Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Habitable zone of 107 Piscis and the age of Earth’s continents

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 - What is the habitable zone for the nearby K-type star 107 Piscis?
g Abodes - A study by an international team of researchers has concluded Earth's continents most likely were in place soon after Western Australia, thought to be among the oldest rock formed, overturning a long-held theory that the early planet was either moon-like or dominated by oceans. See article.
g Life - Researchers are developing a new and rapid way of identifying an organism's species based on DNA. The technology will help in finding new species and will be a valuable tool in understanding and documenting the evolution of life on Earth. See article.
g Message - Several big hunts are seeking radio and laser emissions from other civilizations. From Project Phoenix to SETI@home, here's a complete rundown of all the searches now under way or recently conducted. See article.
g Cosmicus - NASA is extending the Cassini-Huygens mission by two years. The mission has provided exciting and unexpected findings from locations like Titan and Enceladus, and will now continue is important observations of Saturn and the planet's unique moons. See article.