Aliens can refer to everything from little green men in the sci-fi realm to microscopic life forms beyond Earth. For all these possibilities, Live Science has you covered. We break down the latest discoveries that hint at life on other planets and the state of scientific searches for such extraterrestrial life. Sometimes, we may dissect a "little green man" sighting as well.
Latest about Extraterrestrial Life
Alien civilizations are probably killing themselves from climate change, bleak study suggests
Astrophysicists estimate that any exponentially growing technological civilization has only 1,000 years until its planet will be too hot to support life.
'Space trash' will lead us to intelligent aliens, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb says
The long-sought evidence of alien life could be lurking in Earth's oceans, says Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. Here is his plan to find it.
Infamous 'Wow! signal' that hinted at aliens may actually be an exceptionally rare cosmic event
The source of a supposed alien broadcast that made researchers go "Wow!" may instead have been the result of a remarkably rare cosmic event, a new study suggests.
SETI searches for alien life in over 1,000 galaxies using unexplored radio frequencies
Although no aliens were found, the results have helped constrain expectations of possible alien transmitter power.
If alien life exists on Europa, we may find it in hydrothermal vents
If there's life on Jupiter's moon Europa or Saturn's moon Enceladus, it could have a network of deep-sea hydrothermal vents to thank for its existence, new research suggests.
7 potential 'alien megastructures' spotted in our galaxy are not what they seem
Scientists recently identified seven stars in the Milky Way that could potentially be gigantic alien structures called Dyson spheres. New research proposes an alternative explanation: Those are just cosmic "hot DOGs" in disguise.
What could aliens look like?
The search for alien life is one of humanity's greatest missions, but it may look nothing like anything we've seen on Earth.
32 strange places scientists are looking for aliens
From planets and moons in our solar system to dying stars and parallel universes, here are some of the far-out places scientists are searching for alien life.
No, the James Webb Space Telescope probably didn't detect signs of alien life — but it soon could
The James Webb Space Telescope's possible detection of biological chemicals on the exoplanet K2-18b may just have been methane gas, a new study cautions. Planned follow-up observations could solve the mystery for good.
Aliens may be hitching rides on meteors to colonize the cosmos, study suggests. Here's how we could spot them.
A fringe theory called "panspermia" suggests that lifeforms can spread to new planets by hitching rides on meteors. New research lays out a roadmap for finding where these hypothetical, planet-hopping aliens may reside.
