Extraterrestrial
Astronomers in China search for alien life
By
T.K. RandallMay 26, 2013 ·
12 comments
Image Credit: NASA
Survey telescopes set up in Antarctica are being used by Chinese astronomers to look for alien planets.
The hunt for habitable extrasolar planets has been hotting up in recent years and now a team of astronomers from China are hoping to be the first to detect signs of a world around a distant star that harbors alien life. At the start of last year the first of three Antarctic Survey Telescopes was set up at the highest elevation point on the Antarctic continent in an effort to provide a new window on the galaxy.
"It's highly possible that human beings might find such a planet in the coming few years," said astronomer Lifan Wang. "Such planets likely exist in the Milky Way, with a possible distance of thousands of light years from us. We know too little about life. Maybe there are new forms of life that do not need exactly the same environment as we have on Earth."[!gad]The hunt for habitable extrasolar planets has been hotting up in recent years and now a team of astronomers from China are hoping to be the first to detect signs of a world around a distant star that harbors alien life. At the start of last year the first of three Antarctic Survey Telescopes was set up at the highest elevation point on the Antarctic continent in an effort to provide a new window on the galaxy.
"It's highly possible that human beings might find such a planet in the coming few years," said astronomer Lifan Wang. "Such planets likely exist in the Milky Way, with a possible distance of thousands of light years from us. We know too little about life. Maybe there are new forms of life that do not need exactly the same environment as we have on Earth."
Chinese astronomers, actively searching for Earth-like planets using survey instruments in Antarctica, believe efforts to seek an extra-solar planet that that harbors life will soon be rewarded.
Source:
Daily Galaxy |
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