Sauron's Eye is Real and It's in Space

The Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings movies is real and it is in space! Just look at the photo taken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It's watching us! Seriously, this is the young star Fomalhaut (white dot in the middle) and astronomers have discovered a Neptune-size planet orbiting it within the elliptical dust cloud that's part of its early formation. We can only wonder what's on that planet. What's your guess?

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Kepler to Be Sent on Four-Year Mission to Seek Out Earthlike Planets

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be sending the Kepler spacecraft out in 2008 to hunt for extrasolar planets, particularly those that resemble Earth. Kepler is actually a telescope that will measure the brightness of a star. Any planet that's just the right size will cause the star to dim. The telescope will be able to detect this reduction in light. The advantage of using this technique for Kepler is that the telescope will not be impeded by the distorting effects of the atmosphere. It's measurements will be reliable since it will be working in outer space. It will be doing its' job for four years, but it's lifespan may be extended with repairs and upgrades just like what's been done with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Nearly Earthlike Planet Found in Libra

A new extrasolar planet had been found by scientists in the contellation Libra. Named 581 c, it orbits brown dwarf star Gliese 581. It is similar to the Earth because its temperature range is estimated to be between 32 and 104 degrees F. It is five times heavier than the Earth and may be rocky or not. It is theorized that it has water and an atmosphere but what makes up the air is still unknown. The new planet is only 20.5 light years away. The star pictured on the left is another one in Libra which has a planetary system. Yes, Libra has more than one. The planet pictured above is an artist's depiction of an alien planet near a giant star.

Photo of Extrasolar Planets Revealed

This is an actual photo of the star GQ Lupi using Yepun, recognized on October 6, 2004. Yepun is one of the Very Large Array's (VLA) 8.2 meter telescopes. Based on astronomical models, the tiny white dot beside it is a young planet that's estimated to be a hundred thousand to two million years old. It's discoverers, Professor Ralph Neuhauser and his team, think that it is twice the diameter and mass of Jupiter. The picture on the left is an artistic depiction of how a planet is better "visible" in infrared light than in visible light. This is one reason why infrared telescopes can be better at finding extrasolar planets hidden by the glare of their parent star. Still, Neuhauser seems to have succeeded in taking a visual light photo of a one of them. Scientists have discovered at least 150 planets beyond the solar system and more are expected to be discovered.

Astronomers like the late Carl Sagan have promoted of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program and pioneered the science of exobiology. But so far, none of the type like ours have been discovered.

Sagan believed that the Drake equation suggested that a large number of extraterrestrial civilizations would form, but that the lack of evidence of such civilizations (the Fermi paradox) suggests that technological civilizations tend to destroy themselves rather quickly. David Morrison, Senior Scientist of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) says that "if and when we do discover alien life, the possible relationships with life on Earth will be of prime scientific importance, such as whether such alien life uses genetic molecules like RNA and DNA."

While some say that Neuhauser is the first to have taken a photo of an extrasolar planet, an international European team of astronomers has confirmed that the photo below, taken in September 2004 was really the first picture of an extrasolar planet orbiting brown dwarf 2M1207 (named GPCC at the time).

So, who really took the very first picture? Maybe we should just credit them all.