SEARCHING FOR PLANETS AND LIFE
SIMON GOODWINSheffield
John GribbinSussex
1995:
2005:
ONE
150 PLANETS
THE PROBLEM WITH PLANETS…
…IS THEY’RE TOUGH TO SEE
A PLANET AROUND 51 PEG
H2O
O3
CO2
EARTH FROM 30LYR
IT’S LIFE JIM, BUT IT IS AS WE KNOW IT?
CARBON-BASED?
WATER-BASED?
OXYGEN-USING?
IS LIFE COMMON?
LIFE APPEARED IN ~100MYR
BUT - IS INTELLIGENT LIFE COMMON?
THAT TOOK ~4500MYR
THE FERMI PARADOX
60000 LYR
10 MYR TO COLONISE THE GALAXY
GALACTIC ZOO?
INTERSTELLAR TRAVEL IS TOO DIFFICULT?
NARROW WINDOW IN TIME?
THEY’RE JUST NOT THERE?
SELF-DESTRUCT?
THE GOLDILOCKS PLANET
‘COMET HOOVER’
THE MOON: STABILISES AXIS CAUSES TIDES (x2) THIN CRUST
A QUIET SUN
ARE WE THE FIRST?
THE SUN IS VERY METAL RICH FOR ITS AGE
WE ARE ONLY 10-20 YEARS AWAY FROM DISCOVERING EARTH-LIKE PLANETS AND MAYBE FINDING LIFE ON THEM…
THAT’S ALL
(For now)