Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Planet Earth is rumored to have a ‘twin’. About 160 Earth-like rocky planets have been discovered by scientists. They managed to identify these planets from a total of about 4,500 exoplanets found.
However, to find out the condition of the planets, the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was asked to build a new, more sophisticated telescope. This was recommended by Caltech’s committee of Astrophysicists, Fiona Harrison.
“The most amazing scientific opportunity ahead of us in the coming decades is the possibility that we may find life on other planets orbiting stars in the galactic environment,” Harrison said.
They recommended that NASA build a telescope that was more sophisticated than the Hubble Space Telescope and equipped with infrared, optical, and ultraviolet sensors. The new telescope will cost around US$ 11 billion or around Rp 156 trillion (assuming Rp 14,200/US$) and launch in the early 2040s.
As is well known, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine advise government agencies, such as NASA and the National Science Foundation, on what research goals astronomers should prioritize in the next decade every 10 years.
In the latest report, the advisors highlight three main research priorities: to better understand the nature of black holes and neutron stars, and how galaxies form and evolve.
In addition, research was conducted to identify Earth-like planets, which are predicted to be habitable, as well as to look for biochemical signs of life on other planetary systems.
“With a telescope like that, we’re going to see different little dots,” Bruce Macintosh, an astrophysicist at Stanford and a member of the committee, told The Atlantic.
According to him, by analyzing the light reflected from the exoplanet, scientists can determine the chemical composition of its atmosphere.
Evidence of an atmosphere of oxygen, methane and water could hint at the existence of life on the planet, though astronomers need to rule out other explanations for other chemical signatures, such as volcanic activity.
(tfa/tfa)
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