Alone in the Universe? We just may find out soon.
Just over 20 years ago, we were unable to confirm that planets were orbiting other stars.
Today, we know that thousands exist. Having identified increasingly Earth-like “exoplanets”, astronomers are taking the next step: looking for signs of life on them. Will they be successful? Nobody knows for sure, but one thing is clear – humanity will remember our generation as the one that initiated this long quest.
About Marie-Eve Naud
Marie-Eve Naud recently completed her Ph.D. in astronomy at the Université de Montréal’s Institute for Research on Exoplanets (iREx). The topic of her thesis was the detection of giant gaseous exoplanets that are very distant from their host stars through a technique called direct imaging. She is fascinated by exoplanets and astrobiology, i.e. the study of life on Earth and in the universe. She is currently the Scientific and Education Public Outreach Coordinator at iREx, where she makes sure the advances and findings made by the 40 or so institute researchers are shared as widely as possible.