Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star
I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren&#x27;t rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us.<p>A telescope this large could tell us whether any of these potentially habitable planets contain oxygen, and thus, biological processes.<p>Yet thanks to funding cuts in science the biggest telescope we have in the pipeline right now is one with a 30 metre mirror. 
 This telescope won&#x27;t be big enough, and as a result, our failure to push now for bigger sizes is almost certainly going to push back for decades humanity&#x27;s ability to answer one of the most important questions we face:<p>Why are we here, and are we alone.