The Search for Earth-like Planets 2

Clip 2 from the 'The Search for Earth-like Planets: Looking for Signs of Life' lecture, part of the von Karman Lecture Series. Date- May 07. Source- http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/events/lectures/may07.cfm

'In the vast blackness of space, our home planet is a single sparkling oasis of life. Whether the universe harbors other worlds that can support even simple life is a question that has been pondered, yet has remained unanswered, for over two thousand years. Over the next two decades, NASA will launch a series of spaceborne telescopes that will search for Earth-sized planets around other stars and examine those planets for signs of life. But which observations should we make? And what should we look for? This talk will explain how we will search for and identify planets that might support life around other stars, and describes results from the new science of astrobiology that will help us recognize signs of life on these distant worlds.'

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• exoplanet
• extrasolar
• solar
• system
• planets
• astrobiology

[TECHKLEC]

Nicely done, Dr. Meadows gives a very good lecture.

[scobum]

very "to the point". nice graphs.made me think about how science fiction shows, often show planets with binary star systems when in fact I would think this would be very implausable. good job.

[1978atcarroll]

don't forget habitable moons of gas giants. even if a gas giant planet orbits in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star, and is tidally locked, it could have moons large enough to hold atmospheres.

[knowpassword]

She smacks her lips to much..

[KadoatieXD]

I want to go to these planet convections someday. Very intresting.

[GhostHunter1986]

dude u not gonna die in 2012

[salbrismind]

Sound waves don't travel through space.

[frostnova008]

soo.. it would be our 2nd earth i dont wanna die in 2012

[GhostHunter1986]

well i propose a theory what if we used the ability of planets with sounds what if the sounds of planet IE jupiter sound cold and lifeless if you lestin to it closely and earth sounds lively and alive what if we looked for all the known earth planets and lestin to there sounds my proposle is that if it sounds like earth than it should have life on it but its just a theory

[GhostHunter1986]

well it all realy depends on how far the planet is from binary suns u gotta remember anything can survive any ware look at extreamafiles they live under the harshest condistions immaginable and yet they live whats to say a multy organisum couldent survive on a binary star system right its all about the suns will effect the planets

[huluvu38]

Unfortunately not. Simulations show it's really hard (but not impossible) to get planets to form and have stable orbits (necessary for life to emerge) in binary systems.

[GhostHunter1986]

suns that are binary are just as possibility to habit life on them like any outher start they might be complex dna structures but that depends on how they evolved i mean freeza from dbz could actually exist for all we know just sayin