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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Are the Universe's Smallest Stars Promising Places for Life?
Red dwarf stars are more common than our Sun. What are the prospects for life on exoplanets that orbit them?
Seeing, feeling, and imagining the cosmos
Explore space art created by members of The Planetary Society’s community, and learn about a possible alien signal.
Aliens at Proxima Centauri? A New Radio Signal Raises the Question
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, so here are the reasons why there may or may not be aliens in our cosmic backyard.
Planetary Society Reacts to Loss of Arecibo Observatory Radio Telescope
Arecibo helped us explore the cosmos and our solar system, search for life, and defend Earth from potentially dangerous asteroids.
How to stop microbes from hitching a ride to space
Learn about planetary protection for exploring other worlds and get caught up on the week’s space news.
Could there be life on Venus?
Explore exciting news in the search for life beyond Earth, and take a trip down memory lane with our co-founder.
Did Scientists Just Find Life on Venus? Here's How to Interpret the Phosphine Discovery
A Venusian biosignature, if confirmed, does not guarantee life, but it does represent a compelling argument for further exploration.
The Making of Life
Michael L. Wong asks how our understanding of the origin of life on Earth informs our search for it elsewhere.
This Thanksgiving, avoid the politics and talk space instead
If you're expecting to gather with extended family on Thanksgiving, avoid the politics. Here are some conversation starters to use at the dinner table that everyone can engage in.
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is getting a signal boost
It's all thanks to renewed interest from NASA and a private effort to scan the skies using an array of 64 radio telescopes.
#LPSC2018: Fungi in the lab, hot springs frozen cold, and exploding lakes
The first astrobiology session at last week's Lunar and Planetary Science Conference featured talks on a huge variety of interesting topics, and was one of my favorite sessions at the meeting.
Creating a guidebook for Earth's hypothetical twin
Early Earth's atmosphere wasn't a place for humans. Yet the planet had microbial life—something we should keep in mind for exoplanets.
Reminder: The Giant Magellan Telescope is going to be awesome
The GMT will characterize Earth-size exoplanets' atmospheres, looking for compounds that indicate the presence of life.
Is There Anybody out There?
The Planetary Society has supported SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, practically since our founding in 1980. Learn the past, present, and future of SETI.
Doing SETI Better by Understanding Ourselves
One of the reasons SETI is hard is that we don’t know exactly what we are looking for, and part of that difficulty is that we still aren’t sure of who we are. An astronomer and an anthropologist team up to explore how cultural myopia shape what we can find in the cosmos.
Meet two astronaut candidates who can help NASA do science on other worlds
Two of NASA's new astronaut candidates are particularly suited to conduct scientific research on other worlds: Zena Cardman, a geobiologist, and Jessica Watkins, a geologist.
Another smoking gun in the search for life in Enceladus’ ocean
NASA's Cassini spacecraft sniffed out molecular hydrogen spewing from Enceladus' subsurface ocean. The discovery means Saturn's moon has all the basic ingredients needed to support life.
Fossils or good-looking rocks? Why searching for life on other worlds is hard
If you find a structure that looks like ancient life, can you be really sure that it is ancient life?
Microbes exist deep inside Earth’s craters. Could this be the secret to finding life on other worlds?
Earth possesses amazing biological diversity. Every corner of this planet—no matter how bizarre the place—is inhabited by microorganisms. This includes impact craters.
Let’s be careful about this “SETI” signal
Several readers have contacted me recently about reports that a group of international astronomers have detected a strong signal coming from a distant star that could be a sign of a high-technology civilization. Here’s my reaction: it’s interesting, but it’s definitely not the sign of an alien civilization—at least not yet.