For immediate release
Among the most essential quests of modern astronomers, taking direct images of planets outside of our solar system is certainly up there among chart-toppers. Obtaining such images of a so-called exoplanet would enable scientists to study in detail the physical nature of the object and, in particular, to analyse the composition of its atmosphere. The astronomers' ultimate goal is of course to perform such analysis for earth-sized planets, in the hope of detecting a telltale signature of extraterrestrial life.
Such an ultimate objective is still at least decades in the future, as earth-size and even Jupiter-size planets around stars as old as the Sun are too faint to be detected by present-day technology.
Nevertheless, great progress can be achieved by taking images of giant planets orbiting much younger objects. Because giant planets a few tens of millions of years old are much hotter and brighter than their older brethren, they can be much more easily detected. Moreover, as the first tens of millions of years are considered to have been a critical period in the formation of Earth and of our own solar system, the study of nearby young planetary systems provides astronomers with invaluable insight on our own origins, something that is difficult if not impossible to decipher from investigation of old, mature planetary systems.
**************************************
See link for the rest of the press release.
Thanks for the link.