Extraterrestrial life news, features and articles
Latest about Extraterrestrial Life
![Illustration of Kepler 186-f, a habitable earth-like planet](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GzAm8SR4VNtBU4C4U5bqvg-320-80.jpg)
Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests
By Sierra Bouchér published
Astrophysicists estimate that any exponentially growing technological civilization has only 1,000 years until its planet will be too hot to support life.
![A man in a suit sitting down looks into a large telescope](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KDoyGkSnh8sWBLbVk9TSq4-320-80.jpg)
'Space trash' will lead us to intelligent aliens, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb says
By Brandon Specktor published
The long-sought evidence of alien life could be lurking in Earth's oceans, says Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. Here is his plan to find it.
!["Wow!" signal printout](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8zt4Ba6xbyToz6dNc5bYG6-320-80.jpg)
Infamous 'Wow! signal' that hinted at aliens may actually be an exceptionally rare cosmic event
By Sharmila Kuthunur published
The source of a supposed alien broadcast that made researchers go "Wow!" may instead have been the result of a remarkably rare cosmic event, a new study suggests.
![The sky looks dark with red glowing streaks. On the ground, there are a bunch of gray structures that together make up the MWA.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/4SeHEdrVk8vrLSSzKt2Yx4-320-80.jpg)
SETI searches for alien life in over 1,000 galaxies using unexplored radio frequencies
By Keith Cooper published
Although no aliens were found, the results have helped constrain expectations of possible alien transmitter power.
![A photo of Europa](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8UCHbxCWVWiCU8o55LEppM-320-80.jpg)
If alien life exists on Europa, we may find it in hydrothermal vents
By Keith Cooper published
If there's life on Jupiter's moon Europa or Saturn's moon Enceladus, it could have a network of deep-sea hydrothermal vents to thank for its existence, new research suggests.
![A NASA satellite image of the sky, with a hot, dusty galaxy circled in magenta](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pjCgXoDuVfAQV5SRzErjP8-320-80.jpg)
7 potential 'alien megastructures' spotted in our galaxy are not what they seem
By Paul Sutter published
Scientists recently identified seven stars in the Milky Way that could potentially be gigantic alien structures called Dyson spheres. New research proposes an alternative explanation: Those are just cosmic "hot DOGs" in disguise.
![An artist's rendering of menacing alien monsters standing in a forest](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iAyRYAfv9RPmAkpdrGHTdF-320-80.jpg)
What could aliens look like?
By Sarah Wells published
The search for alien life is one of humanity's greatest missions, but it may look nothing like anything we've seen on Earth.
![This computer-simulated image shows a supermassive black hole at the core of a galaxy. The black region in the center represents the black hole’s event horizon, where no light can escape the massive object’s gravitational grip. The black hole’s powerful gravity distorts space around it like a funhouse mirror. Light from background stars is stretched and smeared as the stars skim by the black hole.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GjruzeoQ2bgwSpf8pDEjk8-320-80.jpg)
32 strange places scientists are looking for aliens
By Isobel Whitcomb published
From planets and moons in our solar system to dying stars and parallel universes, here are some of the far-out places scientists are searching for alien life.
![An illustration of a large blue planet in the foreground and a small red one in the background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LcmCVkv7Cwn3UQjfThB2TX-320-80.jpg)
No, the James Webb Space Telescope probably didn't detect signs of alien life — but it soon could
By Brandon Specktor published
The James Webb Space Telescope's possible detection of biological chemicals on the exoplanet K2-18b may just have been methane gas, a new study cautions. Planned follow-up observations could solve the mystery for good.
![A dust devil dances across a crater eroded by gullies in Noachis Terra, Mars. The gullies are thought to have been eroded by liquid water flowing on Mars in geologically recent times.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jZjVWk5jzAAaooSFuSLB6A-320-80.jpg)
Aliens may be hitching rides on meteors to colonize the cosmos, study suggests. Here's how we could spot them.
By Paul Sutter published
A fringe theory called "panspermia" suggests that lifeforms can spread to new planets by hitching rides on meteors. New research lays out a roadmap for finding where these hypothetical, planet-hopping aliens may reside.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.