Stories by Caleb A. Scharf

For single-celled organisms, Earth’s atmosphere represents transport, refuge and possibly a habitat

A record-breaking altitude and a few minutes of weightlessness in an extraordinary vehicle

A reminder that there is more going on in the universe than we ordinarily perceive

What do these things have in common? They’re all important for astrobiology

It may not be smart to add more, but nature probably beat us to it anyway

Look who might be watching

What if our natural satellite didn’t exist?

Our consciousness gets in the way of thinking about evolution

Precisely when and where eclipses occur is a complicated business

Much of the treasure trove of Apollo 11 images is rarely shown

If we’re a dud cosmic experiment, is there hope?

A roundup of some recent astrobiology-related science news

Lithium hydride could protect humans from radiation on the way to Mars and be useful when they get there

Probably not, but forthcoming commercial satellite constellations herald a new era for our night skies

NASA's Insight lander is already pretty dirt-covered, but Mars may help clean it up

A roundup of recent research with astrobiological implications

A five-billion-year-old detective story reveals two new players in our origins

If reality is manufactured it’s time to lodge some complaints

Elusive methane in the atmosphere of Mars gets even more elusive

Our first up-close black hole image starts to reveal the anatomy of the extreme

For photon-eating life, smaller stars are unavoidably inferior providers—according to thermodynamics

Questions about living systems on other planets come with some baggage

The near-Earth asteroid Bennu seems to be ejecting unexpected particles

Heads up! Our planet is under constant bombardment