The more we see other planets, the more the question comes into focus: Maybe we’re the weird one? Decades of observing Earth from space has informed our search for signs of habitability and life on exoplanets and even planets in our own solar system. We’re taking a closer look at what we’ve learned about Earth – our only example of a planet with life – to our search for life the universe.
NASA Goddard astrobiologist Shawn Domagal-Goldman and JPL exoplanet research scientist Tiffany Kataria explain how quickly we’re learning about the Goldilocks Zones, habitable zones in the universe, thanks to our home planet and the recent discoveries of the Kepler Space Telescope. We’re searching for any signs of liquid water, the right atmospheric gases, and maybe a bit of color or other signs that might indicate life. From NASA Goddard: How to Find a Living Planet.
Next: The Kepler Mission and a Primer on How We Find Exoplanets.
Plus: The 1995 Hubble photo that changed astronomy, Ocean Moon, Ocean World: The water beneath Europa’s icy surface, and How small are we in the scale of the universe?
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