Astronomers Prepare to Search for Alien Life at Nearby 'Habitable' Exoplanet

Seeker ^ | 20 Jan, 2017

[MtnClimber]

The Wolf 1061 star system is only 14 light-years away and a team of astronomers are doing the groundwork to begin looking for signs of extraterrestrial biology in one of its planet's atmospheres.

As we continue the hunt for habitable worlds beyond our solar system, we're finding more and more candidates closer to home. There's even a small rocky exoplanet within the so-called "habitable zone" at Proxima Centauri, the dinky red dwarf star right next door. But there's more, and astronomers are beginning to identify which of these strange new worlds we could soon get a good look at with the next generation of advanced telescopes on Earth and in space.

One tantalizing potentially habitable exoplanet orbits the star Wolf 1061, only 14 light-years away — a distance that is practically on our galactic doorstep. Known to host three exoplanets, the Wolf 1061 system is interesting as it could be a target for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) that is scheduled to launch in 2018. Sitting at the sun-Earth L2 point — an island of gravitational calm nearly one million miles away in Earth's shadow — the infrared JWST could be used to detect atmospheric components in worlds that could, hypothetically, support life. Other exoplanet-hunting projects are being launched, such as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS), and the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO) mission, that will greatly benefit from this advanced research to characterize the habitable potential of distant worlds.

[MtnClimber]

Seems a long shot as most planets probably are. But, seems worth looking at it closely.

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

Breaking: Cher grabs the coveted first spot in line.

[HonkyTonkMan]

In before the aliens guy

[Getready]

Have the researchers looked for those same indicators of life with regards to mars or saturn or uranus (not a joke please)...how do they know that life will require water on a different planet? Why did they say that venus experienced a runaway greenhouse effect..while they also say they didnt know the history of venus’ early atmosphere...i wonder if they have turned their same exoplanet sensors to examine the earth to see if they can detect life in our atmospheres....would be a good baseline

[PastorBooks]

“The Wolf 1061 star system is only 14 light-years away...”

If you are a Star Trek fan...

Am I the only one who thought of the Battle of Wolf 359?

[Ransomed]

It would be a good baseline for detecting the conditions necessary for the one example of life we know of so far. There’s no way to tell if other hypothetical examples of life require the same conditions until we detect them and see if they are like us in that way.

Freegards

[thescourged1]

Admittedly, yes.

Also thought of LV426.

[Jagermonster]

Am I the only one who thought of the Battle of Wolf 359?

No, you are not. Not a good day for Starfleet.

[CharlesOConnell]

Guillermo Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Grove City College

From: Gonzalez, Guillermo [mailto:G^2@GCC.EDU]
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2013 9:11 AM
To: PizzaMan
Subject: RE: “Perfect planets for life” – in the galactic habitable zone?

Hi [PizzaMan],

Size of a planet and its location around a star are only two out of over a dozen factors that determine whether a planet is habitable. They don’t consider in these news articles whether the system is within the Galactic Habitable Zone. [It means, Sol & Terra are on the outer surface of a galactic arm, in a position that permits both the rise of life and observation of a significant part of intergalactic space, attributes that may not be separate in the greater scheme.]

Best,

G^2

 

From: Pizza Man

Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2013 12:01 PM
To: Gonzalez, Guillermo
Subject: “Perfect planets for life” – in the galactic habitable zone?

Hello, Professor Gonzalez, thank you for reading my e-mail, it’s a privilege, I have a fan page http://www.sacra-pizza-man.org/privilegedPlanet.html

May I inquire, does the science behind this page http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/04/18/perfect-planets-for-life-telescope-sees-distant-worlds-not-too-hot-not-too-cold/?intcmp=features include consideration whether or not the described stellar systems are within the galactic habitable zone?

[dfwgator]

Save your money. You ain’t gonna find it.

[pacificus]

Second that thought. 359 wasnt a battle it was a wipe-out!

[W.]

I caught it, as well. Nice two parter...

[xkaydet65]

Original reference of Wolf 359 was an episode of the Outer Limits in 1964 where a wild scientist duplicated the planet in miniature in his lab and followed its evolution innorder to predict mankind’s future. The Star Trek reference was an homage .

[Halgr]

Does anyone know just how far away 14 light years really is?

[Pelham]

https://tinyurl.com/jostxvk

[minnesota_bound]

Be careful. The Borg may be nearby.
Remember the battle of Wolf 359

[SgtHooper]

That occurs at the Southern border! :-)

[SgtHooper]

You question should be “How MUCH is 14 light years”. These guys will retire on grant money.

[Fresh Wind]

Prepare = Wait for grant money to come in