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The TRAPPIST-1 system is a treasure trove of possibilities and questions. Observations by JWST have just begun.

Looking back on our planet's early history offers a new (and less crazy) meaning for the idea of a "flat Earth."

This oddball system of three stars might be our best chance at finding nearby life in the Universe.

Based on the atoms that they're made out of, the innermost planet should always be the densest. Here's why Earth beats Mercury, hands down.

2023 will see the launch of new rockets, the return of OSIRIS-REx, and a mission to Jupiter that could help us find extraterrestrial life.

In 1990, we only knew of the planets in our own Solar System. Today, the exoplanet count is more than 5000. Here's what we've learned.

NASA is creating a planet habitability index, and Earth may not be at the top. With our current data, ranking habitability is guesswork.

Researchers hypothesize that these exoplanets could support the development of alien life.

Red dwarf stars were supposed to be inhospitable. But TOI-700, now with at least two potentially habitable worlds, is quite the exception.

Finding out we're not alone in the Universe would fundamentally change everything. Here's how we could do it.

From hellishly hot planets to water worlds, some distant planets are like nothing in our Solar System.

Planets are either rocky, like Earth, or gas-rich, like Neptune, with no in-between. What are the different types of planets that exist in the Universe? If all you could see […]

The space telescope's findings challenge the notion of a galaxy brimming with life.

From black holes to dark energy to chances for life in the Universe, our cosmic journey to understand it all is just getting started.

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all uni-plate planets, and may always have been. Here's what's known about why Earth, uniquely, has plate tectonics.

Scientists have detected within the Venusian atmosphere a chemical known to be a byproduct of life.

In 2006, Pluto was demoted in a very controversial decision. Unless you ignore nearly all of planetary science, it'll never be one again.

From exoplanets to supermassive black holes to the first stars and galaxies, Webb will show us the Universe as we've never seen it before.

Do you think you know the Solar System? Here's a fact about each planet that might surprise you when you see it!

There's an extremely good chance that there is, or at least was, life on Mars. But is it native to Mars, or did it originate from Earth?

Does humanity have a moral imperative to seed life on lifeless worlds? And should we avoid colonizing a planet if life already exists there?

Asteroid collisions aren't always bad.

The classic picture of Jupiter's great rocky core might be entirely wrong.

65 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth. Not only did Jupiter not stop it, but it probably caused the impact itself.

Remembering Frank Drake, who transformed the search for alien life & extraterrestrial intelligence into a full-fledged scientific endeavor.

Compared to Earth, Mars is small, cold, dry, and lifeless. But 3.4 billion years ago, a killer asteroid caused a Martian megatsunami.

In terms of the planets we've discovered, super-Earths are by far the most common. What does that mean for the Universe?

Should we be searching for life on other planets, or technology?

Finding alien technology on the seafloor would be truly incredible. This extraordinary claim, however, is debunked by the actual evidence.

Each of our three nearest stars might have an Earth-like planet in orbit around it. Here's what we'll learn when we finally observe it.