Science Images by:By NikoLang (Own work (Screenshot)) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
Alie n Earth? French the Llama, 2012 was a big year in science! We (probably) found the Higgs Boson, photographed DNA, and put the Curiosity rover on Mars. In short, 2013 has some big scientific shoes to fill. Scientific discoveries are notoriously difficult to predict, so very few are willing to give predictions as to what advances 2013 will bring. But a few astronomers are willing to be the exception by predicting the discovery of the first alien Earth.
been confirmed, but scientists estimate that at least 80% will be legitimate exoplanets. Of the confirmed exoplanets, the first findings were incredibly hot, gaseous, massive worlds orbiting far too close to their stars, because such exoplanets are the easiest to discover. However, the technology is becoming more accurate, and astronomers have honed their exoplanets-seeking skills so that they can discover smaller and more distant planets -planets similar to Earth.
By: Justin Swan An “alien Earth” is a planet similar to Earth, orbiting a sun-like star in its “habitable zone” (the range where liquid water, a strong indication of life, can exist). Planets outside of our solar system are known as “exoplanets,” and over 2,300 potential exoplanets have been identified by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. Only around 100 of those have
One such planet, Kepler-22b, was quite popular when it was discovered in December of 2011. It’s 2.4 times larger than Earth and orbits its star within the habitable zone. The Kepler team has since discovered several other similar exoplanets, bringing the grand total to nine. Unfortunately, none of the nine are small enough to be a true Earth twin, but it’s only a matter of time until a small rocky planet is spotted in an orbit similar to Earth’s. Geoff Marcy, a veteran planet-seeker at the University of California at Berkeley and member of the Kepler team, has said that “the first
planet with a measured size, orbit and incident stellar flux that is suitable for life is likely to be announced in 2013.” Marcy thinks this find will be made by the Kepler telescope, which spots planets by noting the fluctuation in light when they pass in front of their parent stars. The Kepler requires three of these fluctuations to detect a planet, which explains why its first discoveries were stars with short orbits. The discovery of an alien Earth will likely have a profound effect on humanity. Finding an Earth twin will strongly indicate a presence of intelligent life on that planet. Astronomy has an aphorism regarding intelligent life: follow the water. Where liquid water is, life will almost surely follow. Then, we will most likely send robotic probes to investigate. Such an undertaking, Marcy says, “will require the cooperation and contribution from all major nations around the world.” I, for one, can’t wait until every person, all over the world, is momentarily unified as we stare into the night sky and contemplate the newly discovered evidence indicating that somewhere, something is staring back.
Issue 2 January 2013 | The Anglerfish 33