The local universe: The emergence of life

An observatory-class optical/UV telescope with a large aperture emphasizing better angular resolution for imaging and good contrast to study the environments of nearby stars is a natural successor for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The main scientific driver for this capability will be to understand the steps leading to the creation of other planets and the emergence of life in the Universe. The intellectual appeal of this new direction combined with the broad observational capability allowed by space observatories, make UV/optical successors to HST more valuable than special purpose missions targeted at a single scientific objective. Just as HST has proven to be a dominent resource for almost all fields of astronomy in the last 10 years, its successor will be an essential tool used to study phenomena that we cannot yet predict. By providing the best resolution at optical wavelengths, traditionally the most important in observing the Universe, it will be an essential comple ment to the other facilities we will have in the next decade: ALMA, NGST, and ground-based facilities such as GSMT and LSST.