“We stand on a great divide in the detection and study of exoplanets,” says the Exoplanet Task Force on the arXiv today in describing their plan for finding another Earth orbiting another star.

On one side of this divide are the hundreds of known massive exoplanets, they say. And on the other” lies the possibility, as yet unrealized, of detecting and characterizing a true Earth analog–an “Earth-like” planet”.

And guess what, the Exoplanet Task Force knows how to bridge this divide.”

Their idea is to keep looking, using better telescopes. And when you find one, build a better telescope to look even harder.

It’s a strategy that’s guaranteed to succeed, provided you’re wearing a mask and a cape and call yourself the Exoplanet Task Force. Let’s face it, there’s nothing you can’t do while wearing your underpants on the outside.

Good luck fellas. We’re all behind ya.

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0808.2754: Worlds Beyond: A Strategy for the Detection and Characterization of Exoplanets