The Search for Other Earths
As a science fiction writer, I am eternally fascinated by the idea of planets in other solar systems containing life and possibly civilizations. While we are far from exploring other worlds in far off solar systems, we have taken a step closer to finding these possible sister Earths so that someday, when we have the technology, we might know which planet to point our interstellar spacecraft toward.
NASA’s Kepler Mission has a singular goal that can (and will, I believe) change our view of the heavens above. Hundreds of planets have been discovered orbiting other stars in the sky, but these exoplanets are gas giants like Jupiter, ice giants and hot super-Earths that have short orbits and can’t sustain life. At least, we don’t believe they can. Someday we may have to adjust our definition of “life.” The Kepler Mission, however, is searching for Earth-like planets within the habitable zone of their stars, where liquid water and comfortable temperatures can exist.
The image on the left shows a Jupiter sized transit. The image on the right depicts an Earth sized transit.
But all hope is not lost. Through ground based methods, over 300 exoplanets have been discovered and Kepler will only add to that count. Kepler’s most recent contribution was the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting the star HAT-P-7. This particular planet caused a drop in light by 130 parts per million. Very similar to an Earth-sized planet. So what’s the name for this possible alien Earth neighbor? HAT-P-7b. Such a romantic name, isn’t it?
The following video by NASA is a good overview of the mission.
