Study Sets Statistical Limits on Life's Prevalence in the Universe

Children learn about search for extra-terrestrial life with astronomer

Youngsters have enjoyed learning about the search for extra-terrestrial during a talk from an astronomer in Oxford.

We Keep Coming Up Empty in the Search for Alien Life. Here’s What That Could Mean—and What Comes Next

Seems unintuitive, but the mounting list of lifeless planets might be exactly what scientists need to figure out how common life is in the universe.

What if we find nothing in our search for life beyond Earth?

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 soug…

In the search for life on exoplanets, finding nothing is something too

What if humanity's search for life on other planets returns no hits? A team of researchers led by Dr. Daniel Angerhausen, a Physicist in Professor Sascha Quanz's Exoplanets and Habitability Group at ETH Zurich and a SETI Institute affiliate, tackled this question by considering what could be learned about life in the universe if future surveys detect no signs of life on other planets.