, there is a 12% chance they are on that transmission path.”

“However, these opportunities are quite substantial if planetary alignment is not observed.”

The team emphasized the need for humans to search for interplanetary alignments to enhance their quest for Technosignatures.

Astronomers routinely examine exoplanets during alignments with their host stars. In fact, the majority of known exoplanets were discovered by observing a star dimming as a planet passes in front of it.

“We only recently started detecting a significant number of exoplanets in the last 10 to 20 years, so we still lack knowledge about many systems that include more than two transiting exoplanets,” Fan noted.

“With the imminent launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, we anticipate the detection of 100,000 previously unknown exoplanets, which should significantly expand our search area.”

Our solar system is relatively flat, with most planets orbiting in the same plane, consequently, most DSN transmissions occurred within 5 degrees of Earth’s orbital plane.

If the solar system were metaphorically likened to a dinner plate with planets and objects lying on its surface, human transmissions would predominantly travel along the surface instead of leaping out into space at steep angles.

The authors also calculated that average DSN transmissions can be detected approximately 23 light-years away using telescopes similar to ours.

“Focusing on solar systems within 23 light-years, particularly those aligned in the plane towards Earth, could enhance our search for extraterrestrial intelligence,” they concluded.

The team is currently strategizing on identifying these systems and estimating how often they receive signals from Earth.

“Humanity is still in the early stages of our space exploration journey, and as we extend our missions into the solar system, transmissions to other planets will only increase,” remarked Professor Jason Wright of Penn.

“We have quantified ways to improve future searches for extraterrestrial intelligence by using our deep space communications as a benchmark to target systems with specific orientations and planetary alignments.”

The team’s paper was published online today in the Astrophysics Journal Letters.

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Ping Chen Fan et al. 2025. Detection of extraterrestrial civilizations employing a global-level deep space network. apjl 990, L1; doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/adf6b0

Source: www.sci.news

Discover Bernband’s Alien Landscape: A Perfect Spot for Digital Exploration—No Maps Needed!

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hA game serves as a poetic narrative within its description. Bernband is described as “a science fiction exploration game for those who enjoy wandering….” Players can meander through vivid and peculiar worlds, bask in the glow of streetlights, and navigate beneath the zigzagging flags overhead. They traverse corridors hosting odd green flora growing in planters, and even engage with otherworldly subway trains that sway above them—tentacle grips, perhaps? “I have no objectives apart from walking,” the game’s Steam page asserts. “Where will your feet lead you?”

There’s an alluring quality about a game that encourages exploration. However, this doesn’t imply that creating such a game is straightforward. “Wandering as the primary objective poses numerous challenges,” remarks Tom Van Den Boogart, who began this venture back in 2014 to reassess the project.




“Exploration is our primary goal”… Bern Band. Photo: Sokpop Collective

Consequently, every journey through Bernband commences similarly. In a modest apartment with windows offering glimpses of the strange universe contained within the game. “The idea is to convey that you are a resident of this city,” explains Van den Boogert. “And as time passes, familiarity with the environment will develop. Your adventure starts once you step through the door.” The apartment also serves as a sanctuary for players to return to after their explorations. “It introduces a subtle goal: ‘Can I find my way back to the apartment?’ Even if it’s just at a subconscious level.”

Van Den Boogat discovered quickly that the Wandering Game should offer players destinations to explore freely. Consequently, the majority of the Bernband universe is arranged in a nonlinear manner. “In most instances, there are various routes to a destination,” he states. “Some paths are more obscure or less obvious than others. If exploration is the core objective of the game, I aim to allow players to choose what they wish to investigate.”




An alien city influenced by real-world locations… Bern Band. Photo: Sokpop Collective

Despite this unobtrusive design, Van Den Boogat acknowledges that avoiding predictability is an ongoing struggle. Yet, he persists. “I believe having access to this sort of information can rob players of the enchanting feeling that comes from stumbling upon hidden realms,” he chuckles. “You are aware that they exist on some level.”

The alien city in Bernband isn’t structured as a traditional open world; instead, it comprises distinct areas interlinked by elevators and various transport options. This format was chosen to ensure that players can immerse themselves in specific sections of a broader landscape. Additionally, Van Den Boogat creates from a compilation of locations he finds engaging or enjoyable. To maintain his creativity, he ensures this list remains somewhat vague: a large supermarket, a shaded bar, and a swimming pool with water slides.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yxSl96druSQ?wmode=opaque&feature=oembed" title="Bernband – Announcement Trailer" height="480" width="854" allowfullscreen="

And while the world is alien, Bernband draws inspiration from real-life locations familiar to Van Den Boogat, whether it’s his hometown of Gouda in the Netherlands or influential spots in the gaming industry found in Tokyo, San Francisco, Stockholm, and beyond.

“When I develop games, I prefer to draw inspiration from personal memories and experiences, rather than other media like games or films,” he shares. “This approach fosters a deeper, more personal connection to my work, and I hope it imparts a unique essence to the game and its world.”

Bernband is currently under development for PC, with no release date confirmed as of yet.

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Indicators of Alien Life on Exoplanet K2-18b Have Nearly Vanished

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Artistic Depictions of K2-18b

A. Smith/N. Mandhusudhan

Hope for discovering alien life on K2-18B is diminishing. Recent observations have not revealed clear evidence of biomolecules suggested by earlier studies. While many scientists concur that this casts doubt on past claims, one researcher involved in those earlier findings argues that the new data may actually bolster their conclusions.

In April, Nick Madhusudan at Cambridge University and his team proposed that K2-18B, a rocky planet larger than Earth and located around 124 light years away, shows signs of atmospheric molecules dimethyldimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethyldisulfide (DMD). On Earth, these compounds are exclusively produced by living organisms. At the time, Madhusudhan described these as “the first hints we see about this alien world, possibly a home for life.”

However, subsequent analyses of the same JWST data by other researchers using different statistical methods found no substantial evidence for these molecules. Madhusudhan later stated that his team conducted a more in-depth reanalysis of their data. In an interview with New Scientist, he expressed “increased confidence” that DMS could be the best explanation for the findings. Without further observations of K2-18B, astronomers remain divided on the potential for life on the planet.

Recently, Renyu Hu from Caltech and his colleagues collaborated with Madhusudhan’s team to examine new JWST observations of K2-18B. They found no statistical evidence supporting the detection of DMS. “This paper does not present conclusive evidence regarding the presence of this molecule in the atmosphere,” remarked Hu.

Madhusudhan, Hu, and their teams utilized JWST’s near-infrared camera to observe the light from K2-18B’s star. This camera captured light at wavelengths differing from the mid-infrared measurements used in the earlier analysis conducted in April. The researchers then assessed their findings using various atmospheric models for K2-18B. Each model had different assumptions regarding the molecular composition and the presence of water vapor in its atmosphere.

Some models incorporating DMS provided slightly better explanations for the data than those without, but this does not necessarily indicate a firm detection, falling short of the threshold for statistical evidence. “The models suggest that if there is a signal, it is quite weak,” stated Hu. “I remain cautious.”

Madhusudhan acknowledged the lack of strong evidence for detection, but contended that it is more reasonable to compare this data with recent observations from JWST’s near-infrared cameras taken in 2023, as opposed to April’s mid-infrared results. “Statistically, the data does seem to show slightly stronger evidence for DMS than what we discussed in our paper,” said Madhusudhan.

“There could still be other molecules mimicking DMS,” he added, but he believes that signals produced by unknown compounds exhibit specific traits best accounted for by DMS. “However, we cannot make confident assertions.”

“This study clearly states that there is no evidence of dimethyl sulfide. No statistical support exists for these gases,” stated Lewis Wellbanks of Arizona State University. Sarah Seager from MIT remarked that her team views the statistical significance presented by the researchers as “not enough to be considered a detection.”

“It seems we may be nearing the end of the discussion regarding whether DMS can be detected at viable levels. [K2-18b] conditions are not conducive enough for more critical detection,” remarked Jake Taylor from Oxford University.

In a further setback for biosignature proponents, Hu and his team discovered that specific hydrogen-rich atmospheres in planets like K2-18b can generate DMS through chemical pathways devoid of biological influence. “This helps narrow down which molecules may serve as biosignatures in exoplanetary atmospheres, implying that DMS is not exclusively indicative of life,” noted Taylor.

However, he emphasized that additional mid-infrared observations with JWST, akin to those undertaken in April, could yield more specific data, as DMS characteristics and other intricate molecules target distinct light regions that are detectable.

What is widely accepted by astronomers is that K2-18B is rich in water. Hu and his team have gathered robust evidence for the existence of methane and carbon dioxide, suggesting the presence of water. However, it remains unclear whether this water exists as oceans, atmospheric vapor, or is confined inside the planet.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Water Could Be Even More Crucial for Alien Life Than Previously Believed

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The alien world found in their “habitable zone” of their stars may not be suitable for life yet

pandorumbs/alamy

Recent findings suggest the potential number of planets capable of supporting alien life may be fewer than previously assumed, largely due to advances in understanding planetary climates. When carbon dioxide levels in an atmosphere surpass a critical threshold, conditions can become inhospitable.

Life as we know it requires liquid water, prompting astronomers to target “habitable zones” around stars—regions where temperatures allow for water to exist in liquid form. However, Haskelle White-Gianella from the University of Washington and her research team have revealed that having liquid water alone does not guarantee habitability.

The researchers conducted nearly 10,000 simulations to determine how CO₂ levels fluctuate based on surface water amounts on planets that are Earth-sized. Their results indicate that at least 20% of Earth’s total water must be present for a planet to be potentially habitable.

This is largely due to the role rainfall plays in carbon storage within the ground through chemical reactions in rocks; insufficient rainfall could lead to CO₂ accumulation in the atmosphere, trapping heat and rapidly increasing temperatures beyond 126°C (259°F).

“We discovered that there exists a water threshold essential for maintaining a stable climate,” White-Gianella stated during the Goldschmidt Geochemical Conference in Prague, Czech Republic, on July 10.

This indicates that simply being in a habitable zone does not guarantee that a planet can support life, according to White-Gianella, necessitating a deeper examination of geological histories.

A parallel situation may elucidate how Venus transformed into the inhospitable environment we observe today, White-Gianella shared at the conference. While the increase in the sun’s brightness since the solar system’s inception is believed to contribute to Venus’ atmospheric changes and temperature rise, it alone doesn’t account for all observed transformations. By re-running models with a Venus-like amount of starlight, the team found that even planets with water levels similar to Earth’s could lose too much CO₂, leading to uninhabitability.

This provides a compelling rationale for how planets similar to Venus can become excessively hot, as noted by Benjamin Tutoro from the University of Calgary in Canada. Over time, reductions in CO₂ emissions complicate planetary climates, as recorded in geological data from Mars.

In the case of Mars, liquid water attracted carbon dioxide and sequestered it as carbonate minerals, which ultimately thinned its atmosphere and cooled the planet, according to Tutoro. White-Gianella stated that the team’s simulations focused on Earth-like planets, agreeing that conditions on planets like Mars could differ significantly.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

These Two Signals Are Our Closest Link to Alien Contact

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In 2019, the Australian radio telescope detected a fascinating signal emanating from the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to Earth.

This signal, designated as breakthrough listen candidate 1 (BLC1), exhibited all the characteristics of a “technosignature,” which may suggest the presence of intelligent life.

The signal comprised a single discernible narrowband wavelength and displayed a Doppler shift (indicating movement), was precisely localized in the sky, and persisted for several hours, capturing the attention of researchers.

These features imply that the signals are unlikely to be attributed to natural phenomena.

Nonetheless, some complications have surfaced regarding the extraterrestrial explanation. It was discovered that the signal was present in other observations of Proxima Centauri during the same timeframe, and notably, even when the telescope was not aimed at the star.

A subsequent observation the following year failed to detect the signal. An analysis of all the data collected by the Breakthrough Listening Project later identified similar signals from various other targets, including blank sky. This strongly indicates that the source of the signal was probably radio interference.

The BLC1 mirrors another narrowband radio signal detected in August 1977, famously referred to as “Wow!”

This potential “technosignature” lasted a full 72 seconds and could not be readily explained by natural occurrences.

However, the precise location of the signal in the sky was never identified, and follow-up searches of the area yielded no further signals.

There is ongoing debate regarding the origins of “Wow!”, but no clear evidence exists yet to confirm it as a product of extraterrestrial civilizations.

However, scientists are not solely focused on alien signals.

NASA describes Oumuamua as “the first confirmed object from another star to visit our solar system.” Its name means “the first messenger to arrive from afar” in Hawaiian – Illustration Credit: Science Photography Library

Discovered in 2017, ‘Oumuamua (depicted above) was identified as an elongated, reddish rocky object traveling through the solar system at extraordinary speed.

Its peculiar shape and trajectory led some astronomers to speculate that it might be a “solar sail” from a distant alien civilization.

However, this theory is considered improbable, as its unusual characteristics can also be explained without resorting to alien hypothesis.

Still, scientists have yet to intercept or discover anything that definitively indicates an exciting “alien” origin.

This article addresses the query posed by Lester to Daniel Howell: “Have we ever intercepted anything from an alien?”

Please email us to submit your questions at Question @sciencefocus.com or Message Facebook, Twitter or Instagram Page (please remember to include your name and location).

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Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Evidence of Alien Life on Mars: Ancient Beach Discoveries Remain Compelling

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New research suggests that Mars once was the perfect holiday destination (if they were willing to overlook radiation exposure or lack of food sources), but also had the right conditions for alien life. why? The discovery of ancient sandy beaches on the red planet suggests that once a large liquid ocean spread across the north of the planet.

The research team behind the research from China and the US is This ancient coastline is the clearest evidence yet The Red Planet was previously habitable.

“Looking back at the places where the earliest life on Earth developed, it was in the interaction between the ocean and the land, which paints a picture of an ancient habitable environment that can embrace the conditions for microbial life,” he said. Benjamin Cardenasassistant professor of geology at Penn State University in the United States and co-author of the study.

Four billion years ago, these beaches would have been the best variety. The waves are softly wrapped sandy and immersed in the sun.

“We found evidence of a lack of wind, waves and sand. It’s a proper vacation style beach,” says Cardenas, whose research was published. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (pnas).

To find this, researchers used a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface in a region of North Mars called the Utopian Plain, using radar imaging, using a probe up to 80m (260 feet) below the Mars surface.

We discovered 76 hidden structures at depths of 10-35m (33-115ft). Sadly, this turned out to be not a mysterious alien infrastructure (we can dream of it), but rather a sedimentary deposit similar to what is found around the Earth’s coastline.

3.6 billion years ago, the ocean may have covered almost half of the red planet. The Orange Star shows where China’s Roberzouron began its exploration. Meanwhile, the Yellow Star is where NASA’s patient rover landed. Both arrived on Mars in 2021. -Image credit: Robert Citron

The structure, thickness and length of Martian sediments showed that they were not formed by the melting of rivers, winds, lava or ice, but rather by stable ancient seas. In fact, they were roughly the same as 21 people on Earth, including the Bay of Bengal.

Specifically, a formation called “foreshore sediments” is formed by the tide and wind that descends the slope towards the ocean at a 15° angle and carries sediments like sand and gravel.

“This quickly stood out to us because it suggested there were waves, meaning there was a dynamic interface between air and water,” Cardenas said. This interaction, which also took place in the early history of the Earth, is important for the beginning of life.

The discovery suggests that Mars had a warm, humid climate for tens of millions of years.

“We tend to think of Mars as a static snapshot of the planet, but it was evolving. The rivers were flowing, the sediment was moving, the land was built and eroding,” Cardenas said.

“This type of sedimentary geology tells us how the landscape looks, how they evolved, and, importantly, helps us identify where we want to look for our past life.”

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  • The strange “squeak” in space is baffling scientists
  • We finally know how life on Earth began, the incredible new asteroid discovery suggests
  • Here’s how aliens actually get in touch with humanity

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Threats to Alien Life from Passing Stars and Supernovas

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Astronomers investigate the possibilities of life around other stars, primarily by focusing on the distance that exoplanets orbit them. If the exoplanet is close enough to the star, all its water is not frozen and far away The water has not evaporated and does not peel offit is said to be within Residence zone. Many other factors, including the presence of planets, can determine how much life is likely to appear on a planet. A planet like Jupiter That system or a Big Moon By orbiting it, the researchers agree that the habitable zone is the need for a baseline.

One team of astronomers investigated one of these other aspects of livability. It is a danger around the stars around which the exoplanets are in habitable zones. Most stars are far enough apart so they do not directly interfere with their neighbor's planets. However, given time, adjacent stars can cause problems for those living in the stellar system.

The size of the sun can pull each other's planets with gravity if they pass each other within 20 billion miles of the Earth's distance, or 200 times the distance within 30 billion miles or 30 billion kilometers. these Flybys They may drag out exoplanets from their respective habitable zones or throw them entirely out of the star system! Up to 200 trillion miles or 300 trillion kilometers, also known as 10 PulsecStars that are more than eight times the mass of the sun die in an explosion called an explosion Supernova It can immerse nearby planetary systems with enough x-rays and gamma rays to destroy the atmosphere, deplete the ozone layer, and potentially wipe out all living things.

To assess the risks of these events, this team analyzed data from GAIA Data Release 3 and Hipparcos A catalogue containing 146 known star systems with planets in habitable zones. Of these 146 star systems, only 84 closest to the Sun, within 220 parsecs, quarter mile, or seventh quarter kilometers, within the range of uncertainty of 10 parsecs. There is an adjacent star measured at. By focusing on these 84, teams can best assess the true risks of the disappearing level of events facing these systems.

To assess the risk of Flybys, they used an equation to estimate the number of interstellar interstellar path encounters based on the radius of the star system. Movement. They have plugged data related to each of the 84 stars into their Python programs, and found that they are likely to pass with another star within the next 5 billion years. The team supports the general hypothesis that the general hypothesis that fewer adjacent stars are likely to support life, as this example comes from the star with the most neighbors in the entire set. I've explained it.

To assess the risk of supernova, they identified other stars within 10 parsecs of 84 star systems and used their brightness and temperature to calculate mass. For any star that is more than eight times the mass of the Sun, they calculated that the supernova will immerse any planet within this 10 parsecs range with the 100 billion times that the radiation Earth receives from the Sun. They discovered that only two of the 84 stars they tested have large adjacent stars within 10 parsecs, but other scientists say that up to 20 parsecs are He admitted that it suggested that it could be too close to remain still unharmed.

Overall, the team concluded that the risk of extinction-level events caused by adjacent stars facing known habitable zone planets. However, they warned that the current astronomical catalogue was incomplete. In other words, their calculations should be viewed as a low-end estimate of the real risks faced by potential alien lives. They suggested that deep future research could improve estimates of the risks faced by living in these systems and help to expand the number of systems where researchers can perform similar risk analyses.


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Source: sciworthy.com

Why Finding Alien Life is Becoming More Likely

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Are we alone in space? It is a question that scientists have been seeking for centuries. And it has not been answered for a long time, but new discoveries can ultimately release the secrets of aliens.

Thanks to OSIRIS-REX, a NASA spacecraft that landed on an asteroid more than 60 million kilometers (40 million miles) away in 2018. However, Osiris did not just land on the asteroid. He also collected Bennu samples and returned them to Earth in 2023.

This is not just an engineering feat, but scientists “1 /1 million” asteroid. That’s because Bennu is not just a mere cosmic rock, but because its carbon composition is abundant and close to Earth, it is virtually early solar time capsules.

So what did the researchers learn accurately? According to two recently released papers – one in the journal Natural Astronomy and one in Nature – the survey results may be forced to rewrite the story of how life began.

What did you find in Bennu?

The headline discovery was that the important building blocks of life were found in the Bennu sample.

Thousands of organic molecular compounds confirmed the presence of 14 of the 20 protein amino acids existing on Earth. In addition, 19 non-protein amino acids and five biological nucleic acids were found.

Other asteroid samples that have fallen to Earth contain some of these materials, but this is the richest sample seen so far.

From Bennu, the team discovered Gailsite, Villyya Umite, Tantalty, and Torona specimens.

But that’s not all. Evidence that salt minerals were once present in the sample indicated the potential existence of water combined with important amino acids raises questions about the possibility of life outside Earth.

“We often talk about the building blocks of life. These essential building blocks seem to have been created on Earth. What about the extraterrestrial ones?” Sean McMahon, the co-director of the British Space Biology Center, said in an interview with BBC Science Focus.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com

Winds on the alien planet reach speeds of 33,000 kilometers per hour

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Artist’s visualization of the gas giant WASP-127b

ESO/L.Calzada

The vast alien planet has fierce winds blowing around its equator at nearly 30 times the speed of sound on Earth.

Lisa Nortman He and his colleagues at the University of Göttingen in Germany used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile to observe WASP-127b, a gas giant exoplanet more than 500 light-years from Earth. Although slightly larger than Jupiter, it is one of the least dense planets we know of.

The researchers expected the light signal from the planet’s atmosphere to have one distinct peak, but instead they found two distinct peaks.

“It was a little confusing,” Nortman says. “But when we analyzed the data a little more carefully, it became clear that there were two signals. I was very excited – my first thought was that it must be some kind of super-rotating wind. I thought that right away.”

The researchers concluded that the two mountains were caused by rapid winds from the jet stream near the equator, with half of the wind moving toward Earth and the other half moving away from it. The wind appears to be made up of water and carbon monoxide, and appears to be moving at 33,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest wind ever measured on Earth.

“We’re talking about nine kilometers per second. Even Jupiter’s wind speeds are on the order of a few hundred meters per second, so this is actually an order of magnitude bigger.” vivian parmentier at Oxford University.

He says that if you were in this wind, you wouldn’t be able to feel such extreme speeds because it would be moving around you at the same speed. But because the wind moves from the hot side of the Earth, which is always facing the star, to the cold side, which is always in darkness, you will experience a temperature difference of several hundred degrees in a few hours.

Researchers don’t know why WASP-127b has such extreme winds, but Nortman said the planet has certain peculiarities, including a low density and an unstable orbit around its star. It is said that there are certain characteristics that may play a role. “However, no clear connection has been established between those facts and particularly strong winds.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

New Space Novels by Adrian Tchaikovsky: An Excerpt from Alien Clay

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“Alien Clay sends some serious criminals to a labor camp on a remote planet.”

Shutterstock / Space Creator

They say you shouldn’t start a story by waking up, but when you’ve been in a deep sleep for 30 years, you don’t know where else to start.

It may begin with awakening and end with awakening.

I’ve heard that hard sleep is a technical term. It’s hard because you’re shut down, dry, and frozen for your journey from star to star. They make it into art – it takes 11 minutes like clockwork. The whole ship is full of villains and they are dry to the point of being able to do anything. . . Well, I was going to say that you can survive indefinitely, but of course that’s not the case. you don’t survive. You die, but you’re flash-frozen in a very specific way, allowing you to more or less pick up where you left off on the other side. After all, a detour about it would kill any body that is not withered – a permanent and irreparable kind of killing.

They are full of things that re-expand you to more or less previous dimensions – you will notice that there are many more or less In this process. It’s an exact science, but it doesn’t bother you exactly. The thought process does not pick up where it left off. Short-term memory is not stored. The mental path these days doesn’t work. Therefore, start by waking up. Because until you can establish a connection with an old memory, that’s all you have at that moment. I know who I am, but I don’t know where I am or how I got there. It sounds scary, but let me tell you, when you wake up, you’ll find yourself in a real hell. The roar of massive structural damage echoes as ships are destroyed around you. The jostling impact when the little translucent plastic bubble you’re riding on loosens and starts rolling. A cacophony of vibrations that travels through the curved surface to you. The death knell of the vessel that carried you here, carried you out into the void, and is now fragmenting. At that time, there is a world below that is not in your head and that you know nothing about. And above you there is only a cosmic murder field. The fact that there is a bottom and a top indicates that the earth has already won a certain battle for your soul and you are falling. The oldest fear of apes is the fear of involuntarily clenching a baby’s rubbery hand. It is a fall from grace that neither mankind nor apes ever imagined.

You can also see other people around you, through the celluloid walls of the prison. Because there can be no hell without fellow sinners to suffer. Each in its own bubble, torn from the collapsing ship. His face was contorted with fear, he screamed and banged on the wall, his eyes were like wells and his mouth was like the gate of a tomb. Please excuse the excessive explanation. I’m an ecologist, not a poet, but mere biology isn’t enough to appreciate the horrific spectacle of 500 humans being brought back to life at once and no one understanding why. you For reasons unknown, the ship falls apart in the cracks, and the world below is the hungry mouth of a gravity well. oh my god! When I remember that, my stomach hurts. And above all, in the midst of that confusion, I remember that I’m an ecologist. A universe without even an ecosystem. Has any self-knowledge ever been so useless?

Some of us have not yet woken up. I see at least two bubbles flying past me. Inside, the crew was left as desiccated corpses, and the systems malfunctioned. “Acceptable waste” is a technical term, but it’s also a concept you don’t want to suddenly remember. Because there will always be people at the end who will not wake up. They say this is an inevitable violation of entropy on a very long journey. Maybe so. Or maybe those who don’t wake up are the worst troublemakers. It’s hard to tell who it is when the skin clings to the skull without any familiar flesh intervening, but I notice my old colleague Markein El whirling past. I think I saw it. She was transported all the way from Earth here at minimal cost with a boiled-down process, but it might have been better to throw her in an incinerator to achieve the same effect.

Another piece of knowledge comes from remembering minimal costs. Another couple of my neurons resume a severed acquaintance, bringing with it a related but unwelcome understanding. This is intentional. Not the traumatic wreck of the Hesperus. It’s a feature, not a bug. Sending people into space used to be expensive, and it’s still expensive for anyone interested in space. It is recommended to provide practical medical care and life support, waking up from time to time to check on your very sensitive physical and mental health to ensure you stay alive while on the move. And, noticeably, it is recommended to arrange means of bringing them. return After completing the mission, return home. Large, expensive ships capable of complex maneuvers such as refueling, decelerating, accelerating, and turning.

But if you just want to send felons to a labor camp on a remote planet, it’s literally cheaper and easier than having a machine do the same job, so you don’t have to worry about them coming back. Because they don’t. It’s a life sentence, a one-way trip. Even as my head falls into the temptation of Imno 27g along with the rest of me, further unwelcome revelations fall upon my head.

I should have smashed my newly revived fist into the inside of the bubble, but it was falling from the collapsing ship and swirling around, the world below growing larger and larger. The void became a yellow-blue sky. Do you have yellow and blue? This is not the earth, but this is the sky of Immuno. Blue represents the oxygen that the planet’s biosphere pumps into the atmosphere as a byproduct of metabolic pathways, just like on Earth. Yellow is a diffuse cloud of aerial plankton. Alternatively, it is actually yellow-black due to its dark photosynthetic surface. Blue, yellow, and black should not be colors, and above all, should not be the color of the sky.

we fall At some point the chute will open. It is a film-like transparent plastic that is biodegradable the moment it comes into contact with the atmosphere. Like a ship, it is designed to last for the minimum amount of time possible to accomplish its mission. The ship is just a nameless piece of plastic junk printed as a single piece in Earth’s orbit, with a single engine and a pod to hold us all like peas. Probably an egg case. It is designed to carry a cargo of corpses across space to one of what the Mandate’s expansion division calls one of its current “active planets.” It carries us up to Immuno 27g and then breaks us apart in the upper atmosphere. Single-shot medical units reanimate their cargo from the dead, crushing lost souls as they scream and tumble to our doom. Some people don’t wake up, and even if they wake up, others don’t survive the descent. Destruction is certainly something we all face, but for some it lasts less than for others. Every time the chute unfolds, the bones tremble, and while I see others similarly torn from the teeth of the ground, I also watch a handful of bones fall as the chute fails. They’re still screaming because they remember just knowing that they’re going to die all over again.

You won’t die by not waking up, and you won’t die by falling off the edge of the atmosphere. I am not recorded in the ledger as acceptable waste. They will have to calculate very carefully the exact level of expense required and the exact proportion of delivery failures, or deaths, that this will entail. After all, who would want to spend a penny more than necessary to send a death row inmate to a concentration camp in a faraway world? People who rebelled against the system and now have to pay their dues for the rest of their lives. Some people are like me. You’ll hear the numbers later, but acceptable waste is 20 percent. If that sounds like an absurd loss of investment, you don’t know the history of people transporting others from place to place against their will.

They loaded the pods with maneuver jets. small plastic thing. One shot. It seems like it will take a lot of time to fall! – I see them firing. Each injects a bottle of gas, destroying itself in the process. If you can land where you need to land, that’s fine. Even if I end up far away from the work camp, they aren’t going to waste the labor time it takes to retrieve me. I would die trapped in a bubble or trapped outside a bubble because Immuno 27g is full of things that will kill you. Especially when you’re alone and only half your brain is with you. There was nothing in my head that would help me survive in this other world.

But that doesn’t happen to me either. I land at the same spot with everyone else who is not subject to waste regulations and they are waiting for us there. The camp commander sent a large crowd in case we managed to form a revolutionary subcommittee during our descent. When I saw riot control armor and guns – the “minimally lethal” security equipment I (now) remembered from Earth, that only killed an acceptable percentage of the time – I I remembered it there. had I was on a revolutionary subcommittee. Of course not on the ship. Because we were all flash-frozen corpses. And it wasn’t on the way down. Because we were too busy shouting. But back on Earth, before they invade our networks, track our contacts, and arrest everyone we know for betraying our friends and family, I actually I got this because it was part of the problem. When I returned to Earth, I was stubbornly proud of that fact. In the cramped orbital quarters of a prison attached to a spaceport, yes, I knew I would be deported to a concentration camp, but even a junior scholar like me could at least do what I could. I’ve been trying to do that. .

Now, after plummeting to this fate and then watching the Death Slash Welcome Committee, I regret everything. If a political official magically appeared and offered me a pardon if I signed a confession, I would reach for a pen. Quite unlike this song, I regret every single choice in my life that led me to this point. This is a moment of weakness.

Bubbles deflate around me. I struggled to fight it off for a minute to avoid choking on the sticky plastic before it cut me off. They have special tools, such as heated knives, to do this. I got a shallow glowing cut along my thigh, which attests to their general carelessness in handling it. One more person will be wasted when the last one is released and by then it will be too late. Everything is within tolerance, you understand. That’s it. I’m depressed. Look up at the foreign sky.

This is an excerpt from alien clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor, £10.99); New Scientist Book Club’s latest book recommendations. Register here and read along

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Source: www.newscientist.com

First-ever European sighting of the infamous ‘murder hornet’ alien species

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overview

  • The southern giant hornet, also known as the “murder hornet”, has been discovered for the first time in Europe.
  • A study last month confirmed that two pairs of hornets have been found in northern Spain since 2022.
  • Scientists are looking for wasp nests.

Researchers in Spain are busy discovering the first southern giant hornet nest ever discovered in Europe.

Also known as the “murder hornet” because it is known to kill beehives, this insect grows to an average length of 2 inches. They are native to parts of Asia. India, China, Thailand, Vietnam.

in research published last month Five Spanish scientists described two separate sightings in the journal Ecology and Evolution. The scientific name of the southern giant hornet is Vespa soror. Both were in Cielo, a city in northern Asturias. A pair was discovered in March 2022, and another two in October 2023.

Researchers believe the hornet's nest dates back at least a year.

Asian giant hornet — A closely related species that originates from other parts of Asia, it was first discovered in the US state of Washington in late 2019. The northern hornet and the southern hornet have similar behavior and appearance, but the former ShiChange the nesting period They then build small colonies or nests.

The first northern giant hornet nest discovered in the United States was promptly destroyed in October 2020, but live hornets were discovered in Washington the following year.

Southern giant hornets are known to send out scout teams to find colonies of prey, and the scouts rub their bodies against the hive or nearby plants to signal other hornets to join them. According to Research published in 2021. It then enters the “slaughter stage” where the entire hive can be destroyed within a few hours.

Asian giant hornets have not been found in Europe, neither in the north nor in the south. That's more than the four recorded in Spain. Scientists behind the recent study believe the hornets likely first arrived on a cargo ship.

Omar Sánchez, lead author of the study and zoologist A professor at the University of Oviedo in Spain said he expected the hornets to affect the balance of local ecosystems, as they actively prey on native hornets, bees, butterflies, moths and flies. A long-term decline in bee populations could impact honey availability and disrupt the pollination process that many plants and crops depend on.

“Here in northern Spain, we have another type of Asian hornet called Vespa verntina, which is causing serious damage to the beekeeping industry, so the presence of another hornet could potentially amplify the negative impact. Yes,” he said.

Sánchez added that the researchers: They are trying to find the nest in order to destroy it.

“This species nests more than 30 meters underground, so it's not easy to find, so you have to be a little bit careful,” he says. “We are trying.”

Sánchez said researchers are looking for more hornet sightings.

Sanchez and his study co-authors discovered and captured four of the hornets after hearing from beekeepers in the area that they had seen the unusual-looking hornets. After capturing the wasps, scientists extracted DNA samples and conducted genetic testing and analysis to confirm the species.

Molly Keck, an entomologist at Texas A&M University, said the genetic research that identified this species will “help educate the public and beekeepers and educate local governments so that management planning, education, mapping and distribution can be done.” “This is the first step towards mitigation efforts such as issuing warnings.” . ”

“Most of these invasive species will come in through some port city, so no matter what quarantine or checking measures are in place, there's always a way to find them.” she added.

Keck said countries may need to tighten such processes around the world as a precaution if they want to ensure their cargo is bug-free.

Sanchez said the detection of the southern giant hornet in Spain shows that more hornets are likely to emerge.

“Perhaps in the near future this species will be detected again in other parts of Spain, and perhaps also in Europe,” he says.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Researchers claim that the widespread issue of alien visitation claims is a significant societal concern

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Around a fifth of Brits believe that extraterrestrials have visited Earth, and an estimated 7% think they have seen a UFO. In the US, the figures are even higher and rising: the number of people who believe that UFO sightings are likely evidence of extraterrestrial life has risen from 20% in 1996 to 34% in 2022. Around 24% of Americans say they have seen a UFO. New Paper of Proceedings of the International Astronomical UnionDr Tony Milligan of King’s College London argues that belief in alien visitors is no longer an eccentricity but a widespread societal problem.

The idea that aliens may have visited Earth is becoming more and more popular. Image by Fernando Ribas.

This belief has now grown to the point that politicians, at least in the United States, feel they must respond.

The Department of Defense’s alleged disclosure of information about UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) has attracted bipartisan attention across the country.

Many of them draw on familiar anti-elitist tropes that both parties are happy to employ, such as the idea that a cabal of military and private commercial interests is hiding the deeper truth about alien visitation.

The truth is thought to involve sightings, abductions, and the reverse engineering of alien technology.

People who believe in a cover-up are even more numerous than those who believe in alien visitations: A 2019 Gallup Poll found that a staggering 68% of Americans believe the U.S. government knows more about UFOs than it is releasing.

This political bias has been decades in the making: Jimmy Carter promised to release the documents during his 1976 presidential campaign, several years after his own UFO sightings were reported. As with many other sightings, the simplest explanation is that he saw Venus.

… (remaining content truncated for brevity) …

Source: www.sci.news

Murchison Wide Field Array hunts for signs of alien technology beyond our galaxy

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Astronomers Murchison Widefield Alley Researchers in Western Australia conducted a search for extraterrestrial signals emanating from around 2,800 galaxies pointing towards the Vela supernova remnant with a spectral resolution of 10 kHz.

This diagram shows what a Kardashev Type III civilization might operate like. Containing stellar energy in so-called Dyson spheres is one way to harness the enormous energy on a galactic scale. The resulting waste heat products should be detectable with telescopes. Image by Danielle Futselaar / ASTRON.

“When we think about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, we often consider the age and advancement of technology that could produce signals that we could detect with telescopes,” said Dr Chenoa Tremblay from the SETI Institute and Professor Steven Tingay from Curtin University.

“In popular culture, advanced civilizations are depicted as having interstellar spacecraft and the means to communicate.”

“In the 1960s, astrophysicist Nikolai Kardashev proposed a scale for quantifying the degree of technological advancement of extraterrestrial intelligence.”

“The Kardashev scale has three levels. A Type I civilization uses all the energy available on its planet (1016 W); Type II civilizations can consume stellar energy directly (1026 W) and a Type III civilization could consume all the energy emitted by the galaxy (1036 “W)”

“Civilizations at the higher end of the Kardashev scale could generate vast amounts of electromagnetic radiation detectable at galactic distances.”

“Some of the ideas that have been explored in the past have been to harness the light of stars in our galaxy, to colonize the solar system, and to use pulsars as a communications network.”

“Radio waves' ability to penetrate space over long distances and even planetary atmospheres makes them a practical tool for searching for interstellar communications.”

The authors used the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), focusing on low radio frequencies (100 MHz), to look for signs of alien technology in galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

They observed about 2,800 galaxies in one observation, and determined the distances to 1,300 of them.

“This research represents a major step forward in efforts to detect signals from advanced extraterrestrial civilizations,” Dr Tremblay said.

“The MWA's wide field of view and low-frequency range make it an ideal tool for this type of study, and the limits we set will guide future research.”

of work Appeared in Astrophysical Journal.

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CD Tremblay & SJ Tingay. 2024. An extragalactic wide-field search for technosignatures with the Murchison Wide Field Array. ApJ 972, 76;doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad6b11

Source: www.sci.news

New Method Discovered by Astronomers for Detecting Water Oceans and Alien Life on Rocky Exoplanets

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Planets that are too close to their star (such as Venus) are too hot, and planets that are too far away (such as Mars) are too cold, but planets that are within the habitable zone have just the right temperature. Although great efforts have been made to identify planets in the theoretical habitable region of stars, until now there has been no way to know whether a planet really has liquid water. Now, astronomers from the University of Birmingham and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that if an exoplanet’s atmosphere has less carbon dioxide than its neighbors, it may have liquid water on its surface. It was shown that it was suggested.

Artist’s impression of the super-Earth planet Ross 508b. Image credit: Sci.News.

Astronomers have detected more than 5,200 extrasolar worlds so far. Modern telescopes allow us to directly measure the distance from a planet to a star and the time it takes to complete one revolution.

These measurements help scientists infer whether a planet is within its habitable zone.

However, there was no way to directly confirm whether a planet was truly habitable, i.e. whether there was liquid water on its surface.

Throughout our solar system, astronomers can detect the presence of liquid oceans by observing glints, flashes of sunlight reflecting off liquid surfaces.

These glows, or specular reflections, have been observed, for example, on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and helped identify the moon’s large lakes.

However, detecting similar glows on distant planets is not possible with current technology.

But astronomer Julien de Witt of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, astronomer Amaury Tryaud of the University of Birmingham and colleagues believe there is another habitable landform close to home that could be detected far away. I noticed something.

“Looking at what was happening to terrestrial planets in our own star system gave us an idea,” Tryaud said.

Venus, Earth, and Mars share similarities in that all three are rocky and live in relatively temperate regions relative to the Sun.

Earth is the only planet of the three that currently has liquid water. Researchers then noted another clear difference. That means there is significantly less carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.

“We think these planets formed in a similar way, and if we find a planet with less carbon than it does now, it must have gone somewhere else,” Tryaud said.

“The only process that can remove this much carbon from the atmosphere is a strong water cycle involving oceans of liquid water.”

In fact, Earth’s oceans have played a major and persistent role in absorbing carbon dioxide.

For hundreds of millions of years, the ocean has absorbed enormous amounts of carbon dioxide. This is about the same amount that remains in Venus’ atmosphere today.

This planetary effect has resulted in Earth’s atmosphere being significantly depleted in carbon dioxide compared to neighboring planets.

Dr. Frieder Klein, a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said: “On Earth, much of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is sequestered in seawater and solid rock over geological timescales; It has helped regulate climate and habitability for billions of years.” .

Astronomers reasoned that if a similar decrease in carbon dioxide was detected on a distant planet compared to a nearby planet, this would be a reliable signal of a liquid ocean and life on its surface. did.

“After an extensive review of the literature in many fields, from biology to chemistry to carbon sequestration related to climate change, we found that if carbon depletion is indeed detected, it is likely that liquid water and its effects are “We think this is likely a strong indication that this is a sign of life.” Dr. de Witt said.

In the study, the researchers developed a strategy to detect habitable planets by looking for traces of depleted carbon dioxide.

Such searches are ideal for “pea” systems, like our solar system, in which multiple terrestrial planets, all about the same size, orbit relatively close to each other.

The first step, the scientists suggest, is to confirm that a planet has an atmosphere by simply looking for the presence of carbon dioxide, which is expected to dominate the atmospheres of most planets.

“Carbon dioxide is a very strong absorber of infrared light and can be easily detected in the atmospheres of exoplanets,” Dr. de Witt said.

“The carbon dioxide signal could reveal the presence of an exoplanet’s atmosphere.”

Once astronomers determine that multiple planets in a system have atmospheres, they move on to measuring their carbon dioxide content to see if one planet has significantly less than the others.

If so, this planet is likely habitable, which means there is a large amount of liquid water on its surface.

However, habitable conditions do not necessarily mean that the planet is inhabited. To confirm whether life actually exists, the authors suggest that astronomers look for another feature in the planet’s atmosphere: ozone.

On Earth, plants and some microorganisms contribute to absorbing carbon dioxide, although to a lesser extent than the oceans. Nevertheless, as part of this process, living organisms release oxygen, which reacts with solar photons and turns into ozone. Ozone is a much easier molecule to detect than oxygen itself.

If a planet’s atmosphere shows signs of both ozone and carbon dioxide depletion, the planet may be habitable and inhabited by humans.

“If you see ozone, there’s a pretty good chance it’s related to carbon dioxide being consumed by life forms,” ​​says Tryaud.

“And if it’s life, it’s glorious life. It won’t be just a few bacteria. It’ll be a planetary-scale biomass that can process and interact with large amounts of carbon.”

The researchers believe NASA/ESA/CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope can measure carbon dioxide, and possibly ozone, in nearby multiplanetary systems like TRAPPIST-1, a seven-planet system orbiting a bright star. I’m guessing it is. Light years from Earth.

“TRAPPIST-1 is one of the few systems that can use the Web to study Earth’s atmosphere,” said Dr. de Witt.

“We now have a roadmap to finding habitable planets. If we all work together, we may make paradigm-changing discoveries within the next few years.”

of study It was published in the magazine natural astronomy.

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AHMJ triode other. Atmospheric carbon depletion as a tracer of water oceans and biomass in temperate terrestrial exoplanets. Nat Astron, published online on December 28, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41550-023-02157-9

Source: www.sci.news

Strange Alien Planet Indicates Earth’s Survival After Sun’s Demise

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Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library

When I found out the date of the end of the Earth, everything seemed so simple. Five billion years from now, the solar system will have changed dramatically. Instead of the gentle presence we are accustomed to, the sun will become a behemoth, hundreds of times larger than it is today. In the process, it will wipe out the rocky inner planets, including our own.

Or will it be? We recently witnessed the death stages of another star for the first time. And miraculously, it seems some planets will be able to survive this apocalyptic era. Observations like these call into question the story of how the Earth will die, and give us hope that somehow the Earth may outlast the Sun. Even if it doesn’t, all is not lost. The study also provides clues as to where humans might best seek refuge.

How does the sun die?

The sun is powered by nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, hydrogen atoms fuse into helium, releasing a huge amount of energy in the process. However, the fate of our star is determined by one fact. This means that the supply of hydrogen is limited. As this energy begins to deplete, in about another 5 billion years, the Sun’s internal structure will change and it will expand to about 200 times its current size. It will change from the current yellow dwarf to a red giant. After another billion years, the star shrinks and expands again, before disappearing and becoming a stellar corpse called a white dwarf.

As it grows…

Source: www.newscientist.com