We are really very close to answering the question of whether we are alone in the Universe, Dr Dimitris Stamatellos, Associate Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire, UK, stressed in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, adding that Cyprus should become a full member of the European Space Agency (ESA) in this exciting era of space discovery.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency on the occasion of the observations by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWSP), Stamatellos said that in the last three decades the question of whether we are alone in the Universe has ceased to be purely philosophical and that since the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been identified.
He noted that Cyprus, as a country with an extremely high level of education, should join the European Space Agency as a full member to be at the forefront of space exploration and scientific discovery.
He spoke about the JWSP telescope and its importance, as well as future space telescope missions aimed at gathering information such as the existence of water and life-related gases.
The JWSP telescope and its importance
Referring to the James Webb Space Telescope, he said that after six months of waiting since its launch, it has given us its first observations, noting that among the stunning images of galaxies billions of light years away and ghostly nebulae, there is the rather "boring" spectrum of WASP-96, a star that has an exoplanet, i.e. a planet outside our solar system.
He explained that a star's spectrum essentially shows us the intensity of the star's radiation in different colors, and depends on the chemical composition of the star. In the case of WASP-96, he said, the star's radiation collected by James Webb's mirror has passed through his planet's atmosphere, and therefore some of it has been absorbed by the gases there.
[BR][BR][BR]"The important discovery from this observation is the presence of water vapor in the planet's atmosphere, and of course water is one of the key ingredients needed for life to develop. This particular planet observed is a giant planet, like Jupiter, is very close to its star, and therefore too hot to support life."
Dr. Stamatellos pointed out that for a planet to be able to develop life, it must have water on its surface, so it cannot be too close to its star, because it will be too hot and the water will evaporate, as is the case on Venus, for example, nor too far from the star, because it will be too cold and the water will freeze, as on Mars. He added that this relatively small area around a star in which water can exist constitutes the "habitable zone" of the star.
He said that James Webb will very soon begin observing terrestrial planets orbiting red dwarfs, a class of stars 5 to 10 times smaller than the Sun. As these stars are less hot, their habitable zone is closer to their star, and the planets are more easily observable.
"We will then be able to determine the chemical composition of the atmosphere of these planets, and for the first time in human history decide whether these planets, outside our solar system, can host life," he added.
He pointed out that in the last three decades the question of whether we are alone in the Universe has ceased to be purely philosophical and that since the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995, more than 5,000 exoplanets have been identified.
"The recent observation with the James Webb telescope represents the transition from the era of discovering exoplanets to the era of characterizing them, since we will now be able to determine the components of their atmospheres, and James Webb is one of several telescopes with this goal."
Space telescopes search for exoplanets and extraterrestrial life
Noting that NASA's TESS and the European Space Agency's (ESA) CHEOPS telescopes are already in operation and discovering dozens of planets, Mr. Stamatellos noted that the next planned telescope is Twinkle (2024), the first independent space telescope, of which UCLAN is a founding member, which will determine the chemical composition of exoplanets by observing stellar radiation passing through their atmospheres.
In addition, more space telescopes are planned for later in the decade: ESA's PLATO telescope (2026), which is expected to discover terrestrial planets around stars similar to the Sun; NASA's Roman telescope (2026), which will discover planets at great distances from their star; and finally ESA's Ariel telescope (2028), which is a mission focused on studying the chemical composition of exoplanets in the habitable zone of their stars.
We are close to answering whether we are alone in the Universe
All these missions, he continued, will bring us to a telescope, still in the planning stages, that will be able to directly observe exoplanets within the habitable zone, collecting their full spectrum and looking specifically for water, oxygen, nitrogen and methane, gases associated with life.
"We are really close to answering the question of whether we are alone in the Universe," Mr. This, he said, is a major achievement of humanity and shows us where we can go if different nations come together and cooperate, which is extremely promising in the current unstable geopolitical climate.
Cyprus should become a full member of ESA
After noting that many of these efforts to discover life in the Universe are led by the European Space Agency, of which Cyprus is an Associate Member, he said that this memorandum of understanding provides some opportunities for Cypriots to participate in various programmes of the Agency, but it would be beneficial if Cyprus becomes a full member of the Agency.
"Cyprus is among the countries with an exceptionally high level of education as more than 40% of the adult population are university educated, and has much to offer the Agency in terms of human talent, innovation, and enthusiasm. It has even more to gain through knowledge transfer and technical innovation that can support the development of a high knowledge economy."
He expressed the view that now is an ideal time for Cyprus to take the necessary steps to join the European Space Agency and be at the forefront of space exploration and scientific discovery.
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