ASTRONOMERS ABUZZ ABOUT LIFE

96-10-24 18:19:19 EDT
Source: AOLNewsProfiles@aol.net
The Associated Press By PAUL RECER AP Science Writer TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Astronomers have now found 10 or 11 new planets, depending on who's counting, but nobody has as yet directly observed these new worlds or found one that resembles Earth. That may happen soon, say the experts.

New instruments, satellites and telescopes are being proposed that would, for the first time make it possible to find and remotely explore Earthlike planets that orbit distant stars.

Recent discoveries of large planets, the finding that life may have existed on Mars and the announced goal of NASA to seek out other life-sustaining worlds has created a burst of feverish excitement among many of the world's astronomers.

``I think it's time now for us to look for Earthlike planets,'' said Nick Woolf, a University of Arizona astronomer. ``The technology is developing so that it is becoming more and more reasonable.''

``There's a feeling now that we could actually do this,'' said Jon M. Jenkins, an astronomer at the Ames Research Center. ``We've seen a huge increase in interest.''

Telescope ground searchers in the last five years already have found huge Jupiter-size planets orbiting distant stars. There have been at least 11 claimed discoveries, although some of these finds have been disputed.

But the real goal is to find planets that are more like the Earth, places that might, indeed, foster life. The theory is that such planets would have to be in the ``habitable zone'', or in an Earthlike orbit of a sunlike star. Only in such conditions is liquid water possible and water is considered essential for life. It's impossible to see such planets now because the brightness of the stars blinds instruments to the view of the planets.

``It's like trying to detect a speck in front of a searchlight,'' said Jenkins.

New and keener instruments, placed into an orbit far out in space hold the most promise, said Woolf. A concept called Oasis already is undergoing engineering analysis.

The plan calls for putting a satellite telescope into a solar orbit beyond Mars and then focus on stars that appear to be good candidates for planets.

``Such a satellite should be able to detect an Earth at about 30 light years away,'' said Woolf. A light year is about 6 trillion miles.

Once such a planet is found, the Oasis then would be able to analyze the chemistry of the planet's atmosphere, a key to the possibility of life.

``At 30 light years, you would be able to detect, for instance, the presence of carbon dioxide,'' said Woolf. Though the engineering is ``very tricky'' and expensive, scientists know basically how such a craft should be built, he said.

Woolf said it would take 10 years to build the satellite and three more to launch it and put it on its target orbit. The cost: about $2 billion.

Another group has proposed a simpler, cheaper effort called the Kepler Mission. It also involves a sun-oribiting satellite, but its goal would be more of a pathfinding effort.

Jenkins said that Kepler's instruments would focus on stars and look for a very faint drop in light intensity. This would suggest that a planet is passing between the star and the instruments.

The goal of Kepler, he said, would be to focus on 160,000 stars in the Cygus constellation that are considered to be good candidates for planetary formation.

If the theories are correct about how common planets are in the universe, Jenkins said Kepler could detect 600 to 700 planets during a four-year mission.

Ground telescopes are not being left out of this game. New telescope designs that sharpen the image and take out distortions caused by the Earth's atmosphere allow some telescopes, on a good night, to approach the acuity of the Hubble Space Telescope.

By teaming some of these telescopes, so that they work in a joint observation of the same object, and taking many images over months, some astronomers believe they could detect evidence of even Earth-size planets at nearby stars.

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