I enjoyed seeing the Fuertes Observatory last week.
First, we listened to a talk about the process of looking for life on other planets. The search begins by looking for habitable planets. In order to be habitable, planets must be a certain distance away from their star, relative to their size, in order to maintain a certain temperature. I was surprised to learn that there were so many “habitable” planets out there, in a variety of sizes.
Afterwards, we went up to the dome to look through the telescope. It was a cloudy night, so we couldn’t see any stars, but we did get to look at the moon up close. The original, smaller telescope is attached to the larger telescope that we looked through.
I would love to return on another Friday night when the sky is clearer and look again.
I know! the amount of exoplanets out there is massive! It really makes you think about what it means for humans in the future with talks of colonization, and also the prospect of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
I recently went up to the observatory with my astro class and it really enhanced my understanding of what exactly I am looking at. Like what you said, there are many “habitable” planets out there, but signs of life just somehow seems nonexistent.
Also I would go up on a Friday and check out the sky again, a nice and cliche stargaze date with friends!