Thursday, March 13, 2008

Alpha Centauri's habitability and how planets affect appearance of nebula

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 - Scientists have determined that one of the Solar System's closest stellar neighbors, Alpha Centauri, should harbor Earth-like planets. Knowing where to look for rocky planets is the first step in searching for habitable worlds around distant stars. See article.
g Abodes - Scientists have found that planets may be partly responsible for the breathtaking appearance of planetary nebula. The research is helping astrobiologists understand the environments in which extrasolar planets develop, and providing insight into the future of our own Solar System. See article.
g Life - How did life get started? A growing body of evidence favors an “RNA World” as an early stage of life, before DNA assumed its present role as the molecule that stores genetic information. See article.

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