What to do if we find alien life - Technology & science - msnbc.com: "LONDON— This month the Royal Society held a two-day meeting to work out a 'scientific and societal agenda' on extraterrestrial life, following up on a similar meeting in January. The discussions generated controversy, conspiracy theories and a little bit of acrimony. So what happened? I was there on both days, and here's the inside story.
Scientists are searching for extraterrestrial life in a number of different ways and places. One aspect of this is the search for extrasolar planets, on the basis that an Earthlike planet around a sunlike star might be a good place to look. The first super-Earths have been discovered, and the longer-term goal will be to undertake spectral analysis of the atmospheres of such exoplanets, looking for oxygen, ozone, water and other potential indicators of life. The recent excitement over Gliese 581g brings such work into focus — though even the very existence of this world is now the matter of some debate."
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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