Super Earths are named for their size, but these planets which range from about 2 to 10 Earth masses could be superior to the Earth when it comes to sustaining life. They could also provide an an

Scientists recently inventoried an astonishing abundance of deep sea species that have never known sunlight. These organisms have managed to live in frigid depths of up to 5,000 meters below the ocean

New research shows that an unusual mix of stars at the center of our galaxy might be the remnants of a dwarf galaxy that merged with the Milky Way long ago. The findings could help astrobiolgists unde

Astrobiology Magazine s climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently spoke with Professor Brigitte Nerlich about aspects of climate change related to human behavior. The future of life on Earth may truly be i

Scientists recently used an innovative computer program to produce a more detailed global map of valley networks on Mars. The results are consistent with past climate scenarios that include precipitat

Scientists have revealed new information about a period of time spanning three of Earth s largest mass extinctions. The study shows how different marine environments - from oceans to seas that once co

Much of Earth s mineral wealth was deposited billions of years ago when chemical cycles on our planet were very different than today s. Recently, scientists used geochemical data from minerals to yiel

A new study that reconstructed ocean temperatures from millions of years ago could provide new insight into how the Earth responds to climate change.

NASA and Microsoft have created the new Be a Martian Web site, which allows citizen scientists to participate in projects such as improving martian maps and assisting Mars science teams. Now the pub

Scientists have unearthed the remains of five ancient crocodiles, including three newly named species. The finding provides new information about the evolutionary history of life on Earth.

Astrobiology Magazine s climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently discussed how receding glaciers could have catastrophic consequences for Earth s climate. Increasing loss of glacial ice will lead to incr

A proposed space mission that aims to measure dark energy could also detect planets that current surveys are unable to find.

Astronomers have found that the extrasolar planet HAT-P-7b has a retrograde or highly tilted orbit. Studying such planets is important in understanding the diversity of planetary systems and assessing

Features discovered in 3.4 billion-year-old rocks indicate that temperatures on early Earth may have been dramatically cooler than previously believed. The finding could have implications in understan

NASA s IceBite team will spend six weeks studying a place on Earth that resembles the Phoenix landing site on Mars. The place: a mile above sea level in Antarctica s McMurdo Dry Valleys. The ultimate

Preliminary data from NASA s LCROSS mission indicates that water ice is present in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. LCROSS crashed into the Cabeus crater on October 9, creating a plume of material

A census of 500 stars has successfully linked the lithium mystery observed in our sun to the presence of planetary systems. The study shows that sun-like stars with planetary systems lack lithium, a

Astrobiology Magazine s climate blog, The Hot Zone, recently spoke with Dr. Marty Mlynczak of NASA s Langley Research Center about the limitations of the technology we have on hand to measure climate

Scientists from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have been using Pavilion Lake as a testing ground for the future human exploration of other worlds.