By Manuela Reyna and Christian Ayers ('16)
“Every star in our sky is a sun,” said Sara Seager, professor of planetary sciences and astrophysics at MIT, in her TED talk themed “Out of this World.” Seager’s theory is that, statistically, each of these stars has at least one planet orbiting around it. She is continuously looking for properties that would identify earth-like planets — but they lie literally thousands of years away.
Seager explained how space exploration has shifted from sending probes into outer space to launching advanced telescopes that analyze the “spectroscopy” that measures gases in planets’ atmospheres. MIT is developing “starshade” prototypes that a telescope could release to block out a sun’s light to make planets more visible. The discovery of extraterrestrial life likely won’t come in the form of flying saucers or interplanetary war, she assured the audience, but rather through the meticulous study of exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system. Seager’s research centers on hypotheses based on the atmospheric composition of these faraway worlds.
The Anderson panel delved into the future of space flight and offered their insights into the public and private development of space travel, covering developments as diverse as the miniaturization of payload cargo and the future role of robotics in space. Panelists Brad Hansen, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, Amir Blachman (’03), managing director of the Space Angels Network, and Dr. Thomas Yunck, a 20-year veteran of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and founder of Geo Optics, helped the audience understand the scale of the business of space. They said governments can sustain investment into space exploration because of the high ROI. And companies that want to see their ideas about space exploration come to fruition are more likely to receive funding by making the essential smaller components of spacecraft they may not be able to produce in toto.
Students asked very insightful questions about the facts of physics and math, the existence of a supreme being, and where the smart money is being invested and how starshade prototypes can be applied to everyday life.
This year's TED conference convened in Vancouver, Canada, under the theme Truth and Dare. The fourth annual TED Week at Anderson brings together the UCLA community to share ideas that change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.
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Wow! How fascinating is all this research! Manuela's & Christian's take on this matter clearly explains (in plain language) all this phenomena... Thanx a bunch guys!!!
Posted by: Maurice | 04/10/2015 at 02:50 PM