Astronomers are hoping to seek for alien life on exoplanets from distant solar systems by using next-generation telescopes. Also, they will be targeting exoplanets about the same size as Earth, so that chances of finding traces of alien life will significantly increase.
Therefore, the search for alien life will become significantly better after the Extremely Large Telescope from the northern Chile’s Atacama Desert, will be finished. Also, the James Webb Space Telescope has to be finished as well, being scheduled for launch in 2021.
If aliens exist, where are they?
It almost seems like impossible for aliens to exist if we haven’t encountered them already, right? But given how unimaginably big is the Universe, the distance between us and a civilization of little green men with big black eyes could also be unimaginably big. Furthermore, maybe highly intelligent aliens also have physical properties that were never seen by humans before. Aliens could stand right next to us without us ever knowing or having the slightest chance of finding out.
Thea Kozakis, doctoral candidate in astronomy, revealed to us that the method for locating exoplanets with the upcoming telescopes is a pretty old one:
We are hoping for and looking for that kind of transit,
If we observe a transit of that kind of planet, scientists can find out what is in its atmosphere, refer back to this paper, match it to spectral fingerprints and look for signs of life. Publishing this kind of guide allows observers to know what to look for.
Kozakis is obviously talking about the transit of an exoplanet in front of its host star.
But luckily or not, there are still a lot to learn and explore regarding our own planet Earth. But if, by any chance, you’ve ever encountered an alien, please let us know in a comment.
