What's New Robert L. Park 1 Oct 2010

WHAT'S NEW  Robert L Park   Friday, 1 Oct 2010   Washington, DC

1. GLEISE 581G: GREAT PLACE TO VISIT, BUT I WOULDN=92T WANT TO LIVE THERE=
. =20
The excitement was palpable; "This really is the first Goldilocks planet,=
"=20
gushed R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution in Washington, co-
discoverer along with Stephen Vogt of UC Santa Cruz.  "Goldilocks" is a=20
reference to the planet=92s orbit, smack in the middle of the habitable z=
one=20
of the star, Gliese 581.  The planet, Gliese 581g is neither too hot nor=20
too cold. The NASA and NSF press releases came complete with an artist=92=
s=20
rendering of a lovely planet with patches of blue suggesting the presence=
=20
of water. Of course, water would not appear blue in the red glow of Gleis=
e=20
581, a red dwarf.  How could scientifically unsophisticated viewers, the=20
vast majority of the billions around the world who saw the press conferen=
ce=20
in high definition, be expected to understand that the information conten=
t=20
of this image, coming from the top science agencies of the world's leadin=
g=20
space power, was less than zero?  Alas, the planet is tide-locked, always=
=20
exposing the same face to its red-dwarf sun; Goldilocks must eat her=20
porridge straddling the Terminator separating the too-cold dark side of=20
GL581g and the too-hot illuminated side. The sad part is there was no nee=
d=20
for the hype; everyone felt the tingle.  Homo sapiens is a tiny step clos=
er=20
to finding an answer to the most profound question humans can ask:  Why?=20

2. MARTIANS: COULD THE ANSWER BE CLOSER TO HOME?
There are many astrobiologists, perhaps realizing that we will never trav=
el=20
to another star, who insist the prospects for finding life, or at least=20
fossil life, on Earth's nearest planetary neighbour remain high in spite =
of=20
past disappointments.  According to a News Focus story by Richard Kerr in=
=20
today's Science, they point to salt deposits as evidence of a warmer and=20
wetter past. The danger is that frustrated scientists will give in to=20
the "bungee jumpers," who are more interested in adventure than in trying=
=20
to find an answer to some profound question.  They want a manned mission =
to=20
conduct the search, but humans would be committed to remain on Mars for 1=
8=20
months, waiting for the next conjunction with Earth. It's not a pretty=20
picture; countless millions of Earth organisms will hitch a ride to Mars =
in=20
every human gut, and multiply in their excrement. We would find life on=20
Mars, but it would look familiar. Mars should be quarantined.

3. LUNACY AVERTED: CONSTELLATION IS OFFICIALLY DEAD.
Perhaps someday the far side of the moon will be a quiet spot to listen f=
or=20
radio messages from across the galaxy.  For now, Congress decided it's ti=
me=20
to stop looking back at the moon and look forward.  Constellation, the=20
program that was to have sent astronauts back to the moon to establish an=
=20
outpost without a purpose, was cancelled by legislation written by the=20
Senate and passed by the House Wednesday night. The bill also extends the=
=20
life of the shuttle for one last trip to the ISS in 2011. However, NASA=20
must then switch to private contractors to ferry passengers and supplies =
to=20
the largely forgotten, but still costly, ISS.  Perhaps next year they can=
=20
find a way to shut the ISS down without publicly acknowledging that it ha=
d=20
been a pitiful mistake. =20

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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