Searching for Earth’s twin
The HinduThe recent announcement at the American Astronomical Society meeting in California dramatically increases the possibility of finding Earth-sized extra-solar planets, or exoplanets, and in particular, those that are in a habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone — neither too close nor too far from a star, so liquid water might be present on the surface. One study looked at the number of habitable Earth-sized exoplanets orbiting the smaller and cooler M dwarf stars. By studying about 3,600 of the 5,000 M dwarf stars present in Kepler’s field of view, researchers calculated that each of these stars had an 87 per cent possibility of having Earth-sized exoplanets, and nearly six per cent of the M dwarfs studied could be in the habitable zone. Advanced and sophisticated methods have helped in not only discovering exoplanets orbiting sun-like stars and M dwarfs but also in studying their atmospheric composition, accurately calculating their size and mass, and also the temperature at different altitudes.
History of this topic
Forget Mars, are there aliens on… K2-18b? Discovery of planet twice as big as Earth emitting gas 'only produced by life' sparks huge excitement among astronomers
Daily Mail
The Webb telescope could find aliens in the glare of white dwarf suns, scientists say
The Independent
Scientists have now discovered more than 5,000 exoplanets
The Independent
NASA's new space telescope, James Webb, can be used to identify planets with oxygen
Firstpost
NASA's James Webb Space telescope may be used to identify planets with oxygen
India Today
New space telescope to explore nearby stars
Live Mint
NASA's Kepler telescope used to identify 20 new potentially habitable exoplanets
Firstpost
NASA’s new space telescope to hunt for signs of alien life
The Hindu
Nasa's James Webb space telescope to determine if Trappist-1 exoplanets could support life
Firstpost
Exoplanet discovery: Nasa telescope finds seven Earth sized exoplanets around a single star
Firstpost
Discovery of life outside our solar system could be just 10 years away, astronomers say
The Independent
Exoplanet hunter seeks life on other worlds
CNN
Nasa's planet hunting Kepler Space Telescope set to make announcement
Daily Mail
The Best Bet for Alien Life May Be in Planetary Systems Very Different From Ours
WiredDiscover Related