Astronomers have found more than 400 alien worlds orbiting distant stars. So far, nearly all of these exoplanets are bigger than Jupiter and hotter than Mercury – places that appear very unfriendly to life. But astronomers are now starting to identify smaller, more intriguing objects, including potential water worlds and so-called super-Earths. Next-generation telescopes may soon close in on the ultimate goal: Finding alien planets that resemble Earth and may share the same wet, warm cocktail of chemicals that gave rise to life here.
Join Discover magazine and author-blogger-astronomer Phil Plait (of Bad Astronomy fame) as they bring together the new breed of planet hunters to debate what’s next in the search for earthlike worlds. Produced in partnership with the Thirty Meter Telescope Project (TMT) and hosted by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), “The Quest for a Living World” will be held April 21 at Caltech’s Beckman Auditorium beginning at 7:30 p.m. Seating is limited.
Additional information is here: http://events.caltech.edu/events/event-7421.html
RSVP to exoplanets@tmt.org.
TMT Releases Public Database of its Site Testing Campaign
Mirror Segment Polishing Shines with New Methods
