Why all the interested in searching for new planets all of the sudden!?

Am I the only one wondering why all of the sudden, both the U.S & Europe are suddenly so interested in searching for habitable planets? I mean, there has always been articles about searches here and there over the years, but recently, I've noticed a large spike in the articles i'm finding over the past couple months.
I find it a bit suspicious actually. What are they NOT telling us? Is there an imminent danger that they know about and aren't telling us? We obviously wouldn't know yet as government abilities are far superior to those of private astronomers since they have quite an array of orbital & out-of-orbit satellites/telescopes.
Maybe i'm overreacting with my thoughts, but it's just something i've been thinking about.
What are your thoughts?

Well they can search all they like,they have zero chance of arriving at one in one piece.

If we have been lied to regards tech that is.

because we can now..

We have the technology to do it now; that's why. Turn's out the technology works as intended too, and we are discovering new planets all too often now, among many other new astronomical phenomena. I guess what they aren't telling us is how they developed the technology in the first place. I mean, do you know how to build SOHO or STEREO? Why not? Hmm...I smell conspiracy. Or maybe that is just unconcern.

reply to post by Andre Neves


I don't think that there is any sort of rise, in the amount of interest.
This is one subject that many people have always been interested in.
There is just more talk about it, nowadays, when compared to the past.

The only thing that has actually changed, is the technology that is being used, to conduct the search. The technology will continue to go 1 way, that would be 'further away.' ;P

Where have you been the last 30 years or so?

We've ALWAYS been searching for habitable planets since we could see into space. It's part of the dream of living on other worlds and part trying to find out if there are others out there like us to help explain life's mysteries.

Because they have to scare us with asteroids now. Remember Dr.Carol Rosin...

I can't see how our technology has dramatically improved in the past 5 years to the point where we couldn't do it before.
I noticed that just in the past months has the interest of governments spiked on searching. Why no interest 2 years ago, 3 years ago?

funding

what its always about ..

if you cant fly out there , then the next best thing is to observe it from here


and vaccum in the funding and give ur self and ur buddies jobs for a few years


make some mediocore discoveries


"oh 100 earth like plants


" 50 super earth planets found"

"planet orbiting 2 suns"


funding ....funding......funding...

with shuttle grounded . Looking for planets is the next best thing and great money to fill pockets doesnt hurt either ..

even though there the same conclusions we've reached for the past how many hundreads of years

we have only nbow realised that what we thought was light years (distence)
is an optical illusion,
the distences are not as great as we thought

xploder

It`s not like we don`t have money to blow on such fantasies. Right? It actually matters none to me unless that is where UFO`s would be coming from. It`s not like I wish our kind to infect another planet claiming to be smarter then everything else there by killing it..
You know like we are doing here.

reply to post by Andre Neves


They're scared. They're scared of dying.

Repeated responses on this thread that say, "Because we can..." begs the question.
Why has there been a push to develop this technology?
tThe only reason is because we know ETs are out there, and we must first discovery them
safely "out there" before we can seriously talk about them being here all along.

That is simply the technologicalization of the old Sagan Doctrine that he preach; Yes, they are out there, but they can't get here."

It admits the case, but denies the evidence.
(The evidence being UFOs.)

Originally posted by curious7
Where have you been the last 30 years or so?

We've ALWAYS been searching for habitable planets since we could see into space. It's part of the dream of living on other worlds and part trying to find out if there are others out there like us to help explain life's mysteries.

To be fair. Not long ago the scientific consensus was that, apart from those planets we already knew about, no further planets exist or that they are extremely rare. Many astronomers from back then are rightfully ashamed because of their shortsight. Talking about alien planets was a sure way to get ridiculed within the scientific community. The paradigm shifted when the first alien planet was discovered. Then scientists thought that there are mostly gas giants - despite some common sense would have told them that using an instrument incapable of detecting small, earthsized planets, that hypothesis is unsustainable. The paradigm shifted again.

just wierd how flawed the scientific consensus is at times.

Originally posted by Aliensun
Repeated responses on this thread that say, "Because we can..." begs the question.
Why has there been a push to develop this technology?
tThe only reason is because we know ETs are out there, and we must first discovery them
safely "out there" before we can seriously talk about them being here all along.

That is simply the technologicalization of the old Sagan Doctrine that he preach; Yes, they are out there, but they can't get here."

It admits the case, but denies the evidence.
(The evidence being UFOs.)

How about this then instead of, "Because we can...", Because we need to, we are killing the planet and the planet is killing us. We need to find another place to live before we destroy ourselves.

reply to post by Andre Neves


Exploration caused by curiosity is Mans normal state.

reply to post by Andre Neves


Maybe because they think this one will not be so nice in a while....?

reply to post by Andre Neves


I agree that it does seem like there are many articles on searching for new planets, and I also wondered why. I read article about an Earth like planet just the other day. Do we have something new, if so it is still a secret.

But, I hope someone is not searching for a new home.

Where the hell have you been ? They've been looking for planets for thirty years! We didn't go to the "Moon" for nothing!

Isn't that the search that we all have really if you think about it? The search for unexplored mysteries of life, the search for where we come from, etc... It's a search for ourselves, something beyond who we are as a species, towards something new and something far beyond our simple primitive minds to understand. It's hard to explain really but that is just what I think, take it as you will.