Posted on 02/27/2009 5:10:20 PM PST by KevinDavis
Next week brings a milestone in the search for extraterrestrial life with the scheduled launch Friday of NASA's Kepler satellite. The mission, named for 16th- and 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, will study a group of stars for three-plus years in search of subtle, periodic dips in stellar brightness—the telltale signs of planetary orbits. Although more than 300 planets outside the solar system have already been found using this method, among other techniques, Kepler's strength will lie in its instruments' sensitivity to smaller, cooler planets more hospitable to life and more like our own.
In a new book, planetary scientist Alan Boss, who studies stellar and planetary formation at the Carnegie Institution of Washington and is a member of the Kepler scientific team, argues that the mission should throw open the door to finding life outside the solar system. With any luck, Boss says, Kepler should indicate that billions of habitable planets exist in our galaxy alone, with an almost unfathomable tally of sextillions across the entire universe. (Where are Jules Verne and H. G. Wells when you need them?) We spoke to Boss about the thesis of his book.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
Might as well look for a new habitable planet because there is no intelligent life down here.
I’m hoping they’ll take a closer look at the Alpha Centauri system. It’s close and seems to be a good candidate for earthlike planets.
I agree..... If not we find a system with a mess of planets and terraform them..
One of the reasons I want to start close to home is my hope that it would inspire innovation to make alpha centauri reachable.
Granted 4 light years is a hell of a long way but it would likely inspire us to try better than a planet 40 or 400 light years away.
I agree.. Alpha Centauri would be a good start for us to go beyond our solar system..
I don’t want one dime of my tax dollars going towards this.
Why????
What is the cost and what is the benefit?
Any cost is worth it to get prominent Liberals off the planet.
If only..
Alpha Centauri is a G2 (sun-like) star in common orbit about two other’s. Try to find another single G2. I’ll bet you’ll be looking for awhile.
A lot of what I’ve read lately seems to indicate that the fact that Alpha Centauri is part of a multiple system makes it more likely that small rocky planets would form.
“Life” may be abundant throughout existence. Though “intelligent life” actually seems that it should be quite rare. Including the ACentauri system.
Yeah. I’m not too concerned about finding intelligent life. In fact I’m not too sure it would be good for them if we found them or for us if they found us.
Better to find a planet that has life that we can eat.
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