The Loopback Address of Habitable Worlds

In the world of servers and the interwebs, there is such a thing as a loopback address. It's often http://127.0.0.1 on most computers or simply http://localhost that is used to find out if the internet infrastructure is functional. It's also used to test if a webserver (such as Tomcat) is active on a local machine.

In the search for Habitable Worlds, there is a kind of "loopback address" as well. Our loopback address is Earth--the local host of life.

Recently, we have used some of our space probes to look back at our planet from millions of miles away. As if from a mirror, we've learned new things by watching Earth--giving us initial insights on what to look for on exoplanets for prospects of habitability.

One of these crafts, EPOXI has helped scientists to come up w/ a potential technique in detecting features on the surface of exoplanets. They based their findings on how the oceans and continents of the Earth appears from 30 million miles away. The same team also found out that "sun glints" are reflected from the oceans of the Earth.

And from a little farther away, the Voyager spacecraft has shown us that our planet is a tiny speck of pale blue dot, which has evoked lucid reflections from the late Carl Sagan.

With all these beginner insights of what to look for on other planets, we've alternately began to think of how other alien civilizations would see us. By some recursive loop of "Exoplanetary thinking", we now think about how they would think of us thinking about them thinking about us.

And in turn, any extraterrestrial in the same curious endeavor of finding life elsewhere would naturally begin their quest by also looking back at their homeworld--their loopback address.

Perhaps there is a cosmic rule, that for Civilizations which starts to think about other habitable worlds, they will find that the loopback address begins at home.

"... and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." --T.S. Elliot

Links:
The New Exoplanetology
Seeing Earth from an Alien Perspective
Sun Glints
Pale Blue Dot

SETI+Exoplanetology on TED

Those glaring eyes peered deep into my soul. Jill Tarter speaks and produces an inspiring piece at TED. Please take a moment to watch the entirety of this wonderful talk. It is special.



With Subtitle:

Earth Hour and Exogazing

Not everyone believes that planet earth is in crisis. But our planet is undergoing a major shift in it's climate. In case you haven't noticed, the weather is all messed up. Some say that the earth is just fine, It's us that is screwed.
Some are cynical, some are still curious, some would shrug off their shoulders with indifference. Some would care enough to at least do something in their own small way. And some are active in making a difference with regards to the state of our home planet.
If you don't see yourself in any of these groups, you're not alone. And it's perfectly alright. What is happening to earth is probably the nature of things. Things may proceed the way they are supposed to, and there's absolutely nothing that anyone can do but observe.
Tonight is the perfect night to do exactly that. At around 8:30 pm, try looking up and observe the night sky. If you're a city dweller--as I am, you may actually notice a difference. Stars would shine more brightly than usual.
The reason is Earth Hour. People would turn off their lights for one hour. And the night sky minus the light pollution is something worth observing.
As for me, I'll head out with my family to a nice safe place by the waterfront to witness the city lights go out. Then I will look-up. I'll probably do some exogazing and drown myself in exoplanetary thinking. In a rare moment from within a city, I will have that precious 60 minutes to reflect upon our planet and observe the stars.
Whatever comes out of it, I know i'll never be the same again. Because with the changes that the earth is going through, i might never see our planet this way again.

Exogazing

I would like to introduce a new hobby: It's called Exogazing.
Exogazing is like stargazing, except that aside from gazing at the stars, you also gaze at exoplanets. Well, you don't really see the actual exoplanets, but in theory the photons of light that grazed past a transiting exoplanet's atmosphere might reach your eyes. Because as you gaze at a star that hosts a transiting exoplanet, the photons of light that contain some information about the exoplanet may make it to your retina. But too little amount of these photons is not enough for our eyes to perceive it. Most of what our eyes see is the star (but with much better instruments to collect light, you can find out more about an exoplanet's atmosphere--as what scientists do, with the method called Photometry) Exogazing is simple and requires minimal instruments. Anyone can do it.

Exogazing is a contraction of the phrase "Extrasolar Gazing", a term in line with the usual "stargazing". In essence when we look up in the night sky, we are mostly gazing at objects outside our solar system. But "exogazing" is deliberately identifying the location of an exoplanet in the night sky as a pinpoint of light by it's host star.

Exogazing also comes from "Exoplanet Gazing", a term indicative of the wonder and fascination of Extrasolar Worlds. But in relation to actual planet-hunting which involves trying to detect yet-undiscovered planets around other stars, Exogazing is simply gazing at star-filled constellations and "spotting" for which stars have known exoplanets orbiting around it. Exogazing can be considered as a step prior to Exoplanet Observing.

Inspiration.
When the discovery of Fomalhaut b via Direct Imaging came about, I was inspired. To look upon a star, knowing that there is a planet orbiting around it, gives me that Exoplanetary Thinking effect.

The idea of being able to point at a star visible to the naked eye, and tell others about its planets has got me hooked. I love telling my kids about these exoplanets as I point toward their direction in the night sky--at the actual host star, in a familiar constellation. And I would love to stir their imagination about other worlds. What better connection to a young mind than to actually stand beside a child and then point at an actual star with a confirmed planet orbiting around it? It's Astronomy, Science, Imagination, and Inspiration at it's best!

The Method.
To identify and pinpoint the actual star that hosts the exoplanet is the basic task of Exogazing. It's simple. It starts with a simple question, "Which stars have confirmed exoplanets?" Then a little challenge of star-hopping and occasional use of "pointers" makes it all the more fun. Heck, you might even come up with your own directional pointers specific to exogazing.
Currently, there are only few stars visible to the naked eye that have confirmed exoplanets. But a number of some exoplanet-hosting stars are quite faint thus you need a binocular and a starchart to locate them in the sky. Star-hopping is often necessary to avoid getting lost in your field of view. And once you locate the star that hosts the exoplanet, let your eyes gaze upon it for a while and feel free to enjoy the wonderful moment of knowing the fact that this particular pinpoint of light reaching your eyes contain other worlds.

Other Benefits.
Exogazing is a good hobby to allow you familiarize oneself with the stars and constellations, or Astronomy in general. Having a goal in mind, such as trying to locate faint stars which host planets stimulates learning, and enhances information-retention.

And for hopeful amateur astronomers who may eventually join the ranks of that amateur group who will someday contribute to the discovery of new exoplanets, Exogazing is a perfect introductory activity to get familiarized with planet-hunting or exoplanet observing.

Basic Instruments.
Now what instruments do you need for exogazing?
Here are the basics:
Planisphere, starcharts, binoculars, music.

Exogazing Music - I value the human experience, and you need to experience the wonder of the stars. Music is a much-needed factor to complete the experience. I highly recommend songs that have no lyrics, so as to let the stars sing to you in their own "voices". The genre of post-rock or electronic chill works best for me to get that mood and "spiritual" experience. [UPDATE: A new genre has sprouted from this: It's called "Exogazing" music] Besides, there should be a reason why star-parties are called the way it is, so i think Music should definitely be a part of it.
Star Catalogs - Some more challenging stars that are too faint, may require you to consult a more detailed catalog of stars.

Optional Instruments.
Tripod-mounted binoculars would be great but if you want an enhanced experience, an Image Stabilized (IS) binocular will be a great option. Part of the telling factor of exogazing is the human experience. The image stabilization feature eliminates the jittering and makes exogazing a wonderful experience, specially when you often need to pan to-and-fro across the sky as you "star hop" to make your way to the target. So the agility of hand-held binoculars are highly-recommended.
Laptop - You might need it to access updated information about the exoplanets you are gazing at, or to consult astronomy software such as Stellarium or Google Sky. As an option, you may need it to contribute your findings to the open database at Freebase, or to connect to last.fm to play the recommended exogazing music. :)
Green laser pointer - For helping others star-hop in the sky & Instructional purposes
Red flashlight - For checking charts in the dark and preserving night vision

Basic questions.
You need a few basic questions to get you going, which starts with "Where are those doggone Exoplanets?" The rest will follow: What constellations are up tonight? And which visible stars within those constellations have confirmed exoplanets? What are the exoplanets that belong to a particular constellation? What is the type of star of a particular exoplanet? What type of exoplanet is it? How far is it? Is it habitable?

Future.
There will be more Exoplanets to come. And so Exogazing will become ever more fun in the near future. May it serve as the start of a fun new activity for all Astronomers (Amateurs and Professionals alike) in their stargazing nights. And I hope that the Amateur Astronomy community would love Exogazing during star-parties as well!
I will continue to share my Exogazing sessions and open up a section in the Exoplanetology website dedicated for this hobby. I will also continue to tweet and write about it in this blog. So stay tuned!
Happy Exogazing! And Clear skies!

Exoplanetary Thinking

Certain things happen to an individual who acts as a steward of this particular word, domain, or an entirely new field of science called Exoplanetology. It is new, and quite odd, having been derived from an alien-sounding word -- exoplanet, it ended up sounding humorous and brings up a cultic or thingamaphoooey tone. Yes, it is totally out of this world, but it is a word whose time has come.
Exoplanetology is unique. It is the overall Thought and study of external planets relative to the Sun and our home planet, but it will always involve our own planet, because it is relative to Earth. So there will always be a "personal" touch.
When I decided to take stewardship of the word (and domain), this word has taken hold of the mind of it's steward. In the process of developing this website, a certain kind of Thought began to pervade my mindset, as I became immersed in thinking about the earth, planets, exoplanets, new worlds, suns, galaxies, and life.
Could it be what we might call "Exoplanetary thinking"? Because I never think of the Sun the same way again. It is a star, one among billions, and I am standing on one of it's planets - a habitable one for me and all life I share it with.
On the other hand, I never gaze at stars thinking the same way again. They are other Suns, sign-posts for other solar systems with their own planets and moons, and possibly - Life.
I never looked at the horizon the same way again, with the setting or rising sun radiating marvelous rays, almost saying that just like light, the imperative of life is to spread far far away from where it started before it gets extinguished by the very spark that sustains it.
I never looked at the ocean and it's waves the same way again, that it is a magnificent experience just to feel the wind and the water and know that it is the whole planet touching my face.
I never took a deep breath the same way again, without the thought of mankind's responsibility for the planet, and the future of the biosphere at the hands of humanity.
Words will not fully express the mindset of an exoplanetary thinker. It will not suffice to tell of how one's view of earth gets changed by the knowledge of other worlds around other suns, and the idea of life in those planets, all this amidst the ongoing peril of one's home planet to the growing threat of runaway global warming.
It's been said that life is what we make it, thus we are at the cusp of a magnificent period in the history of mankind, where our history joins with the history of cosmic life, or it may well be the end.
We are at the edge of a revolution that is as great, if not greater than the Copernican revolution, or we may be one great tragedy.
Whence it was the realization that we are not the center of the world, or the universe, this time we will realize - we are not center of Life (and of Intelligent Life), but we have become the steward of life in our small corner of the galaxy, a special role to fulfill.
We are at a decision point where we could end up as another extinct civilization - an interesting subject of study for alien intergalactic historians and explorers. Or we could be those future extrasolar and intergalactic explorers, if we learned the proper stewardship of life.
We are at the crux of history and we are undergoing a shift in global and planetary thinking. Our children will grow up in a world knowing they are interplanetary citizens and awesome stewards of life. Welcome to the future and welcome to a brave new world.
And with Exoplanetology, I welcome you to the era of new worlds.