Extraterrestrial LifeAugust 2, 2022
We Are the Aliens
The emergence of the human “dataome” is like a sudden invasion of Earth
Stories by Caleb Scharf
Caleb Scharf is director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center and author of several books, including The Copernicus Complex (2014) and The Zoomable Universe (2017). He wrote the Life, Unbounded blog for Scientific American and has written for many other publications. Scharf lives in New York City with his wife and two daughters.
Space ExplorationJanuary 1, 2020
Alone in a Crowded Milky Way
Even a galaxy teeming with star-hopping alien civilizations should still harbor isolated, unvisited worlds—and Earth might be among them
Space & PhysicsJanuary 30, 2019
Guess the Rain's down on Titan
Archival Cassini images reveal a glinting surface and a seasonal property
Space & PhysicsNovember 1, 2017
A Fantastic Journey through Cosmic Scales
A new, epic voyage through all known scales of reality charts the outer limits of existence, from the edge of the observable universe to the subatomic realm
Space & PhysicsAugust 18, 2017
Eclipse: It's All about the Umbra
What makes a total solar eclipse seem so strange and awe-inspiring?
Space & PhysicsMay 1, 2016
Astronomers Measure How Fast a Supermassive Black Hole Is Spinning
To do so, they looked to a second black hole orbiting the first
Space & PhysicsOctober 16, 2015
Cassini Reveals That Enceladus Is Embraced by a Web of Cracks
The Cassini mission's third-from-last flyby of the icy moon Enceladus reveals that a highly complex network of thin cracks covering the surface extend all the way into the northern polar region
Space & PhysicsJuly 15, 2014
Is Earth's Life Unique in the Universe?
To know whether life exists beyond Earth, we must come to terms with our own significance in the universe. Are we uniquely special or merely mediocre?
Space & PhysicsAugust 1, 2012
How Black Holes Shape the Galaxies, Stars and Planets around Them
The matter-eating beast at the center of the Milky Way may actually account for Earth's existence and habitability
June 14, 2010
How to find a habitable exoplanet: Don't look for one