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Let's Find Some
Extraterrestrial Life!
We have probably looked up into the sky at one time or another and
wondered if there was other life out there, besides us. Well of
course our government has been searching the skies also.
Currently, they use an SETI, which stands for Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence; this machine uses radio
transmissions to search for intelligent life. However, this
machine has only found a few anomalies and really it is a much
unorganized way to search. Mainly because the only way it will
work is if other life uses radio signals also and decide to
contact us back. Otherwise, it really could be a complete waste of
time.
So, a while back NASA begin looking into other ways to find life.
They released plans for an orbital telescope called The
Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) and it should be done in 10 years.
What the TPF will do is it will cancel out the glare of stars and
only look for signs of life. If it finds a planet it will read the
elements and materials found there, realizing that no material
emulates nor absorbs the same spectrum of visible, infrared, or
ultraviolet light.
With this ability to locate other planets and be able to analyze
the material there on the TPF could identify if the planet was
inhabited or not. Also, it would be able to tell if there had ever
been life on the planet, the atmosphere that was or is there, and
possibly how the surface and planet has changed.
Some ways to identify life on other planets would be the
pollutants on the planet like carbon dioxide, if there are CFC's
(chlorofluorocarbons), smog, or ozone. The TPF will also be
looking for water and vegetation that could sustain life. Also,
finding meaningful anomalies like an atmosphere on a planet or
synthetic gases that could sustain life will then be possible with
a TPF.
Looking for life with a TPF will be quicker and possible result in
more usable data with clearer information for us to go through and
look at. Radio waves are useful, but again if another life form
does not use radio or chooses not to respond to use, there would
be no way for us to know they are there. With a TPF we could find
them regardless of the equipment they use, since we will be
looking for any type of life or signs that life once existed there
or could exist there in the future. Of course, radio will still be
used and is useful, because either way if life is found it would
still be a profound experience. Using the TPF could move along the
process of finding other life out there or even other planets that
could be inhabitable. The information received would be useful
whether there is actually life on the planet or not. |
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