Aliens, or at least alien organisms, may exist in space, even within the Milky Way. As Marc Kaufman, writer for National Geographic, reports, the NASA Keplar Mission has found two Earth-sized planets at the right distance from their suns to support life. This ‘right distance’ as Kaufman defines, is just far enough where water remains liquid, which is essential to life. According to William Borucki of NASA's Ames Research Center, this is, ‘a breakthrough discovery’. Scientists call planets like these two ‘exoplanets’, and they are, as Kaufman explains in layman’s terms, planets that are Earth-sized that are rocky or watery or exist in habitable regions in relation to their suns. But what makes these two new planets so remarkable is that they match all three criteria. Is this really such a great thing? Well, according to the quotes Kaufman includes, yes, yes it is, because it is “a very moving moment in humanity's efforts to understand our home planet and the possibility of other habitable planets in the universe”.
Quotes are great and all, but the fact is that this is all scientific conjecture. There is a possibility that there is life, and what is important is that that possibility exists. Through these stars scientists can learn more about our own planet. Kaufman is informing us of this discovery, and he makes this information clear and to-the point, while also pointing out the opportunities presented by this new data. Though, he does not mention any sort of downsides or possible negative ramifications of this data, he succeeds in portraying this new data as a breathtaking new discovery for Keplar scientists.
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