Jane Goodall Exhibit Showcases Her Contributions to Animals and the Earth

Home Environmental Jane Goodall Exhibit Showcases Her Contributions to Animals and the Earth

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By Trista - January 30, 2020

Jane Goodall is one of the most well-known primatologists in the world. Her research and work with animals, especially chimpanzees, is something that no one has even come close to meeting. Not only is Goodall known for her love of animals but also her heart of gold.

Even though people don’t hear as much as Goodall today, she is still going strong at 85 years old. Like most people her age, she needed to take a few steps back from her career, but this doesn’t mean her work is done. In fact, Goodall still works closely with animals and animal organizations in many ways.

Jane Goodall’s Story Started In 1934

Jane Goodall Exhibit Showcases Her Contributions to Animals and the Earth — *Jane Goodall’s love for animals started after her father gave her a stuffed chimpanzee. Photo Credit: vitrolphoto/Shutterstock*

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Born on April 3, 1934, Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall to a businessman and novelist. From her earliest days, Goodall showed compassion for humans and animals from a young age. One of Jane’s most precious gifts came from her father. Instead of giving his daughter a stuffed teddy bear, he gave her a stuffed chimpanzee, which set the foundation for her career.

Jane named the chimpanzee Jubilee. While her mother’s friends believed Jubilee would scare Jane and cause nightmares, Jane loved the chimpanzee. In fact, she still has Jubilee to this day as it sits on display in her London home.

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Goodall’s Curiosity Of Animal Behavior Started At A Very Young Age

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“I’ve been in a henhouse, waiting to see how a hen laid an egg. Nobody’d tell me, so I just sat down. And now I know.” These are the words Goodall spoke to her panicked mother at the age of five when she came home after spending hours in the henhouse.

Her mother, who almost called the cops as her daughter disappeared for hours, gave a sigh of relief for her daughter’s return. Not surprised by her daughter’s answer as Goodall always showed curiosity about the way animals behaved, and Goodall always did what she could to answer her questions.

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A Part Of The Jungle For 60 Years

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At the age of 26, Jane Goodall traveled to Tanzania from England to start her journey on studying the behavior of chimpanzees. At the time, people knew very little about their behavior. In fact, people saw chimpanzees as wild beasts that you needed to fear if seen in the jungle instead of the kind and loving animals we know today.

Without Goodall, the world’s newfound knowledge of chimpanzees would not be possible. Not only has she shown us that they are intelligent and caring animals, but that we need to do anything possible to protect them because they will become extinct.

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On Goodall’s First Chimpanzee Mission, She Brought Very Little Supplies With Her

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Jane Goodall did not know what to expect when she traveled to Tanzania in 1960. As supplies, she only brought her interest, a notebook, pen, and binoculars. She braved a world that people told her was untouchable and she did so without much fear or worry. Instead, Goodall felt closer to home than people imagined because they are humankind’s closest living relatives.

However, she would quickly learn more than she ever thought possible – and also realize the danger that the chimpanzees are facing. Because of the environmental crisis plaguing the world, Goodall realized that if humans didn’t take care of the jungles, our relatives wouldn’t survive.

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Goodall Soon Started Traveling The World To Discuss Her Findings

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It didn’t take Goodall long to realize that humans needed to act quickly when it came to preserving the habitat of chimpanzees. While she continued to observe their behavior, she also started traveling the world to talk about the struggles the chimpanzee’s faced and what issues will arise in the future if we don’t act now.

She also started to change people’s perceptions of chimpanzee behavior by sharing her stories and what she saw while staying with them in the jungle. Through her early discussions, Goodall opened up the world of chimpanzees, and people quickly started listening, especially the science community.

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Jane Goodall Makes A Grand Discovery

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When Jane Goodall moved into the jungle to live as a neighbor with the chimpanzees, she had no idea what was in store for her. In fact, she never imagined the world they developed. One of her first discoveries included the note that the chimpanzees make and use their own tools.

Today, scientists classify this as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. It was at this moment that people started realizing that humans and chimpanzees are more alike than previously thought. It opened the doors for more studies in the relationship between them and the human world.

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Jane Goodall Is A Conservationist

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There is no other way to put this: Goodall is the world’s leading primatologist. After spending time in Gombe, Goodall realized she needed to find a way to support her research. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute. Not only did the institute provide a way to gain financial support, but it also gave her a more prominent avenue to preserve forests and chimpanzee populations.

Through the Institute, Goodall could reach local communities as they are vital to creating the right approach. She knew that the locals of Gombe would do what they can to protect their land and the chimpanzee population. With their help, Goodall redefined traditional conservation to creating an organization that plays a central role in focusing on the well-being of animals and their homes.

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Jane Goodall Is An Inspiration To Many People

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It didn’t take long for people to idolize Goodall and all the work she does for the animals and nature. After establishing the Jane Goodall Institute, people started to come to her, asking if they could help.

In 1991, one group of people contacted Goodall to talk to her about the growing concerns they have for the forests and animals. After speaking with them, Goodall asked if they would co-found Roots and Shoots with her. This organization helps young people in over 100 countries gather information and talk to the conservation leaders of our world about what our animals and nature needs from them. They focus more on urgent tasks, but also look toward what will happen in the future if situations don’t start to change now.

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All Jane Goodall Wants To Do Is Help Make The World A Better Place

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Jane Goodall is a UN Messenger of Peace. She received this position for all the world she has completed over the years and proving she is a force of compassion, but not just for one country. In her own words, Goodall states she wants everyone in the world to “use the gift of our life to make the world a better place.”

Whether she is writing, speaking, or observing the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, Goodall does everything she can to spread hope for the future through her work. However, she also knows well that she cannot do it alone, which is one reason she jumped at the chance to create an exhibit dedicated to her life and work.

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Goodall Helped Open The Door For Women To Explore The Field Of Primatology

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Science wasn’t a large field for women when Goodall received her degree and went into the jungle to start her work. However, since Goodall opened the doors for women in the area of Primatology during the 1960s, many women have followed in her footsteps.

Several of these women have written or spoken to Goodall, where they received a warm welcome and advice. The field of Primatology continues to grow, especially with women. Of course, many people have started using her information to focus on their adventures in helping the animals, climate, and nature.

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So Much About Jane Is Found In Her Exhibit “Becoming Jane”

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Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Jane Goodall is the title for the exhibit that honors Goodall and her 60 years of working with chimpanzees. The exhibition opened at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C., on November 22, 2019.

The exhibit remains open through the summer of 2020 and has a regular price of $15 per ticket. However, the museum offers several discounts, such as a $3 discount for people of the military, students, and seniors. Children ages 5 to 12 are only $10, and children under the age of five are free. You can purchase your tickets at the door, or you can buy them online.

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You Can Venture On A 3D exploration of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park

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One reason for this exhibit is to let people see the work of Jane Goodall as thoroughly as possible. Jane spent years getting to know the chimpanzees who lived in Tanzania’s Gombe. Because of all her work in Gombe, the exhibit places a heavy focus on getting to know the National Park and what better way to do this than by using technology.

Through images and a multiscreen experience, you can find yourself feeling like you are in Gombe through a 3D exploration of the area. Of course, another fantastic feature is seeing a life-size hologram of Goodall entering her research tent.

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Jane Goodall Helped Create The “Becoming Jane” Exhibit

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One of the best features of the “Becoming Jane” exhibit is that it wasn’t created by people who wanted to honor Goodall without her knowledge. The National Geographic Museum Partnered with the Jane Goodall Institute to create this exhibit so people would receive the best, relevant, and up-to-date information possible.

Other people who lent assistance to this exhibit include Linda K. Berdine Foundation and other private partners. From the idea of the exhibition to set-up, Goodall knew and helped as much as possible to ensure that the exhibit would give everyone exactly what they wanted plus open more doors for research and securing the habitat for the chimps.

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You Can Get A Sneak Peek Of The Exhibit

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Unfortunately, not everyone can jump up, head to Washington, D.C., and go to the National Geographic Museum to see the exhibit. However, it is possible to get a sneak peek of the show by visiting the National Geographic website and going to the Becoming Jane exhibit page.

Not only do they have an introduction to the exhibit, but they have a short video and a guide to the display. This is also the location where you can purchase tickets if you plan on visiting any time soon.

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You Can Pledge To Help Jane When You Visit Her Exhibit

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Jane Goodall has spent the last 60 years talking to people and writing about her experiences and findings in the jungle. She does what she can to conserve the habitat for the chimps, other animals, and people all over the world.

When you visit the “Becoming Jane” exhibit, you can pledge to change your daily life to conserve the habitat and keep the home for the animals, so they don’t become extinct. All you need to do is contribute to the Tree of Hope. So far, there are over 11,000 pledges.

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Jane Explains That She Always Wanted To Go To Africa and Study Animals

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The exhibit guide shows that Goodall had always wanted to go to African to study animals. The guide discusses the first article she wrote for the National Graphic magazine in 1963 when she stated. “I cannot remember a time when I did not want to go to Africa to study animals.” Goodall credits her inspiration to work with animals from Disney’s Tarzan and Dr. Doolittle.

She became motivated to start saving her money and traveled to Kenya in 1957. From there, she met Dr. Leakey, who enjoyed talking to Goodall and felt she was the best person to look into the relationship between chimpanzees and humans. From there, Goodall traveled to Gombe in 1960.

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Jane Goodall Made A Lot Of Early Discoveries, And They Are All A Part Of The Exhibit

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After a few months of trying to observe chimpanzees, but never getting a good enough look, her funding was running out. Then, she made a discovery that would become a turning point in her career. She saw a group of chimpanzees hunt and eat a red colobus monkey. With this discovery, we now knew that chimps were omnivores just as humans are.

Not too long after this discovery, Goodall saw a chimpanzee take all the leaves off a twig and stick it into a termite mound. When the animal removed the twig from the hill, he started eating all the termites that came with the twig. Goodall realized the chimp had created a tool to get food.

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Jane Goodall Started To Learn About Social Behaviors Of The Chimpanzees

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During the 1960s, Goodall learned that chimpanzees are omnivores and make their own tools. Another observation Goodall made through her work with the chimps was how they reacted with each other, other animals, and even to her.

She started noticing their social behaviors and quickly realized that humans and chimps exhibit a lot of the same responses. For example, she saw that chimpanzees lived in their own little communities, and the mothers would carry their babies on their backs. She saw the chimps playing with each other and the older siblings taking care of the younger.

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Jane Goodall Witnesses Primitive Warfare And Chimps Comforting Each Other In Mourning

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In the exhibit guide, Jane talks about all the times the behavior she witnessed from the chimps amazed her because they acted so much like humans. At first, she thought they were sweeter than the human race, but then she found out there were groups of chimps that were in primitive warfare for four years. Many chimpanzees lost their lives during this time.

While the chimps showed they have an awful side, just like some humans do, they also showed they are compassionate and understand emotions. She witnessed many chimps comforting each other after the death of a loved one.

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Jane Goodall Holds A Guinness World Record

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Jane Goodall had no idea what world she would step into when she went to Gombe in 1960 to study the behavior of chimps. She talks about her amazement at their action all the time, especially during her early years as the world knew very little about chimpanzee behavior. In 1967, Goodall established a research center to help her research efforts in Gombe.

With the establishment of this center, Goodall started her road to holding a Guinness World Record for the longest-running wild chimpanzee study in the world. It is something that Goodall and her partners are still working on to this day and doesn’t seem to have an end date in sight.

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Learn About The Chimpanzees Jane Goodall Observed In Her Early Days

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One of the features of the exhibit is that you can learn about the chimps that Jane Goodall observed in her early days. They all have pictures and a short description. Flo was the elderly matriarch of the F-Family when Goodall arrived in Gombe. Because of Flo and her baby Flint, who came in 1964, Goodall observed the interactions between mother and infant son.

She also learned how Flint’s siblings adjusted to him and how they continued to help and interact with their mother. Flo’s oldest daughter, Fifi, was the first chimp Goodall saw riding on her mother’s back.

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Jane Goodall Observed Fifi’s Growing Family

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Fifi made Flo a grandmother with her nine offspring that she had from 1971 until 2002. One of the most significant observations that Goodall made is that chimpanzees can give birth to many chimps over the course of their life. Fifi had her first offspring, Freud, in 1971. She then had Frodo, Fanni, Flossi, Faustino, Ferdinand, Fred, and Flirt. Her ninth, Furaha, came into this world in 2002.

With each new addition, Goodall noticed a pattern in the way the mother and siblings interacted with the baby. They all seemed to take care of the little one and play with them. She even observed a few sibling rivalries.

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A Story Of A Mother And Her Twins

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Usually, chimpanzees have one baby at a time, but just like humans, they can have multiples. That is the case for Gremlin, who is the mother of her twins, Golden and Glitter. Along with observing Gremlin and the twins, Goodall also got to know the mother’s ten other offspring. Goodall enjoyed watching all of the chimps, but she felt a special connection to the twins because they are scarce when it comes to chimps.

In fact, Gombe only has three sets of twins. It is also noted that twins do not always live long, and Golden and Glitter became the first to live past infancy. Gremlin’s oldest female offspring, Gaia, helped with twins, and this ensured the survival of all of them.

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Jane Goodall’s Notes Are A Part Of The Exhibit

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Jane Goodall traveled to Gombe with her binoculars, notebook, pen, camera, and a manual typewriter. As she walked around the jungle, she took extensive notes. Usually, at the end of the day, Goodall returned to her tent and would type up her handwritten notes on the typewriter.

She recorded the locations, the ways the chimps ate, how they cared for each other, their warfare, made a behavioral checklist, and even made hand-drawn maps. Her research and notes became so extensive, and she observed every chimp possible that each chimp received their folder that showcased their personality and lifestyle.

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Jane Goodall Wasn’t Always Honored As A Pioneer In Her Field

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Jane Goodall started working in Gombe in 1960, a time where most women stayed home and cared for their family. If they received a degree or started working, they kept to teaching or secretarial work. They rarely entered the science field, but Goodall decided this didn’t matter.

Even though most scientists laughed at her during her early years, Goodall continued and work and always tried to prove her findings. At first, it seemed like no matter how much proof she showed people, many still laughed at her efforts. Fortunately, this would all change during the 1970s and 1980s.

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Jane Goodall Started Using The Highest Technology To Monitor Behavior During The 1980s

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Once Goodall started to get a good grasp of the Gombe jungle and the environment around it, she began to venture a little farther every week. However, she would soon realize that the chimps and their habitat were in danger because the habitat beyond the protected area of Gombe Stream National Park didn’t have the protection that the National Park did.

It meant that chimps would eventually become extinct. At this point, Goodall knew she had to use all the resources she could to save the forest and the chimps, so she started using high-tech tools to record the way chimps behave in their natural habitat. This is a practice that the Jane Goodall Institute still follows today.

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Meet Jane Goodall And Observe Wild Chimpanzees While Viewing The Exhibit

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By now, you probably want to meet Jane Goodall because you see her as an inspiration. This is how many people feel. Fortunately, you can meet Goodall and observe wild chimpanzees through the exhibit. From the days of her childhood until the present, you receive 3D imagery of the jungle, Goodall, the research tent, and so much more.

You get to watch footage of Goodall observing the chimps that no one has seen before. Two technology organizations, Falcon’s Creative Group and NeoPangea, partnered with the National Geographic Museum to bring you the most realistic experience as possible. It is literally like you transport yourself into Goodall’s story.

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The Organization Developed Technology Specifically For Becoming Jane

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While there is a lot of technology to work with when creating the exhibit, the National Geographic, the Jane Goodall Institute, and other organizations wanted to give viewers the most realistic experience as possible. Therefore, the Falcon’s Creative Group developed photorealistic and high-fidelity computer-generated chimpanzees that you will see throughout the tour.

Through Jane Goodall’s hologram, you will hear her tell you stories. Furthermore, Falcon developed a 270-degree, three-dimensional theater experience with high-definition footage with surround-sound audio. Along with the custom footage of the forests, you are guaranteed to have an experience like no other.

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Through Technology, You Can Observe The Chimps Just Like Goodall

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Falcon is a technological organization that went above and beyond when it came to developing technology for the exhibit. One piece that can give you a great experience of what it was like for Goodall is the augmented-reality binoculars that let you observe chimpanzees.

You look through the binoculars just as Goodall did for many years. You will feel like the chimpanzees are in the room as the binoculars project computer-generated images of them. On top of this, you can learn to communicate with the virtual chimpanzees through “chimp chat.”

Sources:

“Becoming Jane: The Evolution of Dr. Jane Goodall Exhibition Guide.” National Geographic Museum. November 2019.

“About Jane.” The Jane Goodall Institute.

“Chimps with everything: Jane Goodall’s 50 years in the jungle.” Robin McKie, The Guardian. June 2010.

“A new exhibit invites you to step into Jane Goodall’s life.” Erin Wayman, Science News. January 2020

“NEW EXHIBIT TAKES YOU INSIDE JANE’S LIFE LIKE NEVER BEFORE” Ashley Sullivan, Jane Goodall.org. September 2019.

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Home Space There Are More Planets Like Earth in Habitable Zones

Space

There Are More Planets Like Earth in Habitable Zones

By Trista - January 27, 2020

Discovering several thousand planets beyond the solar system or exoplanets is a eureka moment for humans. In just twenty years of exploration, space-based and ground observations have turned up above 4,100 confirmed exoplanets in only some parts of the galaxy we searched until now. If you add unconfirmed planetary candidates, this number jumps to cross 9,000.

But the biggest payoff would be capturing evidence of a world, some light-years far away, hospitable to life. To find a planet like Earth, astronomers need to look for habitable zones around stars, and these habitable zones should not be too cold or too hot for liquid water to be present on the surface. But do they exist?

What are Astronomers Looking For?

There Are More Planets Like Earth in Habitable Zones — *Astronomers are always looking at the night sky. Photo Credit: AstroStar/Shutterstock*

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An astronomer begins the hunt on the familiar ground because, on this planet, the only example of the life-bearing world, the requirement for water is imperishable. So, astronomers are looking for cosmos with similar environments. Near almost every typical star, like the sun, a band of possible habitability can be drawn – the correct temperature and distance for liquid water to be present. The foundation is a planetary surface where water could pool. Both planets and stars come in several sizes and shapes, and the interplay of factors determines the influence and extent of this habitable zone.

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The habitable zone of a hot-burning giant star would be present at a greater distance as compared to that of a cooler, smaller stellar dwarf. So, if astronomers stick to this plan, discovering a sun, and then small worlds at perfect distances with apt temperatures, they may find a planet with life as we currently know it. So the ideal candidate would be an Earth-sized and rocky world nestled comfortably in the habitable zone of the star through the understanding of scientists of what makes up the habitable zone continues to grow.

Why is Liquid Water Necessary for Habitability?

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Liquid water is necessary for habitability, as it provides a medium for the interaction of chemicals. While exotic life can exist at hotter temperatures or higher pressures, such as the microbes found 0.5 miles under the West Antarctic ice sheet or the extremophiles near hydrothermal vents, those discoveries were made because humans could probe those extreme environments directly. They would not be detected from space.

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Humans depend upon remote observations entirely when it comes to locating habitable conditions or life beyond our solar system. Surface liquid water may form a livable condition that can possibly promote growth. These lives can then interact with the atmosphere above, creating remotely discoverable bio-signatures that the Earth-based telescopes can find. These bio-signatures may be Earth-like gas compositions (ozone, oxygen, methane, water vapor, and carbon dioxide) or the structure of the ancient Earth (mostly carbon dioxide and methane, and no oxygen) 2.7 billion years ago.

Earth is one such planet where this has happened already. Therefore, the goal of astronomers is to detect the planets that are close to Earth’s size as well as orbiting at distances from the star suitable for the existence of water in its liquid form on its surface.

What Would the Right Star Look Like?

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While the composition and size of both stars and planets are crucial to habitability, time also plays an important role. Big bright stars tend to burn out more rapidly than their more contemporary counterparts. The life of bright stars is only a few million years. However, the sun has been burning steadily for almost 4.5 billion years and will approximately shine for 5 billion years more. At that point, the sun will swell to several times its former size to possibly consume Earth and the other inner planets. However, the lingering life would have been burned to a crisp by then.

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The first microscopic organisms are thought to have formed about a billion years after Earth’s birth from globs, dust, and chunks of material that developed the protoplanetary disk of the infant sun. It is possible that they emerged sooner, but it took nearly another three billion years for macroscopic, multi-celled creatures to start making their mark on the fossil record. A hundred million years might be enough time to generate microbial life but could be a brief period for large animals, specifically the ones that start talking to one another as well as building radio telescopes. So, cut the hot and big stars off the list of likely candidates.

All About Dwarf Stars

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Long-lived dwarf stars, on the other hand, might be suitable places to support habitable zones even though they are tidally locked, which means presenting only one side to the star just like the moon does to the Earth. According to the scientists, such worlds would be burned on one side, and frozen on the other.

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Later it was discovered that the planet-girdling winds could make everything eve, providing some of such worlds with temperate climates. So, the safest bet could be sun-like stars that have planets of the size and orbit of Earth.

TOI 700 d – Recently Discovered Planet That May Support Life

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NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) employed the approach mentioned above to detect the first planet of the size of the Earth, which is in the habitable zone of its star (the distance where conditions let the liquid form of water thrives on the planet’s surface). The planet, TOI 700 d, is confirmed by the scientists to possess a potential environment to support life.

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This planet TOI (TESS Object of Interest) 700 d is amongst the Earth-sized planets that have been detected in the habitable zone of their stars so far. As per Paul Hertz, the director of astrophysics division, NASA, Washington, TESS was created and launched, especially to detect the planets of the size of Earth orbiting the nearby stars. He added that it is easier to follow the planets revolving around the nearby stars with the more astronomical telescopes on the Earth and in space.

The discovery of the planet TOI 700 d is the significant science discovery for TESS. Another win is confirming habitable zone status and size of the planet with Spitzer, as Spitzer is approaching its end of the science operations in January 2020. TESS monitors vast swaths of the sky known as sectors for twenty-seven days at once. This extended stare lets the satellite track changes in the stellar brightness, which happens when an orbiting planet crosses in the star. This event is known as a transit.

TOI 700

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TOI 700 is a small M dwarf star present over a hundred light-years away from us in Dorado, a southern constellation. It is approximately 40% of the mass and size of the sun and near half of the sun’s surface temperature. Observed by TESS in the first year of the mission, the star popped up in eleven of thirteen sectors, and the scientists caught several transits by TOI 700 d’s three planets.

Initially, the star was misclassified as being very similar to the sun in the TESS database, which meant the planets seemed hotter and more massive than they initially are. Several researchers, including a high school-going student, Alton Spencer, working with the team of TESS, spotted the error.

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As soon as the error was corrected regarding the parameters of the star, its planets’ sizes dropped, and the researchers realized that the outermost planet was approximately the same size as the Earth as well as in a habitable zone. Additionally, in the eleven months of information, the researchers did not see any flares from TOI 700. These improved the chances of the planet being habitable and made it easier to copy and represent the surface and atmospheric conditions.

The Results Are In

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These findings were presented at the two-hundred-and-thirty-fifth meeting of the AAS (American Astronomical Society) in Honolulu by Emily Gilbert, a University of Chicago graduate, and other researchers. They submitted three papers to support the findings, and Emily led one of them to the scientific journals.

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It takes ten days for the innermost planet (TIO 700 b) to complete an orbit. This planet is almost the same size as the Earth and might be rocky. The middle world (TIO 700 c) takes 16 days to complete an orbit, and is 2.6 times Earth’s size, between the size of Neptune and Earth. It is believed to have a gas-dominated world.

Harvard’s Research for TOI 700 d

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The planet TOI 700 d is the outermost planet in the star system, as well as the only one in the habitable zone. It measures 20% more than the Earth, circles every 37 days, as well as receives from Itoi 700 d almost 86% of the energy received by Earth from the sun. It is believed that these three planets are tidally locked to the star, which implies all of them rotate once during one orbit. It means that one side of these planets is continuously facing the daylight.

Joseph Rodriguez, one of the astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his team of scientists requested follow-up monitoring with Spitzer telescope to confirm the planet TIO 700 d. Rodriguez said that given the magnitude of the discovery, that TOI 700’s third planet is the first habitable zone by TESS, the team wanted their understanding of the system to be as stable as possible. He added that Spitzer saw the planet transit at the exact time they had expected it to. He called this an impactful addition to the mission’s legacy that helped affirm two of TRAPPIST-1 planets as well as identify five more.

What the Telescope Revealed

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Scientists’ confidence regarding TOI 700 d being a real planet increased due to the Spitzer data. It also sharpened the measurements of this planet’s size by 38% and the orbital period by approximately 56%. Furthermore, it ruled out other probable astrophysical causes of transit signal, like the presence of dimmer, smaller aiding star in the system.

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The colleagues of Rodriguez and Rodriguez utilized follow-up impressions from the ground-based telescope of 1-meter in the universal Las Cumbers Observatory network in order to improve the confidence of the scientists in the size and orbital period of the TOI 700 c by 36% and 30% respectively.

Could People Really Live There?

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Because the TOI 700 star is bright, close, and does not show any signs of stellar flares, this system is an essential candidate for close mass measures by modern ground-based observatories. The tests could confirm the estimates of scientists that the outer and inner planets are rocky as well as the middle one is formed of gas.

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Through future missions, scientists may identify if these planters possess atmospheres and ascertain their compositions. Scientists can utilize the current information, such as the size and star type TIO 700 d orbits, to produce computer models as well as form predictions. At the same time, currently, the exact conditions on the planet are unknown.

NASA’s Ideas

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The NASA researchers at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, made 20 possible environments of the planet to gauge whether any version would offer surface pressures and temperatures suitable for habitability. Their climate models examined several atmospheric compositions and surface types generally associated with what the scientists call as potentially habitable worlds. It is anticipated that the wind patterns and cloud formations of TOI 700 d to be extremely different from Earth’s because it is tidally locked to the star.

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One simulation included TOI 700 d to be covered in the ocean with a carbon-dioxide-dominated atmosphere, which is similar to what the scientists suspect covered Mars in its young days. This model contains a deep cloud layer on its star-facing side. On the other hand, another model depicts the planet as an all-land, cloudless version of the modern Earth, where the winds blow away from TOI 700d’s night side and converge on the point that directly faces the star.

The Trial Test

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When starlight passes through the atmosphere of a planet, it interacts with nitrogen and carbon dioxide to produce distinct signals known as spectral lines. A modeling team produced simulated spectra for 20 versions of the planet TOI 700 d. This team is led by a University Space Research Association visiting research assistant at Goddard, Gabrielle Englemann-Sussia.

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Gabrielle said that someday when they have actual spectra from the planet, they can backtrack and match them to the nearest simulated range and match that to the model. She called it exciting because whatever we are going to discover about TOI 700 d, it is going to be completely different from the Earth.

The TESS Mission

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The TESS is a mission by NASA Astrophysics Explorer, which is operated and led by MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Northrop Grumman, of Falls Church, Virginia; NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Baltimore’s Space Telescope Science Institute, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts are the additional partners. More than a dozen research institutes, observatories, and universities worldwide have participated in the mission.

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It is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California that manages the mission of Spitzer Space Telescope for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The science operations happen at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech in Pasadena. The space operations operate in Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. Infrared Science Archive housed at IPAC at Caltech, which also manages JPL for NASA, is where the data is archived. The modeling work was sponsored via Goddard’s Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration, a multidisciplinary collaboration that gathers experts to make sophisticated and comprehensive computers to analyze the future and current exoplanet observations better.

Other Life-Supporting Planets

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Astronomers have discovered two more planets that could be life-supporting and “cold Neptune.” These two possible habitable worlds orbit red dwarf stars GJ180 and GJ229A, which lie 39 light-years and 19 light-years from Earth, respectively. That is not far in the enormous scheme of things, taking into consideration that the famous disk of the Milky Way galaxy is approximately 100,000 light-years wide.

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Proxima Centauri, the nearest neighbor star of the sun is almost 4.2 light-years away. This might seem near in astronomy terms; you should know that one light-year has 5.88 trillion miles, which means it would take several thousand human years to cover such a considerable distance. For comparison, the most distant planet, Pluto, visited by human spacecraft, circles the sun at 5.5 light hours or 3.67 billion miles. The New Horizons probe, which flew by Pluto, took nine years to travel there, as well as, it is considered to be one of the fastest-ever-man-made objects.

Red Dwarfs

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The red dwarfs that make up almost 70% of the stellar population of the Milky Way are notably dimmer and smaller than the sun. So, the habitable zones of these stars, the range of the orbital distance where liquid water could be steady on the surface of a world, lie way closer in than they are in sun-like systems.

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Habitable-zone red dwarf planets are tidally locked, which is not a good thing for habitability, as it can leave the world with a fright nightside and a scorching dayside. But in the case of a thick atmosphere, the heat can be globally distributed and mitigate extreme temperatures.

Unique Worlds

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However, the newfound planets around GJ299A and GJ180, known as GJ299A c and GJ180 d respectively, orbit sufficiently enough to avoid tidal locking. The team members confirmed. This makes GJ 180 d a unique world. As per the team leader of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., Fabo Feng, GJ180 d is the closest temperate super-earth that isn’t tidally locked to the star, which boosts its likelihood of supporting and hosting life. This super-Earth is slightly bigger than the Earth and has at least 7.5 times the Earth’s mass.

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On the other hand, GJ299A is another super-Earth and is probably 7.9 times the Earth’s mass. GJ180 d finished one orbit in 106 Earth days while GJ299A c took 122 Earth days for the same. GJ229 A c resides in a binary system containing a brown dwarf (which is called GJ229B) and a red dwarf. Brown dwarfs are bigger than the gas-giant planets but are too small to go through fusion reactions in the core. It is why they are also called failed stars.

Multiple Systems

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Just like the name GJ180 d indicates, it is not a single world in its system. The astronomers had discovered two planets orbiting the red dwarf, GJ180 c, and GJ180 b previously. Although astronomers do not know much about these two newfound super-earths, they may learn a lot soon. Because these two planets are not too far from our solar system, they make high targets for research through substantial future investments like James Webb Space Telescope by NASA, which will launch next year.

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Feng said that their discovery adds to the list of planets that could be imaged by the telescopes next generation. He said that ultimately they are working towards finding whether the planets orbiting close to stars host life. According to Jeff Crane of the Carnegie Institution, they eventually want to make a map of every world orbiting the nearest star to our solar system, specifically the ones that are possibly habitable.

More Discoveries

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Another newly discovered GJ 433 d or the cold Neptune does not seem to be a suitable candidate for life, but it is unusual for other reasons. Firstly, this planet is 4.9 times the size of Earth and orbits dims red dwarf that is only 29.5 light-years away from the Earth. Feng noted that GJ 433 d is the widest, coldest, and nearest Neptune-like planet detected until now. He also said that the alien world is a great candidate for the follow-up study that includes direct imaging.

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These discoveries were made after researchers reanalyzed the data collected by the ESO’s (European Southern Observatory) UVES (Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph) instrument during the survey from 2000 to 2007 of almost thirty-three nearby red dwarfs. These were radial-velocity measures or observations that can reveal the stellar motion caused due to gravitational tugs of orbiting planets.

The team supplemented UVES data with measurements made by three other instruments – ESO’s High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, Carnegie Planet Finder Spectrograph (PFS) at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, and High-Resolution Echelle Spectrometer (HIRES) at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii. As a result, five newfound alien planets and eight unconfirmed exoplanet candidates were detected.

The Teagarden Stars

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Teagarden Star b -Teagarden Star b was discovered in 2019 and is a kind of rocky exoplanet known as super-Earth. This planet orbits its star in 4.9 Earth day and weighs 1.05 times more than our world. This star system is just 12.5 light-years away from the Earth.

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Teagarden Star c – It was discovered in 2019 alongside Teagarden Star b and is also possibly a rocky super-Earth. Teagarden Star c has an orbital time of 11.4 Earth days as well as a mass of 1.11 times the Earth. This star system is just 12.5 light-years away from the Earth.

Unconfirmed Exoplanets

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K2-72 e was discovered in 2016 and orbited the K2072 star of the Aquarius constellation. It is an M-Warm Terran, rocky exoplanet only 217 light-years away from the Earth. Proxima Centauri b – It orbits the closest stellar neighbor of the Earth, Proxima Centauri, which is 4.22 light-years away. Proxima Centauri b is 1.27 heavier than the Earth and takes 11.2 Earth days to orbit its star. The scientists announced Proxima Centauri b in 2016.

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Wolf 1061 c – This planet takes only 17.9 Earth days to orbit its M-type star, which lies 14 light-years away from the Earth. It has a significant mass, almost 3.41 times the Earth’s. Tau Ceti f – It is a super-Earth exoplanet that orbits a G-type star every 1.7 Earth years. The star is visible from the Earth and sits only 12 light-years away. It has a mass of almost 3.93 times the Earth’s. However, scientists have questioned Tau Ceti f’s and its neighbor’s habitable status. Then, a 2015 study claimed that this label was generous as the exoplanets did not enter habitable zone until under a billion years and cosmically recently.

TRAPPIST Exoplanets

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TRAPPIST – 1 d – Scientists discovered Trappist – 1 way back in 1999. But it was only in 2016 that they discovered its surrounding exoplanets. This star system is only 40 light-years away from the Earth. Some data suggest that this planet may possess a ring of water around its terminator or the line, which demarcates the chilly night side and the warm day side of the planet. TRAPPIST – 1 f – Revolving around TRAPPIST – 1, this planet takes 9.4 Earth days to do so and weighs .68 times of the Earth.

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TRAPPIST – 1 e – It is the fourth one out of the TRAPPIST – 1 exoplanet as well as the second one within the habitable zone. In 2018, a paper was published, which suggests that this planet may have an iron core like the Earth and, thus, may possess a protective magnetosphere. TRAPPIST – 1 g – It is the largest TRAPPIST – 1 exoplanet, as well as the sixth from TRAPPIST – 1. It is thought to possess an atmosphere that is not rich in hydrogen. That means that it has evolved over a period of millions of years. Also, this means that it may be a rocky body, just like its TRAPPIST – 1 neighbors.

The GJs

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GJ 667C c- This rocky world is amongst the six exoplanets revolving around GJ 667C and also the only one that lies in the habitable zone. It completes the orbit in 28.1 Earth days and is 3.8 times heavier than the Earth. It is 22 light-years away from us and debuted in 2011. GJ 667C e – This planet takes 62 Earth days to circle its star, as well as it is 2.7 Earth’s mass. It is one of the three worlds that orbit the star GJ 667C. Because this star is located 22 light-years away from the Earth, it is not visible from the Earth. GJ 667C f – This planet also has 2.7 times the Earth’s mass but completes its orbit around GJ 667C in 39 Earth days.

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GJ 1061 c – It is amongst the three exoplanets that orbit the red dwarf star Gliese 1061. This star lies almost 12-light years away from our planet and is the twentieth nearest star to the Earth. GJ 1061 c takes 6.7 Earth days to complete one orbit. GJ 1061 d – GJ 1061 d orbits the star Gliese 1061, which can be detected in the Horologium constellation. It takes 12.4 Earth days for this planet to circle its star. GJ 3323 b – It takes 5.4 days for this super-Earth to complete one orbit around its M-type star. GJ 3323 b has a mass 2.02 times the Earth’s and is nearly 12 light-years from the Earth.

The Kelpers

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Kepler – 186 f – It was the first exoplanet of the size of the Earth found in a habitable zone and had an orbit of one hundred and thirty Earth days and is nearly 10% larger than the Earth. It seems like Kepler – 186 f would be a good candidate to have liquid water, and probably life. However, it is 490 light-years away from the Earth, in the Cygnus constellation.

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Kepler-62 f – This planet circles around Kepler-62, nearly 1,200 light-years away from the Earth. As per recent research, astronomers believe that this exoplanet may be water-world, similar to the Earth. It is almost 1.4 times bigger than the Earth. Kepler-1229 b – It orbits a K-type star. However, this super-Earth takes almost 86.8 days to complete an orbit around an orange dwarf, Kepler- 1229 that is 770 light-years away from the Earth.

What Else is Out There?

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Life on other planets than the Earth has fascinated humans for thousands of years. There are endless questions regarding the same, which need years of research and practice. But one thing is imperative to support life on any planet – water. Other factors that determine whether a world can support growth are its size, orbiting period, distance from its star, and the star type it is revolving around.

The recent discovery of TOI 770 d and the usage of advanced technologies may help us know more about the unknown worlds out there. Whatever we are going to discover is definitely going to be intriguing and unexpected.