Friday, June 26, 2015

How close to finding alien life?

The search for life beyond Earth has heated up. Here are some of the ways that scientists have been thinking and talking about it.

exoplanets-many-habitable-worldsView larger. | Artist's illustrations of 12 extrasolar planets, known to orbit in the habitable zones of their parent stars. These exoplanets have the right temperature for water to be a liquid on their surfaces, and so water-based life - like that on Earth - might be able to survive on them.
MPIAArtist's concept via Shutterstock
EARTHSKY // SCIENCE WIRESPACE-JUN 25, 2015
In recent years, astronomers have become increasingly certain that planets are common in our Milky Way galaxy. It’s possible that every single star we see at night has at least one planet. That would mean a hundred billion planets, at least, in our Milky Way alone. According to a recent study, it’s possible that most stars have planets in their habitable zones, an area around stars within which liquid water – and therefore life as we know it – can exist. How many of those worlds are inhabited by simple or complex life forms? And when will we on Earth discover alien life? Follow the links below to learn more: