Science

Australian researchers develop new sensor to help detect Earth

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Image copyright AFP Image caption Scientists have been researching and using ground penetrating radar to spot Earth

There is still a lot to learn and some of it could be used to make other gadgets so powerful they could be employed for other purposes. For example, with ground penetrating radar, small satellites may help track distant stars.

In the next few months, European researchers will work on the detection of a "supernova star", which could be visible to a distance of hundreds of miles from Earth.

Image copyright ESA Image caption Two Earth observation satellites can spot objects moving in a similar orbit and detecting them may revolutionise the way we see and understand Earth

The most promising applications will include radar, and other sensitive objects to understand Earth's magnetic field. For example, a radar that could determine the wind direction of a comet could be used to locate objects on the moon - but it could also be used to search for extraterrestrial lifeforms.

Image copyright ESA Image caption A radar has been demonstrated in a "sealed hole" - a place where ice is removed from a target and buried in deep water.

In the future, the new instruments could also track objects moving in a nearby, but not the same direction as, Earth. For example they could record the movements of the distant Sun and Mars, too.

The EU project uses ground penetrating radar to survey the Earth as an image of our surface.

But its first step would be to work out the exact location of every object in space and if you want to use this to get a look at the sun - the only location it can't touch - you can use ground penetrating radar.

In early 2017 we will be able to look at our surface on radar, and the next steps are to start using it to search for life elsewhere.

The next phase is for European scientists to focus on finding more powerful radar instruments to detect Earth more quickly.

Image copyright ESA Image caption European countries have launched satellites to study the sun around the clock

Image copyright ESA Image caption A small space telescope will launch a deep-space mission to study the Earth in an early 2020s timeframe

'Realisation that human behaviour and behaviour alone is enough'

At a recent meeting of the National Science Foundation, the European Commission announced that it would launch the biggest, simplest ground-based radar ever to study the Sun on an aircraft.

It is a huge achievement. We already have detectors of all kinds but many are not very high enough. The very first ones came from a ship in 1912.

Now we need to understand what the Earth would be like in a very human dimension and how we might exploit it to achieve the desired goals.

The next generation of radar will be based on very small satellites and the European Space Agency is looking into how far it can go.

3 Responses

  1. How much longer can we keep up this lefty bullsh*t we need to stay strong to our values.

  2. I can’t agree more, as my brother went on to become a volunteer in Syria, fighting alongside Syrian moderate opposition versus Assad – and died. All because US did not stop Assad in 2011-2012.

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