Sep 13, 2022 23:00:00

``Life can be found outside the solar system within 25 years,'' researchers say

Although it

was shown in 2020 that water may exist underground on Mars, no traces of life that may exist on Mars have been found since then. Nevertheless, humans have discovered many planets that exist in the habitable zone , which is considered to be an environment suitable for the birth of life. Sasha Quantz, an astrophysicist at the Zurich Institute of Technology in Switzerland, said at a press conference about a space-related project that the university is promoting, saying, ``We will find life outside the solar system within 25 years.'' calling.

We can find life outside the solar system in 25 years, researcher says | Space
https://www.space.com/finding-life-outside-solar-system-in-25-years

Science could uncover alien life within 25 years, scientist says |
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/alien-life-discovery-25-years-exoplanets-b2165692.html

ETH Zurich's new Center for the Origin and Prevalence of Life will address fundamental questions about the prevalence of life in the universe and the processes leading to its emergence We have opened a center for The opening ceremony of this center was held on September 2, 2022, and at a press conference held on the same day, Mr. Quantz asked the question, ``Is there a planet where life exists other than the earth in outer space?'' The answer to the question may soon be found, he said.

“In 1995, my colleague and Nobel laureate Didier Quérault discovered a planet outside the solar system for the first time in human history, and today, humans have discovered more than 5,000 exoplanets. It is swelling, and our experts are discovering exoplanets every day,' he said, claiming that the number of exoplanets discovered by mankind is increasing day by day.

Astronomers believe there are over 100 billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy, each with at least one companion star . In other words, there are still many extrasolar planets that have not been discovered at the time of writing the article. And many of these undiscovered extrasolar planets meet the conditions that make it possible for life to exist, `` being at an appropriate distance from the main star and having liquid water, etc. ''.

Quantz said of these undiscovered exoplanets, 'We don't know if these terrestrial planets have atmospheres, and what these atmospheres are made up of, so we don't know. 'We need to study the atmospheres of these planets. To study the atmospheres, we need observational approaches that allow us to photograph the planets.'

The

James Webb Space Telescope , the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope launched in December 2021, will assist in this approach to observing extrasolar planets. The main mission of the James Webb Space Telescope is to observe for the first time the first star, which is said to start shining about 200 million years after the Big Bang. We have also succeeded in detecting carbon dioxide and water inside. But it's not a space telescope powerful enough to detect the presence of liquid water on a small Earth-sized planet.

Quantz also said, ``HIP 65426, a giant gas planet, orbits very far from its star.The James Webb Space Telescope can take pictures of exoplanets like this. But it's not powerful enough to photograph small planets.'

Aiming to fill the weaknesses of the James Webb Space Telescope, the team of Mr. Quants et al. METIS will be part of the E-ELT , a next-generation very large telescope with a diameter of 39 meters under construction on Mount Armazones, Chile. When completed, the E-ELT will be the world's largest optical telescope.

Quantz said of METIS, 'The main purpose of METIS is to photograph terrestrial planets that may have Earth-like environments in the vicinity of the nearest star. However, our long-term The vision is not just to image a few stars, but dozens of exoplanets and study their atmospheric composition.'

A mission called 'LIFE (for Large Interferometer for Exoplanets)', which aims to investigate the molecular components in the atmosphere of extrasolar planets, is underway with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA). LIFE is being considered as a candidate for a future large-scale mission in our science program,' Quantz said.

``Although it is an ambitious goal, the ``25 years'' set as the deadline for discovering life outside the solar system is not unrealistic,'' Quantz said.