Alien life near us a distinct possibility

Last Updated: Saturday, December 28, 2013, 22:41

It`s time to tune into "2013: A Space Odyssey". A pair of failed stars - known as brown dwarfs in the astronomers` community - may be hiding an alien world which, if confirmed, would be one of the closest ever to our sun.

Failed stars near Sun could harbour hidden planet

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 17, 2013, 16:06

Astronomers, who took precise measurements of the closest pair of failed stars to the Sun, have found that the system harbours a third, planetary-mass object.

Trio of `super Earths` in a star`s habitable zone

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 26, 2013, 09:45

Three "super Earth" planets have been found orbiting a nearby star at a distance where life in theory could exist.

New kind of variable star discovered

Last Updated: Saturday, June 15, 2013, 10:47

Astronomers have discovered a new class of variable stars by measuring minute variations in stellar brightness.

Anarchic region of star formation found in dust cloud

Last Updated: Friday, May 3, 2013, 19:02

NGC 6559 is a cloud of gas and dust located at a distance of about 5000 light-years from Earth, in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer).

New image released by ESO shows turbulent birth of stars

Last Updated: Friday, May 3, 2013, 13:15

The European Southern Observatory, or ESO, released an image Thursday that shows the intense activity that occurs inside an interstellar cloud when stars form.