Astronomy: the indices of life elsewhere annoy Michel Mayor

ThoseHunter from other worlds –The clues of life elsewhere “annoy” Michel Mayor

The Vaud Nobel, who discovered the first exoplanet of history thirty years ago, evokes the announcements of the announcement that agitate his field.

• The astrophysicist Michel Mayor celebrates the thirty of its historic discovery.
• The search for exoplanets now mobilizes thousands of scientists worldwide.
• The precipitated announcements of extraterrestrial life discovery irritate the Nobel winner.
• The scientist categorically rejects the idea of ​​an upcoming human colonization on Mars.

Even before the Nobel, you already told us that he did not spend one day without being told about 51 Pegasi. Are you not fed up?

Yes, there is too much (laughs)that’s clear. After a while, with all these requests, we tire a little. But, at the same time, I feel such curiosity that it is a pleasure. Let’s say that I tighten the screw a little: I accepted more than 30 invitations per year, today, it’s 20.

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Is that the price to pay when we won a Nobel?

Last week, I was at an event with five or six Nobel prizes: they are all in the same case. But, once again, the interest of the public pleases, even for subjects far from obvious, from the Higgs boson to black holes through the study of exoplanets.

Let’s go back to your field. What has changed in thirty years in the search for other worlds?

From a niche area that was not considered and which felt sulfur, the hunt for exoplanets has become a leading sector. From a handful of people, we went to tens of thousands. And it only increases. Take the James Webb Telescope: 30% of its observations are linked to exoplanets. When designed, we barely discovered the first. At the last score, we are over 5700.

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Recently, astronomers have announced that they have detected signs of “promising” lives on an exoplanet. What do you think of those announcements that multiply?

It annoys me a little. In this case, they come from people who do not bother to guarantee and verify their observations. While it is the basis of science. When we discovered the exoplanet, we waited a year to check everything before confirming the discovery. There, I feel that we are in the announcement effect.

So you don’t believe it?

I do not believe in discovering “Eurêka, that’s it, we found”. Things are more complicated, it will be done in small touches, by advances, by studying atmospheres, for example. This is what is done here, at the Geneva Astronomical Observatory. We do not give up the search for new exoplanets. But even the James Webb is struggling with terrestrial planets, their atmosphere is too small.

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So the big announcement is not for tomorrow?

Probably not. In the longer term, a NASA project plans to imagine rocky planets, but we are still far from it.

Let’s go back to today and to the Lake Geneva conferences to come. Do you come to ask you questions that damage you?

Most of the time, no. The questions are often very interesting, sometimes even particularly sharp, even in the general public. But there are also exceptions.

For example?

One day, in Provence, a woman came to ask me if we were sure for the form of the earth. She probably had to believe that our planet is flat, but I did not understand. So I got into stories of geoids, explaining to him that the earth is not perfectly spherical but a little wider in places. My wife, who had perfectly grasped the question, kicked me under the table.

I hardly dare to ask you what you think of the Elon Musk project, who wants to “terrify” Mars …

He thinks that in a century, there will be a million people on Mars. It’s completely denied. Yes, technology allows you to go on Mars but, currently, there is no way to make them come back. And I remind you that on Mars, the ground is toxic. We will not be able to plant potatoes there, as in films. These are beautiful stories, but it is not science.