Brave new worlds
New discoveries, intelligent devices and irrepressible dreamers are once again making space exciting
IT MAY turn out to be a bare and barren rock. The fact that liquid water could be flowing across the surface of the planet just discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the sun, does not mean that any actually is—nor for that matter that it has an atmosphere. The fact that water and air, if present, could make this new world habitable does not mean that it is, in fact, a home to alien life.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Brave new worlds”
From the August 27th 2016 edition
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Argentina’s president is idolised by the Trumpian right. They should get to know him better
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The risk of a trade war is uncomfortably high
Peace in Lebanon is just a start
Donald Trump must build on Joe Biden’s belated success
From Nixon to China, to Trump to Tehran
Iran is weak. For America’s next president that creates an opportunity