College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

COSMOS MAGAZINE: In 2023, an exoplanet made international headlines because James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations suggested that the planet has a “biosignature” – signs of gas in its atmosphere produced by “life.” A new study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters pricks a hole in this hypothesis. K2-18b is a planet orbiting a star...

EARTH.COM - The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) represents a remarkable advancement in astronomical observation. In 2023, initial reports suggested that JWST had detected potential signs of life on the distant exoplanet K2-18b. Understandably, this news generated considerable excitement within the scientific community and among the general public. However, a recent study offers a more...

INTERESTING ENGINEERING - Earlier this year, reports emerged that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) had likely found signs of life on a distant alien planet. Celebrations were premature, according to a new study on the findings. Not all hope is lost, though, as the new paper also outlines how the telescope might still verify...

SPACE.COM - Recent reports of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detecting signs of life of a distant planet outside the solar system are, unfortunately, somewhat premature. That's the conclusion of research conducted by scientists from the University of California Riverside (UCR). While likely to disappoint all of us eager for the confirmation of extraterrestrial...

LIVE SCIENCE - The contentious exoplanet, called K2-18b, is a warm, watery world with a hydrogen-based atmosphere. Located about 120 light-years from Earth, it sits in the habitable zone around its home star, where liquid water (and, therefore, potentially life) is possible. The distant world made headlines last year after observations with JWST's Near Infrared...

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - When inspecting the cosmos for potentially habitable worlds, scientists have long looked for the color green. Green is the fundamental color of life on Earth, after all. But what if life on faraway planets wasn’t green at all? In fact, what if it were purple? Signatures of habitable worlds Astronomers look for...

COSMOS MAGAZINE - A new paper argues that the search for life outside our planet could be aided by looking in an unexpected place: the extremely hot, toxic planet Venus. Venus is uninhabitable. It’s like our planet’s evil twin, with a diameter only 5% smaller than Earth’s. But the average surface temperature on Venus is...

EARTH.COM - Despite its extreme conditions, featuring surface temperatures that can melt lead, volcanoes that spew lava, and thick clouds of sulfuric acid, Venus provides invaluable insights into the search for life on other planets, according to a new study from UC Riverside. “We often assume that Earth is the model of habitability, but if...

FORBES - To paraphrase Winston Churchill, our sister planet Venus remains a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Remarkably similar in size, mass, and bulk makeup, today, Earth and Venus couldn't be more different. Earth is an ecological utopia while Venus is a poster child for planetary desolation. The conventional view is that...

EARTH.COM - We tend to think of wildfires as being caused by hot weather and drought. And for good reason – those weather conditions make plants tinder-dry. But a new study from the University of California, Riverside is flipping that idea on its head. Turns out, the biggest culprit in mega wildfires might be something...