Bruce Dorminey

A contemporary sculpture near the beach at Durres, Albania Bruce Dorminey

Extrasolar gas giant planets are a necessary stop on the roading to finding life elsewhere in the cosmos. Here's why we need to understand their atmospheres.

Why planetary scientists think advanced aliens will turn to nuclear fusion to meet their massive energy needs. Here’s how we might spot them.

Part of the crew of the 1924 Round-the-World Tour check out the Douglas World Cruiser on the first ... [+] round of the world flight in March, 1924. (Photo by © Museum of Flight/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Fantasy Alien Exo Planet isolated galaxy space getty Complex life here on earth is largely thought to be possible due to the geophysics of earth's plate tectonics.

Earth and Mars in comparison. Mars has only about 10.7 percent of earth's mass but is roughly half ... [+] its radius. Wikipedia

Based on the history of life here on earth, at least one prominent paleontologist thinks that complex life in the cosmos is likely very rare.

This artist's impression shows the red supergiant star Antares in the constellation of Scorpius. ... [+] Using ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer

Illustration of a supernova explosion, created on July 19, 2015. (Illustration by Tobias ... [+] Roetsch/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Polar bear on ice floe. Melting iceberg and global warming. Climate change getty