Today I contemplated some incredible good news that left me both happy, but crushed and despondent. Worlds 1st Robotic Planet Finder Discovers Two Alien Planetary Systems - from The Daily Galaxy The search for planets beyond our solar system (called extrasolar planets or exoplanets) has yielded a huge number of discoveries in recent years, especially since NASAs Kepler spacecraft joined ground-based telescopes in the effort. Unlike Kepler, however, which focused on distant stars in one small patch of sky, the APF focuses on nearby stars and covers the entire sky. The planetary systems were finding are our nearest neighbors. Those are the ones that will matter to future generations, said Steve Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, who led the $12 million APF project and designed the Levy spectrometer at the heart of the system. Vogts team has submitted two papers describing new planetary systems recently discovered by the APF. I am happy because I know we will find and someday inhabit new worlds ... crushed because, statistically, I will be dead. Perhaps I can extract some solace from the fact my children or their children will see it, and perhaps sail the stars. ....
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 23:24:20 +0000
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