90 light years is so close
By now you may have heard of the discovery of a new planetary system that looks a whole lot like our own. It’s 90 light years away, but as a wise man once said, “that’s peanuts to space.” Seriously, 90 light years is the kind of distance we’ll be able to travel in a few months (relative) once we get the basics of interstellar flight taken care of.
Even better, seeing a solar system like our own so close to home makes it even more likely that we’ll find one with Earth-like life sometime fairly soon. That’s why I like reading this:
ESA is leading the way with its Darwin mission to analyse the atmospheric composition of Earth-like planets. This flotilla of six space telescopes will launch in around 2014.
How very 21st century!
Posted by Chris in Space on July 3rd, 2003 Edit this page's grammar and spelling with Emend.
