Scientists Seek 'Shadow' Life Forms on Earth

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

These super-Earths are all over the galaxy, say scientists

(NEWSER) - Could aliens be hanging out in the Milky Way? A new discovery by astronomers shows they'd have plenty of possible homes in the galaxy, reports Reuters . The researchers found that tens of billions of planets reside in a habitable zone close to a star, allowing water to flow on the surface and the right temperature to sustain life. More»

Scientists hope online sleuths may uncover ET technology, mining on HD photos

(NEWSER) - Some astronomers are seeking to mobilize an army of volunteers to scan online photos of the lunar surface to search for any evidence of ancient alien civilizations. Online cosmic sleuths could scour hundreds of thousands of photos of the moon for any evidence of alien technology, mining and rubbish heaps, according to the proposal by professors at Arizona State University outlined in an article in Acta Astronautica. More»

But no sign of aliens, spaceships: researchers

(NEWSER) - More fascinating news about the potential for life on Mars . Some 3% of Mars' volume is capable of sustaining life, Australian scientists have found—more than the 1% of Earth that contains living things. Researchers based their findings on a comparison between the two planets' temperature and pressure attributes, AFP reports. Rather than following earlier studies' lead and examining a single area of Mars, the scientists used a "comprehensive compilation" of the entire planet, making use of decades of findings. More»

Saturn moon, exoplanet top lists

(NEWSER) - Looking for extraterrestrials? You might want to start with Saturn’s moon Titan. Scientists have ranked it the alien world most capable of supporting life, according to a “Planetary Habitability Index,” the BBC reports. The index takes into account the planet or moon’s surface, the presence of an atmosphere, and the planet’s usable energy; both Mars and Jupiter’s moon Europa were runners-up. More»