"We definitely haven't found any large planets around another star, but there does seem to be all the potential for forming a planetary system there," said Fazio, who is well-known for his knowledge of infrared astronomy. Fazio will have an infrared satellite of his own--slightly different from the one which made the Vega finding--launched into orbit aboard a space shuttle mission now scheduled for March, 1985.
The space shuttle will also be lofting, sometime by 1987, what some experts believe will be the first sure chance at making a visual confirmation of the existence of planets elsewhere in the universe--a large Space Telescope, which will be able to detect objects now invisible to astronomers on the ground because of the disruption caused by the earth's atmosphere.
Until that time, some ground-based scientists continue searching for signals that the planets exist, even if they cannot be seen. One, Professor of Physics Paul Horowitz, is currently searching for radio signals from intelligent life forms, using an 84-ft.-diameter radio telescope owned by the University and located in Harvard, Mass. Already, he said, several colleagues and others have inquired about any readings he may have taken in the area of Vega, just in case there were some planets--and beings--orbiting around.
"To tell you the truth, conventional theory in this area says that Vega is not a good candidate," said Horowitz, explaining that the star is not of the size and intensity expected to develop "habitable" planets. Nevertheless, he said, he will most likely take a peek in Vega's direction when he next goes to the radio telescope in coming weeks.
"We'll do it probably just because people won't leave us alone if we don't," Horowitz said.
Vega, now visible nearly directly overhead and part of the constellation Lyra, is located about 26 light years away, the distance light would travel in that span of time, or about 150 trillion miles. Scientists believe the star to be about twice the size and 60 times as bright as the sun, with the particles extending in an envelope or disk about 7.4 billion miles in radius, approximately twice the distance from the sun to the orbit of its outermost planet.