The answer is possibly, after an international team of astronomers announced the discovery of a rare molecule, phosphine, in the clouds of Venus. Phosphine, which is a molecule made up of one phosphorus atom and three hydrogen atoms, is a gas only made industrially on Earth or by microbes that thrive Read more…
Are we alone in the Universe? This is an age old question that has been the driving force for our ventures into space exploration. And with the record breaking discovery of 7 exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, it definitely feels like we could be on the cusp of an Read more…
Dyson spheres are an outrageous concept. The idea of looking for alien megastructures in space appeared at the end of the 1950s and was widely discussed in speculations about searching for extraterrestrial civilisations. It also inspired some great science fiction novels. Today the idea seemed to have faded into obscurity, Read more…
Mars, our rusty, red neighbour, has long since been a source of fascination for star-gazers, scientists and science fiction fans. This world has sparked the imaginations of many in the hunt for alien life and it may even become a potential astronaut destination in the future. Many robotic rovers have Read more…
November 9 is Carl Sagan Day when enthusiasts of astronomy and science remember and celebrate the life and works of Carl Sagan. Why is Sagan honoured in this way? Let us look back at the man and his career. It seems impossible to research the Solar System and Read more…
The discovery of new planets beyond our Solar System has further expanded on what we thought we knew about what is out there. These distant extrasolar planets or exoplanets have only been confirmed to be in existence within the last twenty years and lots of new discoveries are still being Read more…
There are around 3000 human-made satellites in working order around the Earth, however if the debris of old and damaged satellites are taken into account the number increases dramatically. Ever since the Soviet Union launched the very first artificial satellite into orbit in 1957, various countries around the world have Read more…
If aliens use Twitter would you send them a Tweet? What would you write to beings from another star in just 144 characters? You now have the chance to do just that and send a potential extra-terrestrial civilisation a message using the recently launched Lone Signal Project. Anyone can send Read more…
Zeta Reticuli, a dim binary system of Sun-like stars only 39.5 light years away in the little constellation of Reticulum is strangely well-known. Why is it so famous? This system was once identified as the home of the little grey-faced and black-eyed humanoids who allegedly abducted Barney and Betty Hill Read more…
Humans have been looking up to the night sky wondering and discovering what lies beyond for thousands of years.We have detected super massive black holes, discovered distant galaxies and located extra-solar planets outside of our Solar System.Despite this we have not discovered any other life forms beyond our own planet.Perhaps Read more…
Unidentified Flying Objects seem to be here to stay. Once, I wrote a piece Revealed: 5 secret solutions to the UFO mystery which I hoped would be my last word on mysterious lights in the sky but the interest continues. Recently I have been having a conversation in the comments Read more…
Was it a contact from other life forms out there? Was it a satellite or spacecraft? Or was it a computer glitch? The WOW signal still continues to create intrigue to this day. It is coming up to the 35th anniversary of its discovery so I decided to find out Read more…
NASA has photographed an alien building on the surface of the Moon! Hearing news like this certainly makes one sit up and pay attention, but is it is correct? I heard about this from the Following the Nerd blog which featured a large image of the Moon centred on its Read more…
A team of astronomers based at the European Southern Observatory have announced the discovery of more than 50 new exoplanets orbiting nearby stars. This is the largest number of such new worlds ever announced at one time. One of these planets may enjoy conditions favorable for life on its surface. Read more…
On a dark September night in 1961, Barney and Betty Hill had a frightening experience in the mountains of New Hampshire. Later they came to believe that they had been captured and studied by beings from another world. During their ordeal on the spaceship, Betty saw a star map said Read more…
“Is there life on Mars?” More than fifty years into the Space Age and there still is no definitive answer. Completing our series of posts on this mystery, we look at the latest ideas about the existence of beings on our neighbouring planet. In the previous part of this Read more…
Could water be streaming down Martian mountainsides? This startling vision may be a reality according to recent results from NASA’s MRO spacecraft. Here is the latest on the waters of Mars. Although we are exploring the surface of Mars through marvellous rovers like Spirit and Opportunity and their forthcoming big Read more…
“I was looking into the sky and I’ve seen something strange …what was it?” Around the world observatories, planetariums and science museums, regularly encounter questions like this. Most often these UFOs turn out to be not as mysterious or alien as they first appear. Here some of the most common Read more…
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Contact”, “2001: A Space Odyssey” and many other movies have depicted the first contact between humans and aliens. Do scientists really listen for messages from extraterrestrials? Are they prepared if they ever do pick up anything? Martina Redpath investigates. We all at some point Read more…
Scientists had seriously considered the possibility of plant or even animal life on the surface of Mars for more than a century. However negative results from NASA’s Viking spacecraft in the 1970s ruled out large-scale Martian life but this was not the end of the search for life on Mars. Read more…
“Is there life on Mars?” This must be one of the most-asked questions in astronomy. In this article I am going to look at the historical background to this question. Current thoughts on the possibilities of Martian life will be considered in a follow up article. Why is life Read more…
Don Pollacco, a research astronomer at Queens University Belfast, came to Armagh Planetarium to give a fascinating talk on exoplanets in January 2011. Afterwards Dr Pollaco kindly chatted to me about his experiences. CJ: Thanks for a really interesting talk. So why did you get into astronomy? DP: I was Read more…
Searching for life elsewhere in the Universe is a fascinating endeavour. It is is not a recent idea either. Astronomers in the 1800s used telescopes to search for signs of life and even civilization elsewhere in the Solar System. Some even believed they saw signs of intelligent life on Mars Read more…
Fifty years of SETI with radio telescopes has so far proved negative. We have found no messages of peace and goodwill, no galactic internet, no extraterrestrial propaganda or advertising. No starships full of aliens have arrived on Earth to befriend us or to eat us, while our galaxy seems Read more…