Another Earth?

[gran guerrero]

Click Here for the story.

The article is basically following up satellite images of finding a solar system that has three large planets similar to Earth (all orbiting one star). So there's basically a race to find which one is the most identical to our own planet.

If this shit actually existed with real life, I'm fucking sneaking onto the next spaceship over there. I'm fucking done with this planet.

[tragiK]

assuming there's no pre-defined spawn zones, u could just press insert a whole lot until u get there... probably take less time and cost less given the whole gas crisis and all.

[Kolar]

Gliese 581 d was thought to be extremely close to Earth in terms of conditions. Earth orbits a region of our solar system called the Habitable Zone where water is present in liquid form. Gliese 581 d is just outside it within it's own system. Until we can directly observe these planets we have to rely on inference techniques which are not completely reliable in determining the habitability of a planet to any form of life we know of.

[DankNuggets]

how big is this zone? i'd assume that in addition to earth, our moon and possibley mars or venus probably fall into this "habitable" zone. doesn't mean there's anything there.

[Kolar]

It depends on the star. Ours I think extends out .75 to 1.5 AU from our sun. I don't know about our Moon but I think Mars is of interest right now because with the right atmospheric conditions it could have supported life having liquid water on its surface at some point in history. But Mars is too far outside it and barely has an atmosphere. Venus and Mercury are too close.

[FarScape]

It depends on the star. Ours I think extends out .75 to 1.5 AU from our sun. I don't know about our Moon but I think Mars is of interest right now because with the right atmospheric conditions it could have supported life having liquid water on its surface at some point in history. But Mars is too far outside it and barely has an atmosphere. Venus and Mercury are too close.

the maximum temperature in mars is 20 Celsius. so with normal atmosphere it could also raise the minimum and average and become inhabit. Tho, there is no way right now to make it so...

Maybe in the future, science would be able to do so, like in those spaceships games :-P or at least have structure that could stand the extreme outside pressure, radiation and temperature and allow normal artificial environment.

Not in our life time I guess... we doom to become star dust here.

[Edify]

I didn't know astronomers referred to outside planets based on our solar system's archetypes. In the article they refer to them as having found multiple Jupiters and Saturns. Werd.

[Zeebu]

I didn't know astronomers referred to outside planets based on our solar system's archetypes. In the article they refer to them as having found multiple Jupiters and Saturns. Werd.

thats what i caught from it too

then, with the new superduper space telescope, theyre hoping to see smaller rocky planets and determine atmospheres

[riske]

Habitable Zone

The whole 'habitable zone' theory is bullshit. There are MANY ways there could be liquid water on planets even further from the sun.

Fuck for that matter, they thought there were 'un inhabitable zones' on earth that turned out ot be thriving with life, even though no sunlight at all makes it to it.

Granted, life would/could be much different depending on many things.

[Kolar]

True there are some places in our solar system which could support life, the habitible zone theory has been challenged recently.
Europa is a good example. Geological activity and tidal forces apparently keeps an ocean in liquid form under its surface. Extremophiles were not known 30 years ago when we sent the Viking probes to Mars. But if we're looking for complex and intelligent life I think it's still a decent enough idea, you're not going to find life on a planet as close as Venus or Mercury or as far as Neptune for example because the conditions are not conducive to life without some very complex systems in play. Scientist don't name astronomical locations and objects outside of our solar system in the same way we do within. Hot Jupiters refer to massive gas giants like Jupiter (they're close too or exceeding their mass) and are very close to their parent star.

Still the best methods to location these planets doesn't allow for direct observation, only inferred detection so there's a lot that makes a planet habitable, we can't look out that far yet.

[Saturn V]

HZ is not a theory in the usual sense of the word. It's not bullshit, either.

I don't think any reputable scientist will say, "EUROPA! HAH! It's outside of the HZ! NO LIFE!"

[Pummel]

No more rap music.

[Money]

no more canada

[Vykromond]

assuming there's no pre-defined spawn zones, u could just press insert a whole lot until u get there... probably take less time and cost less given the whole gas crisis and all.

10/10

[DankNuggets]

we need probe droids, not super duper telescopes if we want to find other habitable planets.