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"Every scientist worth his salt that I know of has read science fiction."
- Greg Bear
 |
| Automated Search For Habitable Planets | ||
| Automated use of telescopes and other devices to search the universe for Earth-like planets. |
Ran Argal gives his dimension shifting apparatus its head after moving out of our galaxy into intergalactic space, heading toward the great Andromeda galaxy.
| I was near enough it now to set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching it for a habitable planet.
These instruments were the wonderful ones our astronomers had perfected. With super-telescopic eyes each one scanned a part of the star field before them. And each mechanical eye, when it found planetary systems in its field, automatically shifted upon them a higher powered telespectroscope which recorded on permanent film the size, mean temperature and atmospheric conditions of these worlds. Tensely I turned the great battery of telescopic eyes upon the galaxy ahead. Then I watched eagerly as the clicking, sliding, impersonal instruments searched that great mass of suns. As each mechanical eye finished its record, I snatched it up and examined it... |
| From Cosmic Quest,
by Edmond Hamilton. Published by Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1936 Additional resources -
|
I can't think of an earlier direct reference to this exact idea, but take a look at this manual search for a habitable planet by EE 'Doc' Smith in Skylark of Valeron.
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Tech news articles related to works by Edmond Hamilton
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news articles:
- Looking For Earth-Like Worlds With Nulling Interferometry
- Europe's Cheops To Look For Habitable Planets
- Automated Planet Finder Telescope Starts The Hunt
- NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Looks Nearby
- Confirm 100 Exoplanets At Once! (With Video)
- Caltech's ET Laboratory Looks For New Earths
- Rapid Automated Search For Habitable Planets Needed
- Espresso Telescope Searches For Exoplanets
| NASA 'Broomstick' Recalls SciFi Ideas |
| Orbital Display's Low Earth Orbit Advertisements |
| Trillionaires Still Earth-Bound |
| Grow Plants On Moon Or Mars! |
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''... major cities of Earth have free electrical power conveniently processed from their own noise.'
'The appearance was enough like a giant witch's broom to justify the nickname.'
'A vast circle of scarlet stars came up into the greenish desert dusk.'
'He had constructed an organ, a brain, of metal, entirely inorganic and lifeless...'
'I shall never forget the sight... when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the star dust.'
Oh, and now I suppose someone will develop the robotic porch pirate.
'This thing will start at one end of ...a house and build it complete to the other end, following drawings only.'
