The science fiction novel “Project Hail Mary” hits theaters on March 20. It tells the story of an unlikely astronaut who encounters an alien while trying to save Earth, putting a spotlight on exoplanets and extraterrestrial life.
Lisa Kaltenegger, director of Cornell University’s Carl Sagan Institute and an award-winning astrophysicist and astrobiologist in Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences is one of the world’s leading experts on exoplanets.
Kaltenegger says: “Does Tau Ceti have planets? In ‘Project Hail Mary,’ Ryan Gosling’s character heads there, 12 light years away, to save Earth. But so far there is no unambiguous evidence of any planets in this star system, though we astronomers are still looking. This might, of course, be good news for humankind, because then the fictional Astrophage that threatens humanity in the story won’t have evolved.
“In the movie, another ship arrives in the system from 40 Eridani A, an orange star in a triple-star system about 16 light-years away from us. So far, no unambiguous sign of planets there either.
“Our latest research points the way towards an exciting diversity of exoplanets that could host life. The 45 planets we’ve identified all circle in their star's habitable zone, where liquid water could exist, which is a key ingredient for life as we know it. And since, as ‘Project Hail Mary’ so beautifully illustrates, life might be much more versatile than we currently imagine, figuring out which of the 6,000 known exoplanets would be most likely to host Astrophage and Taumoeba – or Rocky – could prove critical, and not just to Ryan Gosling.”
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