Have you ever wondered if there is anyone (or anything) else out there in the universe? Well, you're not alone. But what would alien life look like? And what would their food chains and food webs look like? In this episode of Crash...

In 1974 we sent the Arecibo radio message towards Messier 13, a globular cluster near the edge of the Milky Way, made up of a few hundred thousand stars. The message was mostly symbolic; we weren’t really expecting a reply. Yet surely...

The first discovery of extraterrestrial life will almost certainly NOT be when it visits us, nor when we visit it. It won’t be when we see it’s stray TV signals. It’ll be in the excruciatingly faint changes in the color of alien sunsets...

Warp drives may or may not be possible, but if they are then could a distant alien civilization’s warp fields produce gravitational waves that we could see here on Earth? According to a recent study.. Actually maybe, at least eventually....

There are hundreds of billions of planets in our galaxy. Scientists now think hundreds of millions of them have conditions where life could arise. What do scientists think are the best ways of reaching out to them? And why do some...

Astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger explores the thrilling possibility of discovering life beyond Earth, highlighting how cutting-edge technology like the James Webb Space Telescope lets us analyze distant planets for signs of life in...

Astrophysicist Avi Loeb contrasts the ancient awe that Moses felt when witnessing the burning bush with modern humanity's overconfidence since Nietzsche's declaration that "God is dead." He argues that the rise of science and...

In the past decade, astronomers have discovered interstellar objects, including a 2014 meteor that collided with Earth and 'Oumuamua in 2017. These objects, moving too fast to be bound by the Sun's gravity, have sparked questions about...

Astrophysicist Avi Loeb believes we are likely not alone in the universe. He criticizes the approach of simply waiting for contact through radio signals, suggesting instead that we should actively search for evidence of other life. He...

Since the 1940s, unidentified flying objects have been a part of our nation’s cultural phenomena. But for the U.S. government, UFOs have been a mystery and something the military has been investigating for decades. Amna Nawaz discussed...

Astronomers have found more than 5,000 planets in the last three decades, but that’s not nearly as exciting as potentially coming across the first extraterrestrial creatures. And we may finally be in a position to make that discovery.

If you rank the most habitable places in our solar system Venus lands pretty low, with surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead and sulphuric acid rain. And yet it may have just jumped to the front of the pack. In fact, we may have...

On our search for alien lifeforms we scan for primitive biosignatures, and wait and hope for their errant signals to happen by the Earth. But that may not be the best way. Any energy-hungry civilization more advanced than our own may...

Whenever we open a new window on the universe, we discover things that no one expected. Our newfound ability to measure ripples in the fabric of spacetime—gravitational waves—is a very new window, and so far we’ve seen a lot of wild...

Half of the universe is filled with expansionist alien civilizations, and it’s only a matter of time before they’ll reach us. OK, that sounded a little sensationalist. But it’s also the conclusion of a recent astrophysics paper. Let’s...

Looking up at the stars makes you wonder: what and who is out there? And why haven’t we seen any other intelligent civilizations given the vast size and age of the universe? They’re complicated questions and although we haven’t met any...

If we lived light years from Earth, how would we know there’s life here? Let’s take a look at the search for extraterrestrial life on habitable exoplanets, and discover what biosignatures would show someone else that we’re here.

From favorite moons to the search for alien life, astronomer Heidi Hammel discusses the latest in astronomy and the breakthrough innovations behind her work with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. In conversation with science journalist...

This video was made with the support of the Heising Simons Foundation.





This video is about the Ozma problem of distinguishing the chirality (ie left-handedness or...

Scientists have been searching for alien life by honing in on the existence of liquid water, but we might be overlooking some types of life out there that doesn't need water at all.

Here it is, folks: the end. In our final episode of Crash Course Astronomy, Phil gives the course a send off with a look at some of his favorite topics and the big questions that Astronomy allows us to ask.

James Cameron rocketed onto the action film scene with 1984's "The Terminator" and followed that up with a highly anticipated sequel to the 1979 film, "Alien." His film, "Aliens," would go on to not only be a financial success, but a...

Have you ever wondered if aliens exist? You're not alone! Learn about what alien life needs to survive in the universe!

In the early 1980s IBM engineers had a hard time to to figure out inexplicable computer module failures in Denver, Colorado. When they finally cracked the puzzle, the cause turned out to be otherworldly.