Posted on 05/13/2007 4:51:08 PM PDT by Flavius
Washington - The Dark Ages is not just a period in human history on Earth. For astronomers it represents the far-flung corners of the universe about which precious little is known, and which could yet hold the key to how planets were first formed.
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Added to that, the new telescope would be able to search further afield for planets that might have the right conditions to sustain life. Mountain gave the example of a seemingly habitable planet, about 1.5 times the Earth's size and orbiting a star about 20 light years away, that was discovered last month by a team of European scientists - the first such planet found in another solar system.
The Webb telescope, Mountain said, could examine the planet's atmosphere more closely for signs of the water, oxygen and carbon that are crucial for the existence of life.
(Excerpt) Read more at science.monstersandcritics.com ...
Yeah, they’ll do all this ‘looking’ only to tell us —”There’s nothing out there”.
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