Space
New Technology Developed To Speed The Search For Alien Life On Other Planets
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Jan 09, 2017 02:28 AM EST
The astronomers and scientists are aiming to find extraterrestrial life on other planets. To speed up their research, new methods have been developed.
Currently, two different groups of astronomers are examining a method that would do atmospheric studies of Proxima b and other possibly habitable planets using ground-based telescopes. These will be probably in operation in the 2020s, according to Space.com.
The scientists discovered Proxima b, which evidence suggests that it could have the right conditions to support life. They are on the verge now of finding extraterrestrial life on this planet.
Matteo Brogi, a Hubble fellow at the University of Colorado, described the next-generation ground-based telescopes that will study the atmosphere and feature of Proxima b. The new method could have applied to other planets too that are rocky just like Proxima b and orbit in the habitable zone of cool stars also referred to as red dwarfs.
Brogi said that the frequency of small planets around small stars is extremely high -- on average, there are about 2.5 planets per star. He further said that regarding habitable planets around small stars, there should be a frequency of close to 30 percent, so every three stars should have a habitable planet.
Yahoo reports that there are two processes involved in the new method. These include the high-resolution spectroscopy, which is the study of light. This could identify the components that are visible in the atmosphere of Proxima b. The second technique is the "direct imaging," which is used by the astronomers to locate a planet and the star it orbits.
Once the planet is located, the team proposes using the Doppler method, in which it will separate the planet's light from the star's light. The high-resolution spectroscopy will aid them in determining what a planet is composed of without the interference of the light coming from the star. This combination of techniques is now in the process of development and in thorough tuning and shaping. Once this is developed fully, scientists could save enough time in searching for life on other planets.
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First Posted: Jan 09, 2017 02:28 AM EST
The astronomers and scientists are aiming to find extraterrestrial life on other planets. To speed up their research, new methods have been developed.
Currently, two different groups of astronomers are examining a method that would do atmospheric studies of Proxima b and other possibly habitable planets using ground-based telescopes. These will be probably in operation in the 2020s, according to Space.com.
The scientists discovered Proxima b, which evidence suggests that it could have the right conditions to support life. They are on the verge now of finding extraterrestrial life on this planet.
Matteo Brogi, a Hubble fellow at the University of Colorado, described the next-generation ground-based telescopes that will study the atmosphere and feature of Proxima b. The new method could have applied to other planets too that are rocky just like Proxima b and orbit in the habitable zone of cool stars also referred to as red dwarfs.
Brogi said that the frequency of small planets around small stars is extremely high -- on average, there are about 2.5 planets per star. He further said that regarding habitable planets around small stars, there should be a frequency of close to 30 percent, so every three stars should have a habitable planet.
Yahoo reports that there are two processes involved in the new method. These include the high-resolution spectroscopy, which is the study of light. This could identify the components that are visible in the atmosphere of Proxima b. The second technique is the "direct imaging," which is used by the astronomers to locate a planet and the star it orbits.
Once the planet is located, the team proposes using the Doppler method, in which it will separate the planet's light from the star's light. The high-resolution spectroscopy will aid them in determining what a planet is composed of without the interference of the light coming from the star. This combination of techniques is now in the process of development and in thorough tuning and shaping. Once this is developed fully, scientists could save enough time in searching for life on other planets.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone