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Hot Topic
Deep Space
Alien Life
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An Interstellar Mission Scenario
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| Topic: Alien Life |
08/11/08 |
| Super-Earths, terrestrial planets many times the mass of Earth, have been discovered orbiting distant stars. In this essay, Ray Villard details a possible future expedition to visit one of these alien worlds in order to study the life that could exist there. |
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First Contact
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| Topic: Alien Life |
08/04/08 |
| In the past few years, astronomers have discovered super-Earths, terrestrial planets many times the mass of Earth, orbiting distant stars. In this essay, Ray Villard discusses how we could study life forms that may exist on those alien worlds. |
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Earth: An Alien World
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| Topic: Alien Life |
07/23/08 |
| NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has filmed the moon transiting Earth from 31 million miles away. The event is now being used to develop techniques for studying alien worlds. |
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Low Frequency Aliens
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| Topic: Alien Life |
06/11/08 |
| A new type of radio telescope may aid in the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life. The LOFAR telescope could be used to detect signals directed toward Earth, and might even pick up 'leakage radiation' from radio and TV transmitters if they're being used by civilizations around nearby stars. |
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Searching the Sky for Aliens
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| Topic: Alien Life |
06/08/08 |
| Plans are being developed to use new technology to search for possible extraterrestrial intelligence. Astronomers will scan a select portion of the sky where the likelihood of detecting signals from other worlds is thought to be more favorable. |
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Intelligence: A Rare Cosmic Commodity
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| Topic: Alien Life |
04/14/08 |
| A mathematical model taking into account the limited habitable lifespan of the Earth suggests that four evolutionary steps were required for intelligent life to evolve. If this applies to other worlds, intelligent life may be rare in the universe. |
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Astro-combing for Planets
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| Topic: Alien Life |
04/09/08 |
| A revolutionary laser technology will enable scientists to spot Earth-sized worlds in Earth-like orbits around distant stars. The new technology is a major step forward in the search for habitable planets. |
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Googling Alien Life
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| Topic: Alien Life |
03/26/08 |
| Scientists are designing a satellite-based observatory that could provide a sensitive survey of the entire sky to search for planets. The team hopes that the system could rapidly discover Earth-like planets. |
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Life on Frosted Earths
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| Topic: Alien Life |
01/28/08 |
| The search for life beyond the Earth is closely linked with hunting for habitable worlds. Astronomers have always hoped to find planets in the so-called "Goldilocks zone" around their parent stars, where the temperature is just right. |
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Hunting Aliens at Home
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| Topic: Alien Life |
01/05/08 |
| The SETI@home project is looking for volunteers. The project is getting a burst of new data from the upgraded Arecibo telescope, and more computers are needed to help pick out potential alien signals. |
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