The Search for Earth-like Planets 3

Clip 3 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

[baley7]

wonderful video thanks for sharing

[MookyManster]

i wonder if ALLLLLLL planets in the whole universe are sphere

[alaudun2]

Great video but since Kepler parts of it have become oblsolete so it needs to be updated.

[UnGatoExtraviado]

i love watching this when im high

[poodtang1]

DrChiMED: Vegetation produces oxygen. On other planets mayby some other lifeform performs the task of producing oxygen for the planet. Perhaps something that resembles gelatin ( jello ).

Mayby their mountains are covered with a gelatin like substance.

[DrChiMED]

Poodtang1, yes they can be! The plants don't have to be green that is just what they are on Earth because they absorb primarily the red light and reflect the blue light & yellow light specras. You can have plants, perhaps on other planets which would absorb more complete spectra and appear visually black, or absorb more blue light spectra and appear orange in color. There are several ways of developing a phytochemical basis of photosynthesis that will use different spectral wavelengths

[salbrismind]

Well on Earth they are green because of chemicals in plants used photosynthesis. But I would say it would be foolish to only look for green plants on other planets since they didn't evolve on Earth and would likely not use the same chemicals as our plants.

[salbrismind]

Technically, the Earth isn't a perfect sphere, it is a bit wider at the equator and thinner at the poles due to centripetal force. But yes all planets will be rounded, because it's how they all form, like a burn mass that cools on the edge (the crust) and gravity pulls all around the planet roughly equal causing it to be the smallest surface area for its mass.

[poodtang1]

baley7: I've always wondered why do exo-vegetation have to be green. Can vegetation be some other colour ?