Stories by Caleb A. Scharf

The discovery that life on Earth looks a lot like information propagating itself offers new clues, and new directions, to the hunt for life elsewhere

Five reasons why sorting all of this out is so scientifically challenging

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

We’ve long fantasized about transformations from one mode of life to another, but nature has already beaten us to it

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

For centuries, right up until the 1960s, the notion life on Mars—and elsewhere—wasn’t considered especially remarkable

Perhaps other life in the universe is, in the end, utterly dull

What if the signature of living things is the lack of a simple signature?

Extraterrestrials in existential trouble might be easiest to find—and also the most informative

New clues have emerged about exactly where your last drink came from

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

A surprising discovery in the outer solar system could change our ideas about moons that orbit giant planets

The blog’s author reflects as nine years of writing undergo an evolutionary change

When an asteroid hits a planet, it’s not just about the energy

We have alien worlds right here in our solar system

Nature does not have to play fair with our puny human brains

The 100th anniversary of astronomy’s “Great Debate” prompts thoughts on the hunt for life in the universe

These are startling times, but there’s a way out

How do you return a piece of asteroid to Earth? Practice

A final flyby on the way to the inner world

Our nearest star system is slowly revealing itself

Is life’s persistence on Earth really the norm?

Silicate dynamos could drive magnetic fields in more planets—and younger ones

Distract yourself with some amazing views of the universe around us