Re:Detecting life’s influence on planetary atmospheres
by sandworm101 on Sunday August 26, 2018 @07:34PM
(#17848510)
Forget all the Mars rovers. I really couldn't care less whether anyone gets to mars in my lifetime. That won't change much of anything. I don't want to hear the decades of debate on whether Mars had microbes once upon a time. I want a telescope to find an atmosphere proving that jungles exist on other planets today. I want them to find a planet so thick with life that nobody can deny it. I want Degobah. That will expand our perspective as a species.
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Re:Detecting life’s influence on planetary atmospheres
by consumer451 on Monday August 27, 2018 @01:05AM
(#17849542)
> I want a telescope to find an atmosphere proving that jungles exist on other planets today.
In this case you would be most interested in NASA’s planned LUVOIR telescope[1]. In an interview the gentleman in charge of preliminary design claims that it will answer the question with a 95% certainty.[2]
Re:Detecting life’s influence on planetary atmospheres
by consumer451 on Monday August 27, 2018 @06:06AM
(#17850488)
Here is the interview link with timestamp for the pertinent part: https://youtu.be/MMQvjpcbkBU?t=32m52s
Re:Detecting life’s influence on planetary atmospheres
by louthy on Sunday August 26, 2018 @08:04PM
(#17848613)
But if we can’t work any of that out for our nearest neighbour, how are we going to reliably do this for planets that are many light years away?
Re:Detecting life’s influence on planetary atmospheres
by sandworm101 on Monday August 27, 2018 @12:03AM
(#17849366)
We have worked it out. I can say with 100% certainty that there are no jungles on Mars. Nothing above pond scum is alive there today.