After reading this article I searched through the SOTT archive and dug up a few recent articles about planets outside of our solar system.
Astronomers find Earth lookalike 26 Jan 2006
Astronomers discover the North Star has another companion 10 Jan 2006
Water Mysteriously Absent from Extrasolar Planets' Atmospheres 22 Feb 2007
NASA: Telescope captures lights from exoplanets 23 Feb 2007
Future Space Telescopes Could Detect Earth Twin 16 Apr 2007
Shock: Water exists outside the solar system 10 Apr 2007
'Earth-like' planet discovered orbiting red dwarf 25 Apr 2007
I didn’t include the ones about possible water and life on Mars.
It seems to me, based on this limited overview, that if this slow but steady progress in mainstream astronomy, aimed at the general public, continues that it might culminate with the discovery of a planet with life. They’ve already found one with water, what's next? Is this a campaign to prepare the masses for the fact that we are not alone? And whether after announcing ‘there is every reason to believe there is life on this planet’ then some time after ET might show up?
In addition, the other day I caugh a radio program on BBC 4 where they discussed this latest find. The expert towards the end of the show said something like ‘it is good to get a toehold on other planets in case cataclysmic events caused by comets happen’.
Astronomers find Earth lookalike 26 Jan 2006
Astronomers discover the North Star has another companion 10 Jan 2006
Water Mysteriously Absent from Extrasolar Planets' Atmospheres 22 Feb 2007
NASA: Telescope captures lights from exoplanets 23 Feb 2007
Future Space Telescopes Could Detect Earth Twin 16 Apr 2007
Shock: Water exists outside the solar system 10 Apr 2007
'Earth-like' planet discovered orbiting red dwarf 25 Apr 2007
I didn’t include the ones about possible water and life on Mars.
It seems to me, based on this limited overview, that if this slow but steady progress in mainstream astronomy, aimed at the general public, continues that it might culminate with the discovery of a planet with life. They’ve already found one with water, what's next? Is this a campaign to prepare the masses for the fact that we are not alone? And whether after announcing ‘there is every reason to believe there is life on this planet’ then some time after ET might show up?
In addition, the other day I caugh a radio program on BBC 4 where they discussed this latest find. The expert towards the end of the show said something like ‘it is good to get a toehold on other planets in case cataclysmic events caused by comets happen’.