Washington DC
WHILE space agencies spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing a host
of space-based missions to discover distant terrestrial planets, researchers are
making ingenious use of existing technology back here on Earth. They’re
confident that expensive space missions will be pipped to the post before they
even get off the ground.
The ultimate prize would be the discovery of a rocky Earth-like planet
orbiting its star at a suitable distance for liquid water, and perhaps life, to
exist. So far, the best candidate system for harbouring such a planet is 47
Ursae Majoris
(Â鶹´«Ã½, 12 January, p…
