NASA climate scientists hunt for alien life

The effort is part of a broader push to identify Earth-like worlds.

April 20, 2015 04:29 pm | Updated April 22, 2015 07:51 am IST - Washington

An alien world just two-thirds the size of Earth - one of the smallest on record - detected by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is seen in this NASA artist's illustration. File photo

An alien world just two-thirds the size of Earth - one of the smallest on record - detected by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is seen in this NASA artist's illustration. File photo

After more than 30 years of studying the Earth, a team at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York will adapt its global climate model to simulate conditions on potentially habitable exoplanets.

The effort is part of a broader push to identify Earth-like worlds.

“We have to start thinking about these things as more than planetary objects. All of a sudden, this has become a topic not just for astronomers, but for planetary scientists and now climate scientists,” said Anthony Del Genio, climate modeller, who is leading the GISS effort.

NASA’s space-based Kepler telescope has found more than 1,000 alien planets.

At least five of these planets are similar in size to the Earth and located in the “habitable zone” where liquid water could persist.

The next step would be to detect light passing through exoplanet atmospheres, which could hold clues to conditions on these distant worlds, Nature reported.

Del Genio’s group is one of nearly 16 — ranging from the Earth and planetary scientists to solar physicists and astrophysicists — that are participating in NASA’s new Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) programme.

“We are bringing together a bunch of different disciplines and they all look at the formation and functioning of planets in different ways,” added Mary Voytek, who organised NExSS.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.