A Sejong University professor has published a study in an international astronomy journal exploring how the astronomical environments of exoplanets could influence the scientific development of potential intelligent life. The study by Zee Woong-bae, a professor at the university’s School of Liberal Studies, was published last month in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society under the title “Alien Skies: Visibility of Planetary Retrograde Motion from Rocky Habitable-Zone Worlds.” The university said the study goes beyond existing research into conditions that could support extraterrestrial life, focusing instead on astronomical environments that could enable intelligent life on exoplanets to develop science and technology. Until now, the search for extraterrestrial life has concentrated on environmental conditions that could support life, such as planetary temperatures and the possibility of liquid water. In astronomy, this concept is known as “habitability.” Zee proposed a new concept called “developmentability,” expanding on the established concept of habitabilit