Astrobiology and Search for Life — Graph — sahil.science

Almanac A Thunderstorm in a Flask

What gas mixture did Stanley Miller use to simulate early Earth's atmosphere, and why?
What organic compounds did Miller find in the reaction residue after running electrical sparks through the gas mixture?

Almanac The Man They Named a Category For

What is a Fermi problem, and why did estimating the number of piano tuners in Chicago become a teaching tradition?

Almanac No Canals, Only Craters

How did Mariner 4's findings reshape the scientific and public debate about life on Mars?

Almanac An Essay on Aliens, Lost for Decades

What did Churchill's 1939 essay on extraterrestrial life argue, and how was it rediscovered in 2016?

Almanac A Bacterium That Liked Boiling Water

What hypothesis led Thomas Brock to search Yellowstone's hot springs for life?
What temperature does Thermus aquaticus live in, and why is that considered extreme?

Almanac A Positive Signal, Argued for Years

What did the labelled release experiment detect that made some scientists argue it was evidence of life on Mars?

Almanac One Meteorite, Considerable Doubt

How did the meteorite ALH84001 travel from Mars to Antarctica, and when was it recovered?
What features did NASA scientists find in ALH84001 that suggested possible ancient microbial life?
Why did the scientific community remain skeptical of the biological interpretation of these features?

Almanac A Pale Blue Dot, Requested on Purpose

What roles did Carl Sagan hold in the Voyager missions and the Planetary Society during his career?
How did the television series Cosmos convey Sagan's view of science as a way of thinking rather than a set of facts?
Why did Sagan specifically request the Voyager photograph that became known as the Pale Blue Dot?

Almanac Right About the Stars, Wrong About the Bang

What fringe theories did Hoyle advocate later in his career despite lacking evidence?

Almanac Ice That Looked Younger Than It Should

Why has Enceladus become a priority target in the search for extraterrestrial life?

Almanac It Went Working, Not Gently

What did Cassini discover at Enceladus that made it a compelling candidate for extraterrestrial life?

Almanac Something Wet Under the Martian Ice

What remains uncertain about whether the detected feature is truly a habitable lake?

Almanac A Gas That Should Not Be There

Where does phosphine come from on Earth, and why does its presence usually imply a continuous source?

Almanac A Lunchbox-Sized Helicopter Over an Ancient Lakebed

Why was Jezero Crater chosen as Perseverance's landing site?