Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Strange Region Outside Our Own Solar System

Yesterday NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft, which was launched in 2008 has finally discovered something very interesting.

The spacecraft has gotten a glimpse beyond our own solar system. Scientists are very puzzled because as David McComas, of Southwest Research Institue, said, "...that the matter just outside of our solar system doesn't look like the material inside."

It is said that it will be months or years before Voyager 1 exits the solar system. When that happens, it will be the first manmade probe to ever cross into interstellar space.

I think it is fascinating to discover that there really may be something beyond our solar system and I am very curious what we will discover in the future. Maybe more habitable planets that humans can begin to live on will be found. If we did find another planet out there, what would that mean? How would that change the way people live? Even though the chance of finding another habitable planet (if there is one) is very far away, I still believe there is more out there. What do the Aragon Hitchhikers think?

No matter what we do, at the rate we are living and how much we waste and destroy our world, our resources will deplete and our world will fall apart and although we may figure out a way to produce more resources and save our world, what if that isn't found? Would you be willing to leave earth and inhabit another planet?

3 comments:

JeremyHardy said...

I went to the Planetarium at the Academy of Sciences over winter break and learned that aside from Mars, the nearest evidence of water is actually on one of Saturn's moons, (obviously) within our very own solar system. It's amazing how conditions on Earth are just perfect enough to support life, and since there are countless planets out there in the universe, chances are that at least one of them is very similar to ours; the main difficulty rests in finding it.

Even if we did discover another inhabitable planet out there, I think that it would take extremely morose conditions on Earth for enough people to be desperate enough to take the risk of venturing to that other planet. And even in that case, it would be more feasible to colonize the moon instead (as Newt Gingrich has interestingly proposed), since we've sent humans up there before and it's much closer.

Considering our generation does not seem near that point of desperation, I haven't pondered whether or not I'd be willing to inhabit another planet. Although it would be thrilling, I think I would be content here on Earth.

Kelly Black said...

I am definitely a believer that there is some sort of other life form on another planet and I think that just the idea of finding another planet with life on it will stir everyone up and possibly even enough to go venture and find out more about it and then maybe, if given the opportunity, cause them to go out to the planet themselves no matter how risky it may be. As for me though, I do not think I will be one of those people to go seek the new planet with life on it unless it was proven for sure that the world was coming to an end and no matter what everyone is going to die kind of scenario popped up then I would most likely take my chances and go to another planet and live.

Kore Chan said...

That's a great question. Yes.