Deborah Netburn of The Los Angeles Times reports on the discovery of an exoplanet 39 light-years away. "The discovery of this planet gives us the opportunity to switch our focus from imagining what is out there to testing our theories observationally,” says MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson.
Boston Globe reporter Felicia Gans writes that researchers have discovered an exoplanet 39 light-years away. “By studying this new world, I’m optimistic we’ll learn a little more about how planets work and bring us a little closer to that big exciting question of empirically figuring out whether life is out there in the galaxy,” says MIT postdoc Zachory Berta-Thompson.
Researchers have discovered a rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet that is close enough for astronomers to study its atmosphere, according to the Associated Press. “While the scientists say the planet is too hot for life, it's still much cooler than the rocky fireballs known to orbit stars beyond our solar system.”
Prof. Sara Seager and her team are building a list of biosignatures - chemicals that could suggest the presence of life on other planets - in their search for extraterrestrial life, writes Joshua Sokol for New Scientist. Seager is “looking at all small molecules, not just the ones linked to life as we know it.”
Chris Berdik writes for Boston Magazine about Professor Sara Seager’s search for Earth-like exoplanets. “I believe that in our lifetime we will be able to take children to a dark sky,” said Seager. “And point to a star and say, That star has a planet with signs of life in its atmosphere.”
Prof. Sara Seager speaks with New York Times reporter Dennis Overbye about the search for Earth-like planets. “We can count as many as we like,” Seager explains, “but until we can observe the atmospheres and assess their greenhouse gas power, we don’t really know what the surface temperatures are like."
The Wall Street Journal interviews Professor Sara Seager about her research and her search for extraterrestrial life. "We haven't been able to find the true Earth twin yet because it's so very hard to find. It's like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack," says Seager.