Stories by Caleb A. Scharf

Want to seek shelter on Mars? There may be a lot of options, and we know where they are

In a vast game of chance and competition, things can get ugly

Building planets is an intricate process, but we’re finding clues to some new possibilities

Vast data sets and machine learning could link SETI to quantum computing

There are many ways to gauge planetary change

Settling humans on Mars needs pragmatism at least as much as vision

The martian radiation environment is a problem for human explorers that cannot be overstated

Deep inside a 1968 meteorite fall are grains from an entirely different cosmic era

Are there hints that machine life simply doesn’t happen in the universe?

Ten years, measured in words on astrobiology, exoplanets and the cosmos in general

There may be things to learn from the one known world in the universe dominated by complex machines 

Explaining the very long steps of Earth’s oxygenation—and perhaps that of other planets, too

Meandering rivers may hold a vital clue to the earth’s capacity for life

From hummocky to dune- and lake-covered, Titan is revealed in its latest global map

When did we start talking about life from elsewhere?

Some scenarios for interstellar expansion are more disturbing than others

Predictable transits and conjunctions belie a deeper story that includes our origins

The most haunting thing about the universe is how empty it is

Could there be information networks across the galaxy?

A novel idea for the local terraforming of Mars raises interesting possibilities

Forget galaxies, stars and planets; the cosmos is really a complex chemical system

Calling a distant world Earth-like is bad practice; calling it habitable is not much better

There are way more important planetary concerns to direct your attention to

Explosions on Titan, cometary visitors, a black hole merger and water in an exoplanetary atmosphere