July 19, 2018 Page 7
Looking Up
NASA Asks: Will We Know Life When We See It?
Based on a Press Release from
JPL/NASA, Provided by Bob Eklund
In the last decade, we have discovered
thousands of planets outside our solar system
and have learned that rocky, temperate worlds
are numerous in our galaxy. The next step will
involve asking even bigger questions. Could
some of these planets host life? And if so,
will we be able to recognize life elsewhere
if we see it?
A group of leading researchers in astronomy,
biology and geology has come together under
NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science,
or NExSS, to take stock of our knowledge in
the search for life on distant planets and to
lay the groundwork for moving the related
sciences forward.
“We’re moving from theorizing about life
elsewhere in our galaxy to a robust science
that will eventually give us the answer we
seek to that profound question: Are we alone?”
said Martin Still, an exoplanet scientist at
NASA Headquarters, Washington.
In a set of five review papers published last
week in the scientific journal Astrobiology,
NExSS scientists took an inventory of the most
promising signs of life, called biosignatures.
The paper authors include four scientists
from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, California. They considered how
to interpret the presence of biosignatures,
should we detect them on distant worlds.
The assessment comes as a new generation
of space and ground-based telescopes are
in development. NASA’s James Webb
Space Telescope will characterize the atmospheres
of some of the first small, rocky planets.
There are plans for other observatories—such
as the Giant Magellan Telescope and the Extremely
Large Telescope, both in Chile—to carry
sophisticated instruments capable of detecting
the first biosignatures on faraway worlds.
Through their work with NExSS, scientists
aim to identify the instruments needed to detect
potential life for future NASA flagship missions.
The detection of atmospheric signatures
of a few potentially habitable planets may
possibly come before 2030, although determining
whether the planets are truly habitable
or have life will require more in-depth study.
Since we won’t be able to visit distant
planets and collect samples anytime soon,
the light that a telescope observes will be
all we have in the search for life outside our
solar system. Telescopes can examine the
light reflecting off a distant world to show
us the kinds of gases in the atmosphere and
their “seasonal” variations, as well as colors
like green that could indicate life.
These kinds of biosignatures can all be
seen on our fertile Earth from space, but
the new worlds we examine will differ
significantly. For example, many of the
promising planets we have found are around
cooler stars, which emit light in the infrared
spectrum, unlike our Sun’s high emissions
of visible-light.
“What does a living planet look like?” said
Mary Parenteau, an astrobiologist and microbiologist
at NASA’s Ames Research Center in
Silicon Valley and a co-author. “We have to
be open to the possibility that life may arise
in many contexts in a galaxy with so many
diverse worlds—perhaps with purple-colored
life instead of the familiar green-dominated
life forms on Earth, for example.”
The NExSS scientists will create a
framework that can quantify how likely it
is that a planet has life, based on all the
available evidence. With the observation of
many planets, scientists may begin to more
broadly classify the “living worlds” that show
common characteristics of life, versus the
“non-living worlds.” •
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT 2018ZA01
PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given that the
Planning Commission of the City of Hawthorne
will hold a public hearing to consider the following
matter:
ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT 2018ZA01: Consideration
of an amendment to the Hawthorne
Municipal Code to allow the off-site storage of
vehicle inventory associated with a local new car
dealership on parcels with limited development
potential in the M-2 Zone.
PROJECT LOCATION: Citywide within the
Heavy Industrial (M-2) Zone
MEETING DETAILS:
Day: Wednesday
Date: August 1, 2018
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: City Council Chambers
4455 West 126th Street
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Those interested in this item may appear at the
meeting and submit oral or written comments.
Written information pertaining to this item must
be submitted to the Planning Department prior
to 5:30 PM July 31, 2018, at 4455 West 126th
Street, Hawthorne, California 90250 or emailed
to bjames@cityofhawthorne.org. For additional
information, you may contact Brian James at
(310) 349-2970 or at the email noted above.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Pursuant to
State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)
(3), this proposed ordinance is covered by
the CEQA Categorical Exemption for actions
when it can be seen with certainty that there
is no possibility of a significant effect on the
environment. Zone Amendment No. 2018ZA01
would amend the Municipal Code to allow for
a use, parking, that is already a permitted use
in the M-2 Zone to occur off-site and only in
conjunction with new-car dealerships located
in the City of Hawthorne and under certain
conditions and would not result in new physical
development not currently permitted in the
M-2 Zone, cumulative adverse environmental
impacts, or any other potentially significant
impact described in State CEQA Guidelines
Section 15300.2.
PLEASE NOTE that pursuant to Government
Code Section 65009: In an action or
proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void,
or annul a finding, determination or decision
of the Planning Commission or City Council,
the issues raised shall be limited to those
raised at the public hearing in this notice or
in written correspondence delivered to the
Planning Commission or City Council at or
prior to the public hearing.
Hawthorne Press Tribune Pub. 7/19/18
HI-26127
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PUBLIC NOTICES
We rise by lifting others. - Robert Ingersoll
July 16, 2018
NOTICE OF PREPARATION
AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC SCOPING
MEETING FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT REPORT
PROJECT NAME:
Inglewood Transit Connector
PROJECT LOCATION: The Inglewood Transit
Connector (ITC) would include improvements
that would be constructed in an area of the City
of Inglewood within the public right-of-way from
the intersection of Market Street and Florence
Avenue adjacent to the Crenshaw/LAX Metro
Line in Downtown Inglewood, south through
Market Street, then east on Manchester
Boulevard, turning south on Prairie Avenue
until its intersection with Century Boulevard. The
proposed Project would be located within the
public right-of-way and would include supporting
infrastructure on adjacent parcels.
DUE DATE FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS:
August 15, 2018
Notice is hereby given that the City of Inglewood
(“City”) will be the Lead Agency and will prepare
an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the
Inglewood Transit Connector project. The EIR
to be prepared by the City will evaluate the
potential significant environmental effects of
the proposed project. The City is requesting
comments related to the scope and content
of the EIR.
A copy of the Initial Study prepared for the proposed
Project is available for review at the City
of Inglewood website at: www.cityofinglewood.
org and at the locations listed below:
Inglewood City Hall, One W. Manchester Blvd.,
Inglewood, CA 90301
Inglewood Public Library, 101 W. Manchester
Blvd., Inglewood, CA 90301
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The City proposes to construct a 1.8-mile
Automated People Mover (APM) and supporting
infrastructure that would run from the
Market Street and Florence Avenue intersection
adjacent to the Metro Crenshaw/LAX Line in
Downtown Inglewood, south through Market
Street, then east on Manchester Boulevard,
turning south on Prairie Avenue until its intersection
with Century Boulevard. The APM
system would provide service from Downtown
Inglewood to the Forum, the Los Angeles
Sports and Entertainment District (LASED),
and the proposed Inglewood Basketball and
Entertainment Center (IBEC). The proposed
Project would be located within the public
right-of-way and would include supporting
infrastructure on adjacent parcels.
PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING DATE AND
LOCATION
The City of Inglewood encourages all interested
individuals and organizations to attend the meeting.
The location, date, and time of the scoping
meeting for the proposed Project is as follows:
Date and Time:
Thursday, July 26, 2018, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m.
Location: Inglewood Senior Citizens Center
111 N. Locust Street
Inglewood, CA 90301
All comments will be considered in the preparation
of the EIR. Written comments must be
submitted by August 15, 2018.
Inglewood Daily News Pub. 7/19/18
HI-26128