Just when you lost hope in finding life out there somewhere! There are 1284 more new exoplanets to study!
The big announcement came from NASA today -- they are doubling down on earlier projections of planets that could contain life.
“One of the great questions of all time, and one of NASA’s objective’s, is whether we are alone in the universe,” said Paul Hertz, director of astrophysics at NASA, at a conference. “We live in time where we can scientifically answer that question.”
Wired also posted a story tonight about the exoplanets but also new bragging rights that NASA can claim:
But that was the old way. Part of today’s announcement was trumpeting a new technique, developed by Princeton astrophysicist Timothy Morton. His method uses paired simulations, comparing values from previous exoplanet observations to current measurements. The first compares the flicker in question to other confirmed signatures of both exoplanets and imposters. The second simulation determines whether—given what scientists know about the total distribution of exoplanets in the Milky Way—the flicker in question makes sense as an exoplanet. Combined, the two simulations assign each flicker a statistical probability of being an exoplanet.
Don't you think we will find life out there?
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BUT DIDN'T WE FIND THE LIFE ALREADY!?I
know, I know.. Life is already been found, some of you would say. Others actually argue that the life came here to abduct people to experiment on them.. free range over cows and look for the meat? ... all of those Linda Moulten Howe types of things. Hardcore UFO after midnight radio stuff..
There are even some who may claim that if life DID exist it surely does not now! That it has come and gone.. died away..
Remember, even this 'structure' that we have seen 1500 lights years away is 1500 years in the past---if the life was there could it have extinguished since?
By the time life finds earth will WE be gone?
All of these amazing questions! No answers, either. Which is why they are so much fun to ask.
The newest piece of information to make things more exciting: 1284 possible new planets that can harbor life .. in a zone where life could work, be real.. and exist.
.....I wonder if one of those planets is having an election this year?
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