"Only very old stars can harbor mature planets.
Only in their midst are we likely to find life or civilization."
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[4 pictures of alien planets]



 


 

Welcome to
[Ancient Suns logo]
Where we explore the possibility of habitable planets
amongst our neighborhood of stars.
To get started, go to the Main Menu on our Home Page.

Below is an overview of what this website is about:

Stars

From Wolf 359 to Rigel, from Alpha Centauri to Antares

It's a big universe out there.  There are a lot of hot, flashy stars which can be seen halfway across the alpha quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy, but these aren't the places to look for habitable planets.  These supergiants might serve as guideposts by which to navigate on any trek through the stars, but they're all too young to have fully-formed planets.

Literally millions of red dwarf suns clutter the lanes of space — suns like Wolf 359 and Barnard's star, most too dim to be seen from one star away.  It would be impossible for such a dwarf sun to keep a planet warm enough to support life.  A world would have to crowd so close to the star's powerful gravity that the planet would stop rotating.  One side would forever be baked by its sun — the other, forever frozen in darkness.

Between these extremes, dwarf suns of medium mass offer the best prospects for harboring habitable worlds — stars like our next-door neighbor, Alpha Centauri.

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Extrasolar Planets

From Upsilon Andromedae to HD 190228,
from 51 Pegasi to Epsilon Eridani

We now know that the Solar system is not unique in the universe for having planets.  Dozens of worlds have already been detected.  Though all of these are Jovian in size and mass, and thus cannot support life as we know it, the possibility that there are Earth-like worlds out there has become tantalizingly real.

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Astronomy, Space Travel
 and Interstellar Exploration

From galaxies to black holes,
from nebulae to Solar twins

These broad subjects require the use of complex star catalogs, techniques in stellar cartography, and an understanding of a broad range of exotic, celestial objects.  While black holes, stellar nurseries and rogue galaxies may be fascinating enough by themselves, the possibility of other Earth-like worlds commands the lead as perhaps the most compelling idea about the universe beyond our own small planet.

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3D Software, Star Art
 and Educational Graphics

New, free software "Alien Skies™," plus
"Stars in the NeighborHood™" software,
our very own Gallery of interstellar art, and more

The idea of "stepping stones to the stars" conjures up images of worlds close enough to touch.  Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like if our own moon covered half the sky.  Imagine that moon as a twin of Earth, complete with nurturing atmosphere and oceans.  Its beaches, mountains and broad seas would demand to be explored.  From your own back yard, you could almost reach up and touch them.

Even the most unimaginative dreamers would find it hard not to think of traveling to that neighboring world.  The act of lifting above one atmosphere and diving into another would thrill even the most experienced adventurer, much more than any theme park ride.

Images such as these form the foundation of this website — the hope that, one day, we will travel the far-flung archipelago of Earth-like worlds — those islands in the dark of space.

Yes, it's a big universe out there. We're honored to share the adventure with you.

To get started, go to the Main Menu on our Home Page.

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