Habitable zone

Everybody from NASA to David Bowie has wondered if there’s life on Mars – and now we might have a precise place to look for it. A new Caltech study has shown that photosynthetic microbes could thrive in a small habitable zone beneath the ice.

Of the over 5,000 exoplanets discovered, only about 12 even come close to resembling Earth. That number has been increased with the discovery of Wolf 1069 b, a planet with qualities that make it a good candidate to study further for signs of life.

New research involving the simulation of 100,000 random worlds suggests that chance played a major role in allowing Earth to maintain a habitable environment for the three to four billion years needed for the evolution of complex life.

Astronomers have analyzed the atmosphere of a large exoplanet and found that it could have liquid water – and so possibly life – on its surface. This new study adds weight to the idea that habitable exoplanets don’t have to be strictly Earth-sized.

Water is crucial to life as we know it, so it’s one of the key things astronomers look out for on exoplanets. And now, water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere of a potentially habitable exoplanet for the first time.

Just how common are potentially habitable Earth-like planets? Researchers on a new study claim to have come up with the most accurate estimate yet – and they’re more common than you might think.

NASA’s TESS mission has been very busy lately, making many exoplanet discoveries. Now, the productive little satellite has made another important discovery – the closest super-Earth that’s potentially habitable.

A new study has used simulations to show that even Earth-like planets completely encased in ice could still have areas warm enough for life, muddying up the already-murky definition of habitable worlds.

TRAPPIST-1 is one the most fascinating planetary systems discovered so far. Now, two new studies have looked at the habitability of these planets, with a focus on radiation from the star and tides caused by the other planets. Strangely enough, these factors could help make them more liveable.

Among the almost-4,000 exoplanets found so far, none really capture the imagination like TRAPPIST-1. Now a team of astronomers led by the University of Washington has simulated the climates that could be found on each TRAPPIST world.

The majority of stars in our Milky Way aren’t Sun-like – they’re the smaller and cooler red dwarfs. To determine how well these stars might be able to support life, A NASA program is using Hubble to monitor their flare activity, and the first results don’t paint a positive picture.

When looking for exoplanets that could potentially support life, astronomers start with those orbiting within the “habitable zone." A new study has found that two of the most promising planets are now even more promising, with axial tilts that likely give them regular seasons and a stable climate.