Viewing into the hearts of dying stars, ancient sea scorpion and Lunar monitoring stations

Welcome! “Alien Life” tracks the latest discoveries and thoughts in the various elements of the famous Drake Equation. You may notice that this and future entries are shorter than usual; career, family and book deal commitments have forced me to cut back some of my projects. Now, here’s today’s news:
g Stars - Astronomers have discovered white dwarf stars with pure carbon atmospheres. The discovery could offer a unique view into the hearts of dying stars. See article.
g Abodes - A team of researchers from NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation and the British Antarctic Survey unveiled a newly completed map of Antarctica that is expected to revolutionize research of the continent's frozen landscape. See article.
g Life - Scientists have discovered a 390 million year old fossil of a sea scorpion that, when alive, would have been taller than the average human. The discovery provides a unique insight into the evolutionary history of life, and shows that creatures similar to spiders and insects were much larger in the past than previously thought. See article.
g Cosmicus - Research has shown that surface temperatures on the near side of the Moon may provide an accurate record of information concerning the Earth's climate. Consequently, monitoring stations on the Moon could one day help us study our own planet. See article.
g Aftermath - What if, one day, Earth was contacted by an extraterrestrial civilization? How, as a planet, would we respond to their offer to interact? What if they asked, “Do you have a method in place, or even a policy that outlines how Earth will proceed now that contact has happened?” Here’s an organization that we believes we need in place legal protocol and has proposed the “Extraterrestrial Contact Act.” See article.