Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

NASA announces new 'super-Earth': Exoplanet orbits in 'habitable zone,' is only 137 light-years away
ABC News ^ | February 5, 2024 | Leah Sarnoff

Posted on 02/05/2024 6:20:02 PM PST by John W

Could a recently discovered "super-Earth" have the potential temperature and conditions to sustain life?

The new exoplanet is situated "fairly close to us" -- only 137 light-years away -- and orbits within a "habitable zone," according to NASA.

Astronomers say the planet, dubbed TOI-715 b, is about one and a half times the width of Earth and orbits a small, reddish star. The same system also might harbor a second, Earth-sized planet, which, if confirmed, "would become the smallest habitable-zone planet discovered by TESS [the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite] so far," NASA said in a Jan. 31 press release.

(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; leahsarnoff; nasa; panspermia; science; tess; toi715b; xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-64 next last

1 posted on 02/05/2024 6:20:02 PM PST by John W
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: John W

“Only.”


2 posted on 02/05/2024 6:20:54 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████████ b █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

Just give us 10 trillion dollars and 500 years and we can do it!


3 posted on 02/05/2024 6:22:08 PM PST by DAC21
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: John W

When Elon invents warp drive, put all the Marxists and Muzzies on spaceships to the nearest Class M planet.


4 posted on 02/05/2024 6:24:05 PM PST by twister881
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

We can’t go to the Moon...


5 posted on 02/05/2024 6:25:23 PM PST by EEGator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

It’s Krypton!


6 posted on 02/05/2024 6:27:30 PM PST by Ciaphas Cain (Dear Claire Wolfe: Is it still "too early"?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

So all we need to do is figure out FTL travel and increase human life span by about 4-5x and it’ll be the perfect vacation destination.


7 posted on 02/05/2024 6:29:02 PM PST by chrisser (I lost my vaccine card in a tragic boating accident.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

Wow! That’s right around the corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner, corner,.


8 posted on 02/05/2024 6:29:47 PM PST by laweeks (///)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

How much would I weigh on this planet like 2000 pounds?
The Orville TV show had a good episode dealing with this gravity problem


9 posted on 02/05/2024 6:30:16 PM PST by mowowie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

With a typical NASA rocket it would take substantially more than a million years to get there so best not to plan a vacation there anytime soon.


10 posted on 02/05/2024 6:32:43 PM PST by quantim (Victory is not relative, it is absolute. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W
Another boondoggle to keep their paychecks coming....
11 posted on 02/05/2024 6:34:27 PM PST by Fungi
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

Here they come. Biden probably already has his people drafting the forms for automatic amnesty and an expedited path to citizenship.


12 posted on 02/05/2024 6:35:20 PM PST by sphinx
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

The habitable zone of a small reddish star is fairly close to the star, which is bad news for planets in that habitable zone. Guessing by habitable they mean liquid water and life as we know it.

Small red stars like this type M (the most common type of star in our galaxy) tend to be much more active with flares, and the planet being very near the star, well within the orbit of Mercury in our solar system by comparison, leads many to believe planets this close may not be able to hold an atmosphere of significance.


13 posted on 02/05/2024 6:36:45 PM PST by Pox (Eff You China. Buy American!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: John W

A place we will never get to.


14 posted on 02/05/2024 6:40:10 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mowowie

Hopefully, humans can flee the planet before some natural or human calamity puts us on the extinct list. I would assume we’d see some strange looking “humans” after 25,000 years of evolution on that planet.


15 posted on 02/05/2024 6:44:48 PM PST by hardspunned (Former DC GOP globalist stooge)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: John W

If this is your field of study then 137 light years is indeed close in astronomical terms yet it is so far away that our species may never ever visit it.

The nearest real galaxy Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away. They estimate there are hundreds of billions to trillions of galaxies. No way of knowing.

Over time we should be able to get increasingly better at detecting signs of life in these distance realms. As Spock would say - it is fascinating.


16 posted on 02/05/2024 6:49:12 PM PST by plain talk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: plain talk

Can I ask a basic question?

Yes, 137LY is relatively short in astronomical terms, but, in ‘humans travelling there to find our utopia’ terms - tell me how it’s not impossible - if we all saw Tom Cruise have a problem with 10G’s - yes, that’s force 10x greater than the pull of gravity, I get that. But - how is it anatomically possible to travel anywhere near the speed of light - given that we somehow discovered StarTrek technology to do so? Yes, no gravity in space - but the force to go that fast. Wouldn’t we be pink mist?

What am I missing?


17 posted on 02/05/2024 6:59:44 PM PST by time4good
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: mowowie
How much would I weigh on this planet like 2000 pounds?

If the planet had similar density to Earth but 50% larger radius, you would weigh about 3.3x your current weight, by my calculations.

We would be helpless on that planet but if they came here...

18 posted on 02/05/2024 7:06:18 PM PST by JustaTech (My mind is the weapon. Everything else is tools.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum
...the width of Earth...

WTH?

Any fifth grader knows it's DIAMETER!

19 posted on 02/05/2024 7:06:30 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: plain talk
Over time we should be able to get increasingly better at detecting signs of life in these distance realms.

Better?

Since we've 'detected' NOTHING so far...

20 posted on 02/05/2024 7:08:43 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-64 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson