What if we spend decades building advanced telescopes to search for life on other planets and come up emptyhanded? A recent study led by ETH Zurich researchers including corresponding author and SETI Institute affiliate, Dr. Daniel Angerhausen, tackled this question, exploring what we can learn about life in the universe—even if we don’t detect signs of life or habitability. Using advanced statistical modeling, the research team sought to explore how many exoplanets scientists should observe and understand before declaring that life beyond Earth is either common or rare.

“Even a single positive detection would change everything—but until then, we need to make sure we’re learning as much as possible from what we don’t find,” said Angerhausen.

This paper reports the discovery of a high-velocity star J07 ejected from globular cluster M15 approximately 21 million years ago, providing strong evidence for the presence of an IMBH constrained to within a few AU of the central region of M15.

The same dirt that clings to astronauts’ boots may one day keep their lights on. In a study publishing April 3 in the Cell Press journal Device, researchers created solar cells made out of simulated Moon dust. The cells convert sunlight into energy efficiently, withstand radiation damage, and mitigate the need for transporting heavy materials into space, offering a potential solution to one of space exploration's biggest challenges: reliable energy sources.