Radio signal-hunting astronomers find no alien life near Milky Way stars

After a hunt for Milky Way radio signals came up empty, the team of astronomers behind it has estimated that fewer than one in a million stars in the galaxy could have advanced civilisations residing on their orbiting planets.

Extreme life might be visible on colourful exoplanets

Lichens and algae could be the first life forms we find on Earth-like exoplanets, by looking for their light signatures in a planet's distinctive colouring.

Astronomers have found several rocky worlds in the habitable zone, the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface, and many more are thought to exist. As telescopes get more sensitive, we should be able to collect light reflected off such planets and look for clues to their surface conditions.