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Planet-Hunter: We'll Find An "Earth 2.0" Within "10 or 15 Years"


Planet Hunter We ll Find An Earth 2 0 Within 10 or 15 Years Mother Jones

MJ: What exactly are we seeing in this image?

FM: Behind this image is a lot of work. This image is simply a planet orbiting around another star. So we call that an exoplanet – an extrasolar planet – because it doesn't belong to our solar system. It belongs to another planetary system. So this is the grail of modern astronomy. We're trying desperately now to image those planets because we know they exist. When you observe a planet with [the now defunct telescope] Kepler, what you've been doing is basically detecting the transit - the attenuation of [the star's] light - due to the planet passing between us and the star. Now with GPI, the Gemini Planet Imager, which is mounted at the 8 meter class telescope in Chile we're going to be able to see the planet itself.

Source: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2...

This article explains the dramatic improvement in telescopes.

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This great leap in search for intelligent life calls for Jesse Pinkman.

Yeah Science gif - High Quality Breaking Bad style

Then we can start to work on the logistics of how to get there ;)

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