HabCat
Encyclopedia
The Catalog of Nearby Habitable Systems (HabCat) is a catalogue of star system
s which conceivably have habitable planet
s. The list was developed by scientists Jill Tarter
and Margaret Turnbull
under the auspices of Project Phoenix
, a part of SETI
.
The list was based upon the Hipparcos Catalogue (which has 118,218 stars) by filtering on a wide range of star system features. The current list contains 17,129 "HabStars".
Star system
A star system or stellar system is a small number of stars which orbit each other, bound by gravitational attraction. A large number of stars bound by gravitation is generally called a star cluster or galaxy, although, broadly speaking, they are also star systems.-Binary star systems:A stellar...
s which conceivably have habitable planet
Planetary habitability
Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to sustain life. Life may develop directly on a planet or satellite or be transferred to it from another body, a theoretical process known as panspermia...
s. The list was developed by scientists Jill Tarter
Jill Tarter
Jill Cornell Tarter is an American astronomer and the current director of the Center for SETI Research, holding the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI at the SETI Institute.-Education:...
and Margaret Turnbull
Margaret Turnbull
Margaret Carol Turnbull is an American astronomer. She received her PhD in Astronomy from the University of Arizona in 2004. Turnbull is an authority on "Habstars," solar twins and planetary habitability....
under the auspices of Project Phoenix
Project Phoenix (SETI)
Project Phoenix is a SETI project: a search for extraterrestrial intelligence by analyzing patterns in radio signals. It is run by the independently funded SETI Institute of Mountain View, California, USA....
, a part of SETI
SETI
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life...
.
The list was based upon the Hipparcos Catalogue (which has 118,218 stars) by filtering on a wide range of star system features. The current list contains 17,129 "HabStars".
External links
- Target Selection for SETI: 1. A Catalog of Nearby Habitable Stellar Systems, Turnbull, Tarter, submitted 31 Oct 2002 (last accessed 19 Jan 2010)
- Target selection for SETI. II. Tycho-2 dwarfs, old open clusters, and the nearest 100 stars, by Turnbull and Tarter, (last accessed 19 Jan 2010)
- Target Selection for SETI: I. A Catalog of Nearby Habitable Stellar Systems
- Target Selection for SETI: II. Tycho‐2 Dwarfs, Old Open Clusters, and the Nearest 100 Stars
- HabStars - an article on the NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
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