Fw: Latest News from the Astrobiology Magazine

[LARRY KLAES]

----- Original Message ----- From: Astrobiology Magazine To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 5:33 AM Subject: Latest News from the Astrobiology Magazine Debating the Dinosaur Extinction http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1243.html At least 50 percent of the world's species, including the dinosaurs, went extinct 65 million years ago. While most scientists now blame this catastrophe on a large meteorite impact, others wonder if there is more to the story. Stellar Night-Goggles http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1242.html The recent discovery of a possible visible exoplanet has refocused efforts to understand their companion stars, now thought to be brown dwarfs. This category is best studied in the mid-infrared range which is relatively unavailable from today's surveys. All this is about to change with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey and its night goggles. Extrasolar Planets: A Matter of Metallicity http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1241.html The 130 extrasolar planets discovered so far are in solar systems very different from our own, in which life-bearing planets like Earth are unlikely to exist. But an obscure characteristic of these planets and their stars has led astronomers to predict that our galaxy is brimming with solar systems like ours. The key to their prediction is something called metallicity. Beaming Up a Software Doctor http://www.astrobio.net/news/article1240.html The Mars rovers were launched without a complete software unit. As the red planet loomed ever closer, the control code was beamed up. This model of not just transfering new mission protocols, but actually letting the protocols carry some 'self-healing' may play an increasing role for future explorers. Wednesday, October 13 ------------------------ For more astrobiology news, visit http://www.astrobio.net To unsubscribe, send subject UNSUBSCRIBE to [EMAIL PROTECTED]