#  It Is Within Our Grasp 

 





September 16, 2010

 

 

With a bit of luck and a new space telescope, within five years we could know the answer to a question that humanity has pondered for millennia: Is there life beyond Earth?

With initial results from the planet-finding [Kepler](http://kepler.nasa.gov/) satellite to be released in coming months, and the prospects of taking a closer look at those planets in the coming years with the [Webb space telescope](http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/), [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA)](http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/) astronomer [Lisa Kaltenegger](https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~lkaltenegger/) said the chance for discovery of small, rocky Earth-like planets with the potential to harbor life is pretty good.

“It is within our grasp to do this,” Kaltenegger said during a talk Wednesday (Sept. 15) sponsored by the [Harvard Origins of Life Initiative](/).

Kaltenegger’s enthusiasm for her subject was reflective of the current excitement among astronomers who’ve spent years searching for planets around other stars. A major focus has been to answer the question of whether there are other Earth-like planets out there and whether those planets might harbor life.

[Read the full *Harvard Gazette* article.](http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/09/%E2%80%98it-is-within-our-grasp%E2%80%99/)



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ 2008-2010 ](/years/2008-2009)
 
 

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