Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life

Precision mirrors could show stargazers planets far, far away

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 13, 2008 2:03 PM CDT

(Newser) – Telescope technology currently in the works will use light measurements to search for planets beyond our solar system whose orbit around a star means they could support life, Wired reports. The system, called nulling interferometry, uses tiny mirrors that move at atomic levels to combine... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

There are no comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Cops Shoot Naked Guy Eating Man's Face on Highway

Japanese Artist Serves Up Own Cooked Genitals

Wired (Source Grid »)

Interferometry basics
Space.com

Science

planet • space • telescope • extraterrestrial life

More Newser Stories

'Large Regions' of Mars Are Habitable

But no sign of aliens, spaceships: researchers

(NEWSER) - More fascinating news about the potential for life on Mars . Some 3% of Mars' volume is capable of sustaining life, Australian scientists have found—more than the 1% of Earth that contains living things. Researchers based their findings on a comparison between the two planets' temperature and pressure attributes, AFP reports. Rather than following earlier studies' lead and examining a single area of Mars, the scientists used a "comprehensive compilation" of the entire planet, making use of decades of findings. More»

New Solar System Sparks Hope for Other Life

Maybe we're not alone, say astronomers

(NEWSER) - Excited astronomers say that the discovery of a solar system with strong similarities to our own raises the chances of other life out there. The system has two gas giants similar to Jupiter and Saturn orbiting at a similar distance from the alien sun 5,000 light years away, and rocky, Earth-like planets may exist in closer orbits, reseachers write in the journal Science. More»

Planet with Water Discovered

HD 189733b holds superheated water vapor but is too hot for aliens

(NEWSER) - Astronomers located the first planet beyond our solar system that hosts water—a giant gas ball bigger than Jupiter and named HD 189733b. Its sizzling climate, which can reach upwards of 3,600 degrees, renders it uninhabitable to any extraterrestrials, but the discovery shows that water is more common in outer space than previously thought. More»

Scientists Find Cold Dwarf Star

Failed star has temperature a tenth of the sun's

(NEWSER) - Scientists are over the moon with the discovery of a cold brown dwarf in the Cetus constellation. The star-like body, spotted by a British team using the UKIRT telescope in Hawaii, is the coldest of its kind ever seen, the BBC reports, tipping thermometers at just 800 degrees F, a tenth the temperature of the sun. More»

Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Launches

Thousands converge to watch

(AP) - The world's biggest extraterrestrial explorer is on its way to Mars. NASA today launched the six-wheeled, one-armed robotic rover, nicknamed Curiosity. An unmanned rocket blasted off with the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral. The journey to Mars will take 8 1/2 months and cover 354 million miles. Thousands of NASA guests converged on Kennedy Space Center for the launch. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Trick Telescopy Aids in Search for Alien Life

Precision mirrors could show stargazers planets far, far away

planet • space • telescope • extraterrestrial life

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

'Large Regions' of Mars Are Habitable

But no sign of aliens, spaceships: researchers

New Solar System Sparks Hope for Other Life

Maybe we're not alone, say astronomers

Planet with Water Discovered

HD 189733b holds superheated water vapor but is too hot for aliens

Scientists Find Cold Dwarf Star

Failed star has temperature a tenth of the sun's

Mars Rover 'Curiosity' Launches

Thousands converge to watch

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?