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To sum up,/in order for a planet to support life,/it has to satisfy certain conditions. First,/it must have water in liquid form. Second,/the temperature must be just right/—not too hot or not too cold—/so that water may remain liquid. Third,/the mass,/which determines the gravity of the planet,/must be just right/—not too big or not too small. In short,/a habitable planet must be/in a so-called “Goldilocks Zone”:/“just right” between two extremes. Even though the conditions which sustain life/are very special,/it is likely/that life exists elsewhere/because there are so many planets.
Although we have not discovered life on other planets,/I hope to have shown/how much science can tell us. Our search for life is not random;/our scientific knowledge equips us/to seek out meaningful information/and to identify habitable planets. We need much more information/than we have now,/but we can at least ask sensible questions/and get sensible answers. We don’t have to invent implausible stories;/we have the joy/of real scientific investigation and discovery. In the end,/that is more exciting than science fiction.
To sum up,/in order for a planet to support life,/it has to satisfy certain conditions. First,/it must have water in liquid form. Second,/the temperature must be just right/—not too hot or not too cold—/so that water may remain liquid. Third,/the mass,/which determines the gravity of the planet,/must be just right/—not too big or not too small. In short,/a habitable planet must be/in a so-called “Goldilocks Zone”:/“just right” between two extremes. Even though the conditions which sustain life/are very special,/it is likely/that life exists elsewhere/because there are so many planets.
Although we have not discovered life on other planets,/I hope to have shown/how much science can tell us. Our search for life is not random;/our scientific knowledge equips us/to seek out meaningful information/and to identify habitable planets. We need much more information/than we have now,/but we can at least ask sensible questions/and get sensible answers. We don’t have to invent implausible stories;/we have the joy/of real scientific investigation and discovery. In the end,/that is more exciting than science fiction.