The Search for Extra-solar Planetary Systems and the Search for Life In the Universe

Kepler Space Telescope

Had Carl Sagan been alive today he would have been extremely thrilled with the fact that new extra solar planetary systems are being discovered almost on a weekly basis. New planets mean more potential abodes for life and perhaps consciousness elsewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy and beyond.

An artist's conception shows the multiple planet system around a star designated HR 8799. The planets were seen directly in infrared wavelengths by the Gemini North telescope and the W.M. Keck Observatory.

Today on Far Future Horizons we will be presenting six feature documentaries concerning the search for extra-solar planetary systems and the concomitant search for life and sentience throughout the Cosmos.

Also as our space missions to the outer solar system have revealed there are over a hundred other exotic worlds in our solar system that hold the promise of life. The moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, each a world in its own right. So join us on the most exciting odyssey made possible by the science of our age as we explore a plethora of Alien Worlds and Moons and embark on an Alien Safari.

An artist's concept of the planet HR 8799b (NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon/STScI)

Finally we look at the latest tool to be deployed in the search for worlds very much like our own- NASA’s NASA Kepler mission, which was launched on March 7, 2009. 

The Universe is available on DVD from Amazon.com and the History Channel’s online store.

The Universe - Alien Planets

The Universe S02 E01 - Alien Planets by kaanozten

The Universe - Alien Moons

The Universe S02 E05 - Alien Moons by kaanozten
The Universe - Astrobiology

The Universe S02 E07 - Astrobiology by kaanozten

The Universe - Search for E.T

The Universe S01 E13 - Search for E.T. by kaanozten

The Kepler Mission


Space Mysteries - Alien Safari

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