Articles tagged as Aliens | Smithsonian Magazine

What thorny ethical issues await us once we make it to Mars? A composite image of the red planet, composed by processing about 1000 Viking Orbiter red- and violet-filter images have been to provide global color coverage at a scale of 1 km/pixel.

Think Big

When Humans Begin Colonizing Other Planets, Who Should Be in Charge?

The biggest threat humans pose to other worlds is what we don’t know—or what we think we know, but don’t

March 1, 2017

British statesman and author Winston Churchill reads correspondence at his desk in 1933.

Think Big

“Are We Alone in the Universe?” Winston Churchill’s Lost Extraterrestrial Essay Says No

The famed British statesman approached the question of alien life with a scientist’s mind

February 16, 2017

The Great Flying Saucer Mystery of 1966

When policemen spotted a “flying saucer” in 1966, an official investigation declared it was an optical illusion created by swamp gas

October 27, 2016

The Evpatoria radio telescope RT-70 and the Long Range Space Communications Center, which were used for one of the most ambitious efforts at extraterrestrial communication.

How a Couple of Guys Built the Most Ambitious Alien Outreach Project Ever

You might think it takes vast governmental resources to launch an extraterrestrial communication effort. Nope

September 26, 2016

Think Curiosity is cool? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Think Big

How the Next Generation of Mars Rovers will Search for Signs of Life

The Mars 2020 rover doesn’t even have a name yet—but it already has an ambitious goal

September 2, 2016

The Ratan-600 radio telescope, which reported the signal to the SETI Institute

Sorry folks, E.T. is still not phoning home

August 30, 2016

Age of Humans

The Global Price of Invasive Species

The U.S. and China pose the greatest threat as exporters of invasive species, but other countries have more to lose

June 21, 2016

This artist's concept depicts select planetary discoveries made to date by NASA's Kepler space telescope.

Think Big

How Would You React If We Discovered Alien Life?

Experts weigh in on what the detection of other life forms might mean to the human race

June 7, 2016

"Science fiction is so important to our culture, because it allows us to dream," said Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, at the "Future is Here" festival.

Future Is Here Festival

The Future Is Here Festival Considers Extraterrestrial Life and the Essence of Humanity

In the festival’s final day, speakers turn to the cosmos and our place within it

April 26, 2016

Life in the Cosmos

Life in the Cosmos: Special Report

Exploring the mysteries of the universe

April 18, 2016

Nematodes (blue) wiggle inside a stalactite from a South African gold mine in this image taken with a microscope.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Inner Earth Is Teeming With Exotic Forms of Life

More than a mile below the surface, our planet supports diverse creatures that could give us clues about life across the solar system

February 29, 2016

A picture snapped by Spirit near Home Plate shows silica formations poking out of the soil, which may have been formed by microbial life.

Mysterious Martian ‘Cauliflower’ May Be the Latest Hint of Alien Life

Unusual silica formations spotted by a NASA rover look a lot like structures formed by microbes around geysers on Earth

February 1, 2016

This visualization, built using data from the Planck satellite, shows the swirls of the Milky Way's magnetic field. The orange region represents the galactic plane.

Think Big

Where Are All the Aliens? Taking Shelter From the Universe’s Radiation

Earlier life-forms across the cosmos may have faced thousands to millions of times the cosmic ray dose that we do today

January 22, 2016

New Research

Was the “Wow!” Signal From Aliens or a Comet Flyby?

The 1977 blast from space is often cited as our best evidence of alien contact, but a news study suggests it may have just been comets

January 14, 2016

Since this art museum in Brazil was completed in 1996, it has put the relatively unknown city of Niterói on the map.

Cool Finds

These UFO-Like Buildings Are a Space-Age Tourist’s Dream

The future is now—follow this tour of UFO architecture found all around the world

January 14, 2016

New Research

Old, Dense Star Clusters Might Be the Place to Look for Complex Alien Life

The age and density of globular star clusters could give alien life both the time and resources necessary to brew complex society

January 8, 2016

Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan at the Geneva Summit.

Cool Finds

Reagan and Gorbachev Agreed to Pause the Cold War in Case of an Alien Invasion

The 40th President of the United States was a big science-fiction fan

November 25, 2015

To chat with aliens, scientists might have to crack codes

September 24, 2015

Life May Have Spread Through the Galaxy Like a Plague

If alien life is distributed in a pattern that mirrors epidemics, it could be strong support for the theory of panspermia

August 27, 2015

More telescope time, better equipment could help scientists figure out what’s out there

July 21, 2015