Soon Signs Of Exoplanet Life Close By TESS
abracad, · Categories: externally authored, science and spiritualityRabbi Allen S. Maller
In the 20 years before NASA launched the Kepler Space Telescope in 2009, about 325 exoplanets were discovered. Kepler was a full-time planet hunter that revolutionized astronomers’ understanding of exoplanets. It was particularly interested in finding Earth-sized planets orbiting sun-like stars at a distance where water on the surface could be stable in liquid form — the so-called habitable zone.
In the 9 years to date, data from Kepler have turned up 2,343 confirmed and 2,244 candidate exoplanets; and revealed that there could be more planets than stars in the Milky Way. Many of them are in multiple-planet systems like our solar system, and a large share of the exoplanets appear to be super-Earths — a class that’s bigger than our planet but smaller than Neptune.
Now TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite which launches this week, will scan almost all of the sky for nearby stars in order to find planets that are smaller than Neptune, with a radius less than about four times that of Earth. A few of the worlds TESS finds may be small, rocky bodies, like Earth. And a few of those might, just possibly, be habitable places for life as we know it.
When TESS does get up, it will stare at stars for weeks at a time, hoping to catch the dips in brightness that occur when orbiting worlds traverse their faces. The expectation is that it could identify some 2,000-3,000 planets in its first two years of operation.
The satellite, which carries four camera-detectors, will essentially compile a catalogue that other telescopes - both on the ground and in space - can then focus in on for more detailed analysis.
I do not believe that the evolution of life or intelligent life is solely due to luck because I am a Reform Rabbi. As a Reform Rabbi I believe that Jewish spiritual leaders should modify Jewish tradition as social and historical circumstances change and develop. I also believe we should not make religion difficult for people to practice. Reform Jews are the largest of the Jewish denominations in the U.S. In the U.K..Reform Judaism is called Liberal Judaism.Â
As a Reform Rabbi I would say to all scientists that random luck has nothing to do with the evolution of life on this or any other planet. There is more and more evidence that nature is not random. Nature, including randomness, has been formed by God’s laws of physics to create life.
Both monotheistic scriptures, the Qur'an and the Hebrew Bible, teach that the One God created the whole universe to be conducive to the universal evolution of life. The Qur'an says, “We have not sent you but as a blessing for all the worlds.†(Al-Anbiya 107) Commentators say this refers to the 18.000 worlds {with living creatures} created by Allah. Our world is one of them. (Mir'at-e-Kainat, vol.1, p.77).Â
The Hebrew Bible says: “ Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds; and Your dominion is for all generations.†(Psalms 145:13)
Concerning how often intelligent life develops and how long it lasts; we will have to wait for more evidence. Even if intelligent life does evolve eventually on most planets, we may never be in contact with them. It takes millions of years for a species to become intelligent culturally and technologically.Â
If due to war or pollution, intelligent technologically advanced life does not last for at least hundreds of thousands of years; the chances of two advanced civilizations living within a hundred thousand light years of each other are very small.
So any intelligent lifeforms that we may encounter will be peaceful because if their highly advanced technology was not offset by even more advanced and effective religions they would have destroyed themselves long before they could contact us.Â
Thus, every intelligent, spiritually aware, ethical lifeforms must successfully pass through a Messianic Age and emerge as a peaceful spiritually advanced civilization.
This is not a matter of luck, nor is it a matter of science. If all of us follow the directions of our God given religions to live good and holy lives our society will survive. If not; perhaps visitors from other worlds who have followed God's messengers will visit our civilization’s ruins.
Rabbi Maller's web site is: rabbimaller.com Rabbi Maller’s book ‘Judaism and Islam as Synergistic Monotheisms: One Rabbi's Reflections on the Profound Connectedness between Islam and Judaism’ (31 articles by Rabbi Maller first published by Islamic web sites) is for sale ($15) on Amazon and Morebooks.
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