Just 4.3 light years from Earth lies a star called Alpha Centauri A, which is famous for being the nearest star that resembles our own Sun. In the popular Avatar movies, this star's system is home to ...

Within a few dozen light years of the Sun, the sky is crowded with stars that could, in principle, host living worlds. I want ...

Exoplanets like Earth have been discovered but not all Earth-like planets are equal when it comes to alien life.

Life as we know it may require lightning, as it's one of the few energy sources a planet has available to create complex chemical compounds. Now, new research has found that lightning, while not very ...

Ready to go for a swim? The biggest swimming pool in this section of the galaxy could be just 24 trillion miles away. Share on Facebook (opens in a new window) Share on X (opens in a new window) Share ...

Some of the most promising places to look for extraterrestrials have remained, so far, mostly hidden from astronomers. Now a game-changing instrument called NIRPS (Near-Infrared Planet Searcher) is ...

An illustration of what it might look like to visit Kepler 16 b, a nearby exoplanet with twin suns. Credit: NASA Imagine a planet where molten diamond rains from the sky, hurled sideways by winds that ...