The first exoplanet to be found around a sun-like star was discovered in 1995, just two years before I began studying exoplanet detection. Debra Fischer More Quotes by Debra Fischer More Quotes From Debra Fischer The building blocks of life are readily available throughout the universe. Debra Fischer available building universe life I hope that vigorous space exploration continues and that humankind will have a space station that resides between Earth and the moon. Outside the gravitational field of Earth, we could launch robotic spacecraft to other destinations in our solar system. Debra Fischer space moon earth hope Within the scientific community, there is healthy skepticism. And the question is, 'How do you ever get to a meaningful null result? How long and how hard do SETI scientists have to look for extraterrestrial intelligence and find nothing before they say, 'There is nothing. We are alone.' Debra Fischer alone you intelligence community It now seems logical that all the stars, like our own sun, must have formed with a system of planets around them. Debra Fischer own like stars sun Generally speaking, exoplanets can be any size, and they are found in a wide range of orbits. Some have massive gas atmospheres; others are smaller with an icy or rocky composition. Debra Fischer others some size found One of the first thoughts I had, when doing early exoplanet research, was that Earth and its many companions seemed very different from the planetary systems we were detecting. Debra Fischer thoughts doing research earth In 1999, my team discovered that the star Upsilon Andromedae was circled by three gas-giant planets - the first distant multiplanet system ever found. That same year, other researchers observed the first 'transit' of an exoplanet - a planet blocking out a small fraction of the starlight as it passes in front of the star. Debra Fischer small year three team Further ahead, I'd like to see tiny spacebots - smaller than your cell phone - travel outside our solar system to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri. By keeping the mass of those spacebots low, we could more easily accelerate them. Debra Fischer phone your cell-phone travel Prebiotic chemistry on other worlds is going to be common. Plenty of small rocky planets will have similar chemistry. It's almost a given. Debra Fischer going will small chemistry If few worlds have microbial life, it dramatically reduces the chances that more complex organisms exist. Debra Fischer complex exist more life Science requires speculation, creativity, and wild ideas. Debra Fischer wild creativity science ideas The universe has told us the most common types of planets are small planets, and our study shows these are exactly the ones that are most likely to be orbiting Alpha Centauri A and B. Debra Fischer us small universe study Because Alpha Centauri is so close, it is our first stop outside our solar system. There's almost certain to be small, rocky planets around Alpha Centauri A and B. Debra Fischer alpha outside stop small Before 1995, the only planets we knew about were the planets in our solar system. Debra Fischer solar about only solar-system Ultimately, what we're looking for in the long run is to find other Earth-like planets. Debra Fischer find looking run long The gas-giant planets in our solar system all have large moons. Debra Fischer solar system solar-system planets When stars form a planet, they come in a bunch. Debra Fischer planet come form stars We now know that stars which are abundant in heavy metals are five times more likely to harbor orbiting planets than are stars deficient in metals. Debra Fischer more now know stars Whether a star has planetary companions or not is a condition of its birth. Those with a larger initial allotment of metals have an advantage over those without. Debra Fischer without over star birth Computers can't find the unexpected, but people can when they eyeball the data. Debra Fischer find computers unexpected people
