The search for extraterrestrial life has been on NASA’s agenda for years. Missions such as Kepler and Spitzer have captured the imagination of astrobiologists and everyday people alike, and have arguably advanced the notion that we are not alone in the universe.
Proponents of that notion will be happy to learn that NASA has launched a new initiative that aims to better understand the components of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. The initiative also seeks to explore how the interaction of their host stars and neighboring planets might support life. At the core of the initiative is learning of our origins and trying to understand the universe.
The initiative, called the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), was inspired by the NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL), based locally out of the University of Washington. The VPL, established in 2001, made waves by implementing an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the study of exoplanets and the search for life beyond our solar system.
“In a way, VPL started this dialogue within our group, and NASA noticed,” said Victoria Meadows, UW professor of astronomy and principal investigator for the UW lab. “It is essentially a science super group made up of researchers from multiple disciplines that work together on a topic that is too big for one discipline.”
When studying exoplanets, researchers must combine expertise from Earth system science, planetary science, astronomy, atmospheric science, geology … the list goes on. This dialogue was lacking in the realm of exoplanetary science prior to the lab’s successes.
The UW lab “serves as an extraordinary example of how scientists across many disciplines learned to talk to, not at each other in order to apply their expertise and tools to answer a common question,” said Mary Voytek, director of NASA’s Astrobiology Program.
The NExSS initiative that will be spearheaded by scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center, the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Researchers from the UW will be joined by team members from the University of California, University of Maryland, University of Arizona, University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming and Arizona State University as well as Stanford University, Yale University and Hampton University.
NExSS researchers received federal funds for specified studies, but according to Meadows, they are also laying the foundation for future exoplanetary research. VPL and NExSS’s interdisciplinary approach to work is essentially creating a new field of study.
“We are hoping that this initiative will become more than the sum of its parts,” said Meadows.
Read more about the technical side of the NExSS initiative here.
The significance of NExSS
Currently, there is not much data on the components of exoplanets and their potential to support life. However, we do know there are thousands of exoplanets in the universe, and that some of them show signs of water either in the atmosphere or beneath the surface.
This image illustrates the comparable habitable zones of Earth and Kepler-22, a similarly sized exoplanet. According to Meadows, “We are just starting to discover earth-sized planets that could support water.” (NASA)
With more Kepler findings to come, the number of documented exoplanets will most likely grow exponentially, which is promising for researchers like Meadows.
“What is encouraging is that there are planets everywhere,” said Meadows. “Kepler is returning the initial statistics that M dwarf stars (stars similar in size, if not smaller than our sun) could be habitable. We are just starting to discover earth-sized planets, whose parent stars are M dwarfs, that could support water.”
M dwarf stars are the most common stars in the universe. In fact, they make up 70 percent of all stars in our galaxy.
The lack of information on exoplanets boils down to a few things. However, the primary factors are recent technological advances, which have facilitated exoplanetary research previously impossible (keep in mind Kepler departed only six years ago), and the one-dimensional approach to studying exoplanets. This fresh, interdisciplinary approach is why NExSS represents a step in the right direction.
It seems as if the search for extraterrestrial life is starting to come together. The combination of Kepler discoveries, upcoming NASA initiatives and rapidly advancing technology means that researchers will be well equipped to navigate plumes of potentially habitable M dwarf stars.
Even high-ranking researchers are convinced that we have celestial neighbors.
“Since planets are so common, it seems inconceivable to me to assume that there isn’t life elsewhere,” said Meadows.
NExSS seeks to study planet “candidates” spotted by Kepler. “What’s encouraging is that there are loads of planets out there,” said Meadows. “They’re everywhere.” (NASA)
NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan takes the idea even further.
During a panel discussion, Stofan said, “I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years.”
A parting thought
With even the most knowledgeable researchers in the field convinced of “something out there,” the question must be asked—what would the discovery of extraterrestrial life mean for humanity’s understanding of creation?
From a scientific standpoint, researchers would have another life form for comparative biology—to see if we are “normal,” whatever that means. Comparative studies could provide insight into our origins, if alien life forms are similar in any way, shape or form.
If there indeed is extraterrestrial life, perhaps it derives from the same source as Earth’s life forms. Perhaps they wouldn’t. The bottom line: The discovery of extraterrestrial life would advance humanity’s understanding of biology and evolution.
If nothing else, humanity would know there is much more to life as we know it.
from The Big Science Blog http://ift.tt/1Q02309
The search for extraterrestrial life has been on NASA’s agenda for years. Missions such as Kepler and Spitzer have captured the imagination of astrobiologists and everyday people alike, and have arguably advanced the notion that we are not alone in the universe.
Proponents of that notion will be happy to learn that NASA has launched a new initiative that aims to better understand the components of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. The initiative also seeks to explore how the interaction of their host stars and neighboring planets might support life. At the core of the initiative is learning of our origins and trying to understand the universe.
The initiative, called the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), was inspired by the NASA Astrobiology Institute’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL), based locally out of the University of Washington. The VPL, established in 2001, made waves by implementing an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the study of exoplanets and the search for life beyond our solar system.
“In a way, VPL started this dialogue within our group, and NASA noticed,” said Victoria Meadows, UW professor of astronomy and principal investigator for the UW lab. “It is essentially a science super group made up of researchers from multiple disciplines that work together on a topic that is too big for one discipline.”
When studying exoplanets, researchers must combine expertise from Earth system science, planetary science, astronomy, atmospheric science, geology … the list goes on. This dialogue was lacking in the realm of exoplanetary science prior to the lab’s successes.
The UW lab “serves as an extraordinary example of how scientists across many disciplines learned to talk to, not at each other in order to apply their expertise and tools to answer a common question,” said Mary Voytek, director of NASA’s Astrobiology Program.
The NExSS initiative that will be spearheaded by scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center, the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute at the California Institute of Technology and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
Researchers from the UW will be joined by team members from the University of California, University of Maryland, University of Arizona, University of Nebraska and University of Wyoming and Arizona State University as well as Stanford University, Yale University and Hampton University.
NExSS researchers received federal funds for specified studies, but according to Meadows, they are also laying the foundation for future exoplanetary research. VPL and NExSS’s interdisciplinary approach to work is essentially creating a new field of study.
“We are hoping that this initiative will become more than the sum of its parts,” said Meadows.
Read more about the technical side of the NExSS initiative here.
The significance of NExSS
Currently, there is not much data on the components of exoplanets and their potential to support life. However, we do know there are thousands of exoplanets in the universe, and that some of them show signs of water either in the atmosphere or beneath the surface.
This image illustrates the comparable habitable zones of Earth and Kepler-22, a similarly sized exoplanet. According to Meadows, “We are just starting to discover earth-sized planets that could support water.” (NASA)
With more Kepler findings to come, the number of documented exoplanets will most likely grow exponentially, which is promising for researchers like Meadows.
“What is encouraging is that there are planets everywhere,” said Meadows. “Kepler is returning the initial statistics that M dwarf stars (stars similar in size, if not smaller than our sun) could be habitable. We are just starting to discover earth-sized planets, whose parent stars are M dwarfs, that could support water.”
M dwarf stars are the most common stars in the universe. In fact, they make up 70 percent of all stars in our galaxy.
The lack of information on exoplanets boils down to a few things. However, the primary factors are recent technological advances, which have facilitated exoplanetary research previously impossible (keep in mind Kepler departed only six years ago), and the one-dimensional approach to studying exoplanets. This fresh, interdisciplinary approach is why NExSS represents a step in the right direction.
It seems as if the search for extraterrestrial life is starting to come together. The combination of Kepler discoveries, upcoming NASA initiatives and rapidly advancing technology means that researchers will be well equipped to navigate plumes of potentially habitable M dwarf stars.
Even high-ranking researchers are convinced that we have celestial neighbors.
“Since planets are so common, it seems inconceivable to me to assume that there isn’t life elsewhere,” said Meadows.
NExSS seeks to study planet “candidates” spotted by Kepler. “What’s encouraging is that there are loads of planets out there,” said Meadows. “They’re everywhere.” (NASA)
NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan takes the idea even further.
During a panel discussion, Stofan said, “I think we’re going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we’re going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years.”
A parting thought
With even the most knowledgeable researchers in the field convinced of “something out there,” the question must be asked—what would the discovery of extraterrestrial life mean for humanity’s understanding of creation?
From a scientific standpoint, researchers would have another life form for comparative biology—to see if we are “normal,” whatever that means. Comparative studies could provide insight into our origins, if alien life forms are similar in any way, shape or form.
If there indeed is extraterrestrial life, perhaps it derives from the same source as Earth’s life forms. Perhaps they wouldn’t. The bottom line: The discovery of extraterrestrial life would advance humanity’s understanding of biology and evolution.
If nothing else, humanity would know there is much more to life as we know it.
from The Big Science Blog http://ift.tt/1Q02309
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