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July 03, 2003
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 at July 3, 2003 12:43 PM