Gizmorama - July 23, 2014

Good Morning,

NASA scientists say that they are close to discovering
alien life, and the possibility of finding another
Earth-like planet. That would be the most amazingly scary
discovery in human history.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- NASA says it's close to finding alien life, Earth's twin --*
WASHINGTON (UPI) - At a panel discussion on the search for alien life, held this week at NASA's headquarters in Washington, the agency's top scientists said they're getting close.

NASA scientists were joined by leading figures in the fields of astronomy, physics and planetary sciences.

"We believe we're very, very close in terms of technology and science to actually finding the other Earth and our chance to find signs of life on another world," Sara Seager, a physicist at MIT and recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, told a packed audience on Monday.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said finding alien life was all but inevitable.

"Do we believe there is life beyond Earth?" he asked. "I would venture to say that most of my colleagues here today say it is improbable that in the limitless vastness of the universe we humans stand alone."

Since 2009, NASA's search for an Earth-like exoplanet capable of hosting living organisms has been bolstered by the Kepler Space Telescope. Kepler has discovered thousands of exoplanets, but not definitive signs of alien life. That effort will be strengthened by NASA's super powerful next-generation James Webb Space Telescope -- scheduled to launch in 2018.

"Finding Earth's twin, that's kind of the holy grail," said John Grunsfeld, a former astronaut who did repair work on Hubble Space Telescope in 2009 and now serves as associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate.


*-- Climate report: 2013 one of the warmest years on record --*
WASHINGTON (UPI) - A new climate report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers another reminder that the planet is getting warmer.

According to The State of the Climate report 2013 edition, last year was one of the warmest on record -- anywhere from the second to fifth hottest, depending on which data set is used.

Thomas Karl, director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, likened the latest news on the planet's health to the creeping threat of an expanding midsection as we get older and let our bodies go.

"The climate is changing more rapidly in today's world than at any time in modern civilization," Karl said. "We're continuing to see ourselves put more weight on from year to year."

The planet is not only getting warmer, but -- as expected -- is surrounded by an atmosphere increasingly composed of greenhouse gases. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations have never been higher, with global averages nearing 400 parts per million.

"The major greenhouse gases all reached new record high values in 2013," explained Jessica Blunden, a climatologist with ERT, Inc., and one of the report's authors.

The report also pointed out that sea levels continue to rise, sea temperatures continue to warm, glaciers continue to shrink and permafrost continues to melt.

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