To the Editor:

Dr. Kevin Knuth, physics professor at the University at Albany and a noted expert on the ongoing search for worlds around distant stars in the galaxy, gave a talk at the Carey Institute this past Friday in which he related the search results from space telescopes, like the Kepler, with its discovery of many new exoplanets, including potential planets that may exist around their stars in the “habitable” zone, favorable for the existence of life.

He also gave a preview of new space telescopes coming on line in the next few years, such as the James Webb, which has the potential of revealing thousands of new undiscovered Earth-like planets.

Dr. Knuth also gave insights into the various detection methods currently being employed for exoplanet search, as employed from both the ground and space-borne telescopes, including transit and planetary  light-variation sensor technology that relies on very small changes that occur as an exoplanet orbits its parent star.

The new technology, used in conjunction with new telescopes, should be capable of probing a candidate planet’s atmosphere to reveal the existence of possible bio-tracers, which may be the signature for the existence of lifeforms on those distant worlds.

Dr. Knuth also shared some current speculation on the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligent alien civilizations in the galaxy, including the ongoing Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence program, known as SETI, which uses powerful radio telescopes for the detection of any possible radio transmissions that may be sent out by an advanced civilization.

The probability of there being any such advanced civilizations in the galaxy and the likelihood of any contact with them was further explored in Dr. Knuth’s explanation of the famous “Drake Equation,” which attempts to theorize the existence of ETs, from several relevant astronomical factors.

Dr. Knuth began his presentation with a short tribute to Isaac Asimov and the former Rensselaerville Institute on Man and Science.

Following the talk, a reception was held at the Carriage House Restaurant where several telescopes were set up outside, enabling guests to view the moon; Jupiter; Saturn; and Mars, which is now at its its closest approach to the Earth.

The Carey Institute event was sponsored by the Helderberg Earth & Sky Observatory Science Center, which is planning to place a new dark-sky observatory facility in the Rensselaerville area.

The Helderberg Observatory Association plans to continue this series of talks on astronomical related subjects at the Carey Institute, starting in the fall.

Ron Barnell

President

Helderberg Earth & Sky

Observatory/Science Center