Tau Ceti
In Cetus
there is an unremarkable looking star of magnitude 3.5 called Tau Ceti. It’s a
dwarf star with a type G spectrum similar to that of the Sun. In fact it is the
closest solitary G type star to the Sun. It is somewhat smaller and is less massive
than the Sun and lies about 12 light years.
In December
2012 astronomers discovered evidence to suggest that there are 5 planets
orbiting Tau Ceti.
Whether any of them would be able to support life is
unknown. In 1960 Project Ozma was begun looking for evidence of life around
other stars and Tau was on the list of stars to monitor.
However it would be very ironic if life was
discovered there in the future because Tau Ceti has been a popular destination
for science-fiction writers including Arthur C Clarke, Robert Heinlein and
Larry Niven and has been mentioned in Star Trek and Dr Who, plus many other
films, TV programmes and Books.
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