Wide Angle: Hunting For EarthsA new NASA mission in search of exoplanets has experts weighing in on whether we'll find life off Earth.
Earth-Like Planets, Look Out Hundreds of solar systems have been picked out of the sky; all harbor exoplanets the size of Jupiter or larger, but so far other Earths have eluded astronomers. NASA's Kepler space telescope, however, is expected to give the first reliable count of any habitable planets. Credit: NASA/NRC Canada/C. Marois et al.
Earth seems so alone, drifting through space -- but are there other Earth-like worlds out there capable of supporting life, and if so how many are there nearby? To answer that question once and for all, NASA is sending the Kepler telescope into space. Once there, it will stare down thousands of stars to seek out the slightest glimpse of a small, rocky world like our own. Get the skinny on how the new search works, the odds of its success, and what the alien worlds we manage to spy might look like in this Discovery Space Wide Angle (and don't miss our previous package about Kepler).
Got something to say? E-mail your questions, comments or concerns to discoveryspace@discovery.com. |
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