Life on Earth may exist thanks to an incredible stroke of luck — a chemical sweet spot that most planets miss during their ...

The new plot twist is that in order to keep enough nitrogen and phosphorus near its surface, a planet has to start out with ...

Researchers recreated conditions from billions of years ago and found that Earth’s young atmosphere could make key molecules linked to life. These sulfur-rich compounds, including certain amino acids, ...

Ancient enzymes show life’s nitrogen signal stayed unchanged for billions of years, helping scientists read early Earth.

A new study used mathematical formulas and demonstrated that it’s highly unlikely life began on Earth. Instead, the researcher points to panspermia, a theory that life or the ingredients for life came ...

NASA scientists, in collaboration with researchers from Japan's University of Toho, have used supercomputers to model the far future of Earth's habitability. Their findings offer a clear—if ...

How did Earth, alone among the solar system's rocky planets, become the home for life? How, among all this frigid lifelessness, did our planet become warm, hospitable, and life-sustaining? The answer ...

Grab-and-go missions to asteroids have provided some of the most scientifically valuable samples since the Apollo missions—and they’re shaking up the search for life beyond Earth. The OSIRIS-REx ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. David Bressan is a geologist who covers curiosities about Earth. Jun 20, 2025, 02:40pm EDT Jun 20, 2025, 03:27pm EDT Artist's ...

The moon's surface may be more than just a dusty, barren landscape. Over billions of years, tiny particles from Earth's atmosphere have landed in the lunar soil, creating a possible source of ...

the Earth you walk on today might not be the same planet that was born 4.5 billion years ago. Many scientists believe that in its infancy, Earth collided with another world the size of Mars, and that ...