astrobiology: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

Nov. 3, 2026

News •

SETI Institute Welcomes Three New Artists-in-Residence Exploring Life Beyond Earth and the Nature of Intelligence • Oct. 29, 2026, 1:02 PM ET (SETI)

Facts

Also Known As	exobiology • xenobiology

Photos

See All Images →

Topics

Habitable zone Fermi paradox extraterrestrial hypothesis Drake equation The Fermi Paradox: Where Are All the Aliens?galactic habitable zone Today in History—July 23: NASA Discovers an Earthlike Planet Biology extraterrestrial life extraterrestrial intelligence Cosmology Celestial mechanics Infrared astronomy Meteoritics Ultraviolet astronomy Cosmogony Astrophysics space exploration Solar system Universe

Key People

default image

Stanley Miller

American biochemist

The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet

Space Odyssey

Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.

All About Astronomy