Astronomer Dimitar Sasselov and his colleagues search for Earth-like planets that may, someday, help us answer centuries-old questions about the origin and existence of biological life elsewhere (and on Earth). Preliminary results show that they have found 706 "candidates" — some of which further research may prove to be planets with Earth-like geochemical characteristics.
http://www.ted.com/talks/dimitar_sasselov_how_we_found_hundreds_of_potential_earth_like_planets.html
Tagged with ted technology astronomy biology science exoplanets
It’s famously called the Final Frontier, and thanks to rapidly developing technology we now know more about the outer reaches of our galaxy than ever. But that leaves unknowns.
Does the universe have any limits? Are there any other earth-like planets out there? And the big one, are we alone?
Addressing the University of Melbourne recently, Britain’s Astronomer Royal, Lord Martin Rees, reports on the latest research.
http://fora.tv/2010/03/30/Lord_Martin_Rees_Life_and_the_Cosmos