3 Questions: Sara Seager on searching for Earth-like planets
MIT planetary scientist Sara Seager has been studying exoplanets — planets circling stars other than the sun — for many years. The first such planet was discovered just 15 years ago, and now more than 400 others are known. This week, a paper co-authored by Seager and NASA scientist Drake Deming in the journal Nature reviews what we know about exoplanets so far, what we can expect to learn about them in the next decade or so, and the chances for finding a twin of our own planet. She has also just published an online book to answer questions about exoplanets and the lessons they hold.Q. How far are we from being able to directly detect an Earth-like planet, and what will be required to make it possible?A. To find and identify a true Earth twin we need to go to space, to get away from the blurring effects of...