Interesting project

[J Strobridge]

Patrick C. writes:

> > From: Andrew A. Apold <mordru at FLITE.NET>
> > Date: Friday, April 23, 1999 5:39 AM
> >
> > >On Tue, 20 Apr 1999, M Holmes wrote:
> > >
> > >> > Apparently NASA have decided to
> > >> > send their next `interferometry mission' (a project aimed at finding
> > >> > Earth-sized planets revolving around nearby suns) to this
> Andromedae.
> >
> >
> > Always doubt any e-mail claim that starts with "Apparently".

Actually.   I always use "apparently" when I'm quoting 2nd or 3rd hand
information.   That doesn't mean the information is wrong, it simply
(for me) is shorthand for the fact that I cannot personally verify
the statement I am about to make.   The information is usually correct
or basically correct but since there may be elements I am unaware of
I'll cover myself by indicating that the absolute wording of the
statement is not to be taken as gospel.

> Well, to all those people who responded to this email all I can say is that
> I typed the information directly from the newspaper, and have no formal
> training in astro-physics. Teaches me for reading this newspaper I guess.


I also heard about this but on the radio.    As far as I understand
it the theory is that where there are big planets there are likely to be
smaller ones as well (though I don't know the calculations that go into
this it seems IMO a not unreasonable conclusion and I assume they've
got the maths to support it) and the more stars that show evidence of
planets then the increasing likelyhood that one or more planets apart
from ours will have a stable orbit at the correct distance from the sun
and will fall into the tolerant zone (or whatever its proper name is)
sufficiently long enough to allow Life to form, always assuming of
course that there is no magic "sentient" dust that needs to be
sprinkled over the place first....

It's a nice idea and it does seem that whereas originally only massive
objects the size of small suns could be identified it is now possible to
locate Jupiter-size stuff that may indeed be planets in their own right.

jill
(currently reading Turtledove's "A World of Difference")

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J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at holyrood.ed.ac.uk
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