Written by By Janna Bradley , CNN Courtesy Click on the Image to See Full Slideshow, Facebook Click on the Image to See Full Slideshow, CNN Search for life on other worlds tops astronomy to-do list
There’s never been a better time to stay in awe of our universe, according to one astronomer.
“This is the best time that humanity has ever had to be fully involved with scientific exploration of the universe,” Christian Burkart, the director of Europe’s Trappist Observatory, told AFP.
2Malaysia in search of life in our solar system
Burkart is preparing to launch a “shooting star” telescope set to search for life across the solar system. The Trappist telescopes, with telescopes made by the company Celestron, will be operated from Algeria’s remote El-Ayoun province.
A diagram showing the telescopes that will be set up to search for life on other planets. Credit: Getty Images
1 / 10 A group of astronomers from California, Texas and Texas A&M discovered this single planet in 2009. The rocky world is approximately the size of Earth and orbits its star once every 385 days. This means that the planet is tidally locked, with the same side always facing its sun. The planet’s temperature is somewhere between 320º C and 390º C (510º F and 620º F). Credit: NASA via Getty Images
The telescopes are the creation of French company CNES, which is providing funding. Italian company Argos is handling the construction and logistics and bringing in French technicians.
Trappist is the name for the young dwarf star (which you can see in the constellation Aquarius) in the constellation Constellation Trapezium. According to a media report, astronomer Andrea Freccero found evidence of something non-human on one of these star within a three-week time span.
“This is only the beginning,” said Burkart. “There are dozens, if not hundreds, of candidates in the light curve.”
More detailed data is expected to come out from the telescopes in October 2018.
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