Now we have a place to go when we ruin this planet!
SuzannePjam
Posts: 411
No worries everyone! Keep driving those SUV'S!
Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet
Models predict planet should be either rocky or covered with oceans
(for the complete article click on the link below):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18293978/
By Ker Than
Staff Writer
An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.
Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. The newfound planet is located at the "Goldilocks" distance — not too close and not too far from its star to keep water on its surface from freezing or vaporizing away.
And while astronomers are not yet able to look for signs of biology on the planet, the discovery is a milestone in planet detection and the search for extraterrestrial life, one with the potential to profoundly change our outlook on the universe.
”The goal is to find life on a planet like the Earth around a star like the sun. This is a step in that direction,” said study leader Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. “Each time you go one step forward you are very happy.”
The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new “super-Earth” is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the Sun.
Smallest to date
Gliese 581 C is the smallest extrasolar planet, or “exoplanet,” discovered to date. It is located about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun; one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days. Because red dwarfs, also known as M dwarfs, are about 50 times dimmer than the Sun and much cooler, their planets can orbit much closer to them while still remaining within their habitable zones, the spherical region around a star within which a planet’s temperature can sustain liquid water on its surface.
Because it lies within its star’s habitable zone and is relatively close to Earth, Gliese 581 C could be a very important target for future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life, said study team member Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France.
“On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” Delfosse said.
Two other planets are known to inhabit the red dwarf system. One is a 15 Earth-mass “hot-Jupiter” gas planet discovered by the same team two years ago, which orbits even closer to its star than does Gliese 581 C. Another is an 8 Earth-mass planet discovered at the same time as Gliese 581 C, but which lies outside its star’s habitable zone.
Possible waterworld
Computer models predict Gliese 581 C is either a rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans.
“We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid,” Udry said.
The scientists discovered the new world using the HARP instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile. They employed the so-called radial velocity, or “wobble,” technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via gravity.
Scientists find most Earth-like planet yet
Models predict planet should be either rocky or covered with oceans
(for the complete article click on the link below):
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18293978/
By Ker Than
Staff Writer
An Earth-like planet spotted outside our solar system is the first found that could support liquid water and harbor life, scientists announced today.
Liquid water is a key ingredient for life as we know it. The newfound planet is located at the "Goldilocks" distance — not too close and not too far from its star to keep water on its surface from freezing or vaporizing away.
And while astronomers are not yet able to look for signs of biology on the planet, the discovery is a milestone in planet detection and the search for extraterrestrial life, one with the potential to profoundly change our outlook on the universe.
”The goal is to find life on a planet like the Earth around a star like the sun. This is a step in that direction,” said study leader Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland. “Each time you go one step forward you are very happy.”
The new planet is about 50 percent bigger than Earth and about five times more massive. The new “super-Earth” is called Gliese 581 C, after its star, Gliese 581, a diminutive red dwarf star located 20.5 light-years away that is about one-third as massive as the Sun.
Smallest to date
Gliese 581 C is the smallest extrasolar planet, or “exoplanet,” discovered to date. It is located about 15 times closer to its star than Earth is to the Sun; one year on the planet is equal to 13 Earth days. Because red dwarfs, also known as M dwarfs, are about 50 times dimmer than the Sun and much cooler, their planets can orbit much closer to them while still remaining within their habitable zones, the spherical region around a star within which a planet’s temperature can sustain liquid water on its surface.
Because it lies within its star’s habitable zone and is relatively close to Earth, Gliese 581 C could be a very important target for future space missions dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life, said study team member Xavier Delfosse of Grenoble University in France.
“On the treasure map of the universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X,” Delfosse said.
Two other planets are known to inhabit the red dwarf system. One is a 15 Earth-mass “hot-Jupiter” gas planet discovered by the same team two years ago, which orbits even closer to its star than does Gliese 581 C. Another is an 8 Earth-mass planet discovered at the same time as Gliese 581 C, but which lies outside its star’s habitable zone.
Possible waterworld
Computer models predict Gliese 581 C is either a rocky planet like Earth or a waterworld covered entirely by oceans.
“We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius [32 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit], and water would thus be liquid,” Udry said.
The scientists discovered the new world using the HARP instrument on the European Southern Observatory 3.6 meter telescope in La Sille, Chile. They employed the so-called radial velocity, or “wobble,” technique, in which the size and mass of a planet are determined based on small perturbations it induces in its parent star’s orbit via gravity.
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
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Neat.
Come on pilgrim you know he loves you..
http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
Oh my, they dropped the leash.
Morgan Freeman/Clint Eastwood 08' for President!
"Make our day"0 -
Nice! It'll only take 20.5 years to get there, if we travel at the speed of light.0
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That's it??? We could retire there! I wonder if the spaceship can fit my SUV?Kenny Olav wrote:Nice! It'll only take 20.5 years to get there, if we travel at the speed of light.
"Where there is sacrifice there is someone collecting the sacrificial offerings."-- Ayn Rand
"Some of my friends sit around every evening and they worry about the times ahead,
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference and the promise of an early bed..."-- Elvis Costello0 -
It might take 20.5 years to get there, but we could colonize it! Call it Earth Mark 2 or something like that. Seriously, it's cool. Colonization of another planet would be the first step in having the Star Trek type future that I dream about."Ideas are bulletproof." --V
Peace and Love
Deni0 -
Or... we could be nicer to the awesome earth that we already got. Much easier, I say.0
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it would be cool if we found aliens and the baby alien jumps on an astronauts face and lays an egg in his stomache. that would really be a story.This isn't the land of opportunity, it's the land of competition.0
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Nah, I think I'll stay here. It'll only get crowded over there.0
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woohoo!!! another planet to destroy. hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say0 -
As long as I can breathe there...drop me in the deep freeze...I'm up for the journey...Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
over specific principles, goals, and policies.
http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg
(\__/)
( o.O)
(")_(")0 -
It's 5 times more massive than Earth.. you would weigh so much you wouldn't be able to move!Deni wrote:It might take 20.5 years to get there, but we could colonize it! Call it Earth Mark 2 or something like that. Seriously, it's cool. Colonization of another planet would be the first step in having the Star Trek type future that I dream about.0 -
Alex_Coe wrote:Or... we could be nicer to the awesome earth that we already got. Much easier, I say.
ding ding ding, bells going off.
you won the prize.
i totaly agree.
and yea it is a wonderful thing that they found another planet out there.
i like this earth myself.for poetry through the ceiling. ISBN: 1 4241 8840 7
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce0 -
and let's face it. packing up and moving all your shit is a pain in the arse. something always gets broken or lost.hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say0 -
Now we just need to build one of these on some remote Japanese island to get there.
http://www.france-powerball.com/site/contact%20machine.jpg
Make your life a mission - not an intermission. - Arnold Gasglow0 -
Would the people who believe in god and creation want to get on the flight to the new planet? Or would god have put life on the planet when creating it in the first place? Just curious.You've changed your place in this world!0
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lets not tell George Bush about this!"Makes much more sense to live in the present tense." Ed Ved
"No one cares about climbing stairs, Nothing at the top no more." Chris Cornell0 -
Yes, unless someone else already lives there. Maybe they already know about our planet and are licking their lips.R.i.p. Rigoberto Alpizar.
R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 20080 -
even flow? wrote:Would the people who believe in god and creation want to get on the flight to the new planet? Or would god have put life on the planet when creating it in the first place? Just curious.
I wonder what would happen if we find sophisticated life on this planet? I think that would be a blow to organized, Earth-centered religion."Almost all those politicians took money from Enron, and there they are holding hearings. That's like O.J. Simpson getting in the Rae Carruth jury pool." -- Charles Barkley0 -
i believe in God. i'd like to get on that spaceship.even flow? wrote:Would the people who believe in god and creation want to get on the flight to the new planet? Or would god have put life on the planet when creating it in the first place? Just curious.This isn't the land of opportunity, it's the land of competition.0 -
how would that be a blow?PJ_Saluki wrote:I wonder what would happen if we find sophisticated life on this planet? I think that would be a blow to organized, Earth-centered religion.
my theory is that it would be even more trippier if there are other sophisticated lifeforms on this planet and they even know about some dude named Jesus with same characteristics and all.This isn't the land of opportunity, it's the land of competition.0 -
I wonder which country would get there first and claim it? We would destroy each other to claim it.I'll be back0
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