Read are Scientists Exoplanet hunter seeks life on other planets

The hunt for Earth-like planets has

intensified as scientists search for potential life
on other worlds.
Now one of the leading exoplanet hunters is
being recognized for his contributions to
science.
On Tuesday, Harvard University astronomy
professor David Charbonneau was honored as
one of three winners of the 2016 Blavatnik
National Awards for Young Scientists for his
methods of discovering exoplanets.
The honor comes after NASA's Kepler
spacecraft, a mission Charbonneau has
participated in, discovered more than 1,284
planets in May, doubling the number of planets
previously confirmed by the probe.

The importance of exoplanets
The recent exoplanet findings reveal that worlds
smaller than Earth are pretty common in our
galaxy, contrary to what  Scientists originally
believed.
Since the discovery of thousands of exoplanets
-- worlds that orbit a star outside of our solar
system -- Charbonneau explained that we need
to start looking for chemical signatures that
may indicate life in these "Goldilocks"
exoplanets located in habitable zones.
"By studying alien worlds, we may find the first
direct evidence of life beyond Earth, a sign that
our living planet is, yet again, one among many,"
Charbonneau told CNN.
The main characteristics Charbonneau and
other astronomers are looking for in these
exoplanets are liquid water and atmospheric
oxygen, ingredients that are essential for
supporting life.
Since traveling to these exoplanets is
impossible -- it's beyond our current technology
-- how do we figure out which worlds have
oxygen or liquid water?
The answer is telescopes, Charbonneau said.
Two large telescopes could help us narrow our
search for life soon, Charbonneau said. The
Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile will be one of
the biggest telescopes to focus its sight on
analyzing exoplanets, and NASA is launching
the James Webb space telescope in 2018,
which is essentially like a giant version of the
Hubble telescope. It will be able to look at
exoplanets clearly without the interference of
our atmosphere.

Is something really out there?
Scientists at the SETI Institute have been
listening for signals from space for decades.
And obviously, we haven't made contact with
aliens yet. Some astronomers argue that if there
is intelligent life somewhere in the universe, it
will take at least 1,500 years to make contact
because of the vastness of space.
But that isn't discouraging Charbonneau.
The life he's searching for isn't the science
fiction kind we've seen in movies and literature.
"We are talking about life that changes the
planet," he said. "If you were look at the solar
system, you would see something is really
different about the third planet. You would see a
lot of oxygen. And you know oxygen is very
reactive, and that would be surprising. We're
looking for those chemical signatures."
Charbonneau said he's open minded about the
possibility that life exists somewhere in space.
"I am ready for the possibility. But I'm also
open to the possibility that life is a rare
occurrence," he said. "That doesn't mean there
isn't life in the universe, but maybe not in a
nearby star."