Space & Physics
O UFOs, Where Art Thou?
Five reasons why sorting all of this out is so scientifically challenging
Stories by Caleb A. Scharf
Space & Physics
The Origin of Technosignatures
Signs of technology might point to life in the universe, but we have to ask what really gives rise to technology in the first place
Biology
Transcendence Happens All the Time
We’ve long fantasized about transformations from one mode of life to another, but nature has already beaten us to it
Space & Physics
We Are the Aliens
On a geologic timescale, the emergence of the human “dataome” is like a sudden invasion by extraterrestrials or an asteroid impact that precipitates a mass extinction...
Space & Physics
Until Recently, People Accepted the ‘Fact’ of Aliens in the Solar System
For centuries, right up until the 1960s, the notion life on Mars—and elsewhere—wasn’t considered especially remarkable
Space & Physics
Extremely Boring Aliens
Perhaps other life in the universe is, in the end, utterly dull
Space & Physics
Life’s Small-Molecule Problem
What if the signature of living things is the lack of a simple signature?
Space & Physics
It’s the End of the World ... Somewhere
Extraterrestrials in existential trouble might be easiest to find—and also the most informative
Space & Physics
The Enduring Mystery of Earth’s Water
New clues have emerged about exactly where your last drink came from
Space & Physics
Could We Force the Universe to Crash?
If we’re all living in a simulation, as some have suggested, it would be a good, albeit risky, way to find out for sure
Space & Physics
The Mystery of Titan’s Expanding Orbit
A surprising discovery in the outer solar system could change our ideas about moons that orbit giant planets
Space & Physics
Unbinding Life, Unbounded
The blog’s author reflects as nine years of writing undergo an evolutionary change
Space & Physics
The Angle of Doom
When an asteroid hits a planet, it’s not just about the energy
Space & Physics
Europa: Three More Clues
We have alien worlds right here in our solar system
Evolution
A Failure of Imagination
Nature does not have to play fair with our puny human brains
Space & Physics
Believable Extraterrestrials
The 100th anniversary of astronomy’s “Great Debate” prompts thoughts on the hunt for life in the universe
Evolution
Life inside the Extinction
These are startling times, but there’s a way out
Space & Physics
Tickling the Asteroid’s Tail
How do you return a piece of asteroid to Earth? Practice
Space & Physics
Seven Years to Mercury
A final flyby on the way to the inner world
Space & Physics
The Architecture of Worlds
Our nearest star system is slowly revealing itself
