Aliens

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.

Related Topics: Planets, Robots, Astronauts, Paranormal

Latest Updates

Is the Pentagon secretly investigating UFOs or not?

Pentagon's secret, defunct UFO-hunting program may still exist

By Mindy Weisberger

A federal program for investigating UFOs was purportedly discontinued in 2012, but the Pentagon's search for UFOs never stopped. Its findings may soon be released to the public.

The shadowy world of government agencies' UFO investigations returns to the History Channel, in the documentary series "Unidentified."

Are UFOs a threat? We need to investigate, says former head of secret US program

By Mindy Weisberger

Ex-military investigators seek answers about where UFOs come from and what their intentions might be, in a History Channel documentary series.

An unidentified flying object (UFO) was seen above Aoba Ward in Sendai, Japan, on the morning of June 17, 2020.

'It's not ours': Government denies knowledge of strange 'UFO' over Japanese city

By Brandon Specktor

A strange balloon-shaped 'UFO' appeared and disappeared over the city of Sendai, Japan on Wednesday (June 17).

Are there really 36 alien civilizations out there? Well, maybe.

By Stephanie Pappas

A new calculation posits that there are 36 intelligent alien civilizations sharing the Milky Way with humanity today, but it relies on some big assumptions.

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province.

Ready, SETI, go: Is there a race to contact E.T.?

By Leonard David

Researchers using China's huge new FAST radio telescope are piecing together a technological strategy to carry out a major and sweeping search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Illustration of a gas giant like Jupiter.

This bacteria can survive on pure hydrogen. Could alien life do the same?

By Diane Lincoln

Could aliens that breathe helium and hydrogen live on exoplanets throughout the cosmos?

U.S. Navy videos of alleged UFO sightings were previously available but had not been officially declassified.

'UFO' videos declassified by US Navy

By Mindy Weisberger

Three videos captured by U.S. Navy pilots show unidentified aircraft flying at hypersonic speeds.

White dwarfs are tightly compressed balls of glowing gas left after some stars die.

To find alien life, we should focus on white dwarf stars

By Paul Sutter

As far as we can tell, we're alone. But it could be that we're looking in the wrong places.

The U.K.'s official government investigation of UFOs can be traced to a group formed in 1950: the Flying Saucer Working Party.

British 'X-Files' of UFO sightings is going public

By Mindy Weisberger

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense announced that it will soon release formerly classified government files about UFO encounters.

To find intelligent alien life, humans may need to start thinking like an extraterrestrial

By Adam Mann

Anthropologist reveals a potentially big flaw in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).

Aidan Gillen returns in the second season of "Project Blue Book," as UFO investigator Dr. J. Allen Hynek.

Were alien secrets hidden in Roswell and Area 51? 'Project Blue Book' UFO hunters investigate.

By Mindy Weisberger

A search for the truth behind UFO sightings leads to the discovery of government cover-ups.

Close encounters with our future selves?

UFOs May Be Piloted by Time-Traveling Humans, Book Argues

By Leonard David

The great distances covered by visiting "aliens" may be ones of time rather than space, a recent book argues.

Could Invisible Aliens Really Exist Among Us?

By Samantha Rolfe

An astrobiologist explains how alien life could exist and we wouldn't notice it.

In 2017, a video of the Nimitz UFO encounter was publicly released.

Top-Secret UFO Files Could 'Gravely Damage' US National Security if Released, Navy Says

By Brandon Specktor

The US Navy confirmed they have secret, classified documents regarding a 2004 UFO encounter, but releasing them could 'gravely damage' national security.

An artist's rendering shows a flying saucer descending into the woods at night.

Thousands of Government UFO Reports Now Available at Canadian University

By Brandon Specktor

A private UFO enthusiast has donated his collection of 30,000 documents to the University of Manitoba in Canada. The truth is in there.

The SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array (ATA) searches our galaxy for radio signals from potential intelligent alien life.

Will 2020 Be the Year We Find Intelligent Alien Life?

By Leonard David

Is 2020 the celestial payoff year, in which astronomers finally confirm a "technosignature" coming from an advanced alien civilization?

A professor at the University of Ohio claims that the Martian landscape might be littered with insect and reptile-like life-forms. However, other scientists refute this claim.

It's Still Not Aliens: 'Mars Bug' Claim Could Damage the Search for Life

By Chelsea Gohd

A professor suggests there are insects on Mars, but this questionable claim could hurt the search for life, experts say.

What would it be like to find signs of life beyond Earth?

Before We Find Aliens, Humans Need to Figure Ourselves Out, Anthropologist Says

By Meghan Bartels

Humans have questions about alien life. But those beings, if they exist, likely have some questions of their own about humans, queries we may want to answer before we find any life beyond Earth.