We may be almost equally likely now, to see trace signatures of bio-chemical activity -- from the new 'scope's data, some thousands of light-years off, in deep space -- as we are to see it right on our relative front porch, the surface of nearby Mars (as I said yesterday).
In any event, here is the latest, from Sky & Telecope:
. . .[The next-gen 'scope] zoomed in on the Orion Nebula this week, sharing with us a clearer picture of the giant stellar nursery.
Even at 1,350 light-years away, the nursery is visible to our unaided eyes as a pale smear beneath the three-starred belt of Orion. It has been the target of many an amateur astronomer / astrophotographer, as well as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. But [the new 'scope] has provided the clearest and most unique picture to date, its Near-Infrared Camera peering through the dust that enshrouds the infant stars. . . .
The brightest star within the image is θ2 Orionis A near the center. (If you're viewing it from the ground instead of with a powerful space telescope, then it's a binocular target — though you might see it unaided if you're under dark skies). . . .
Smiling. . . ever smiling, as I peer backward exactly one decade, tonight -- into the wonders of the evening skies of. . . then. Grin.
नमस्ते
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