To support alien life, a planet doesn’t have to be exactly like Earth, but it does need a few key ingredients. First, it should orbit its star at the right distance, where temperatures allow liquid ...

There might be many more planets that could be home to aliens than we thought, according to a new study. For years, scientists have searched for life in the “habitable” or “goldilocks” zone – where it ...

Astronomer Geoff Marcy is the Usain Bolt of planet hunters, but now he is turning his gaze towards potential alien civilisations. The good news, he tells Anil Ananthaswamy, is that ET may already be ...