05-August-2004, 05:57 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,329
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New planets and signs of life in space
Cosmic Cowboy
Quote:
If you corner an astronomer like Dr. Bill Cochran and talk to him for an hour or two, suddenly life in outer space, for example, doesn't seem nearly so improbable. Cochran, who is a senior research scientist in the College of Natural Sciences' Department of Astronomy at The University of Texas at Austin, believes it's an exciting time to be studying the sky and stars and that the future is much, much closer than most of us think.
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In the 15 years since Cochran has been a planet hunter, he has discovered six planets outside our solar system. In the year 2000 alone, nine planet discoveries were announced at the International Astronomical Union meeting, and Cochran's research team was able to boast one of those planet findings.
For physicists and others who are following the lightning-speed advances in space exploration and marveling over the Cassini orbiter's breathtaking photos of Saturn or NASA's renewed interest in exploration of Mercury, these are days of miracle and wonder, a renaissance that recalls the Apollo 11 mission and a walk on the moon.
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Some good information on the Kepler mission as well.
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