Posted on 02/22/2017 11:21:30 AM PST by C19fan
Planet-hunters are always on the lookout for worlds that look like Earth—rocky planets that are not too hot and not too cold for liquid water to flow on the surface. Now scientists have hit the jackpot, discovering seven Earth-size exoplanets orbiting a single star just 39 light-years away. The star, named TRAPPIST-1, was thought to be home to three exoplanets. But with the help of a variety of observatories—including the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (a.k.a. TRAPPIST, the star's namesake), the Very Large Telescope in Chile, and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope—researchers found four more planets in the system. The planets were discovered as they passed in front of the star, blocking some of its light from Earth's point-of-view.
(Excerpt) Read more at popsci.com ...
Not really. Possibly our ability to FEEL special is being demoted with new data better indicating where we are on the bell curve. But whether or not we’re special doesn’t change, only our perception.
We have faster ones...
Maybe. Maybe not.
We now know that complex organic molecules are common throughout the galaxy. Apparently, all it takes to create them is:
1. The necessary elements;
2. An energy source;
3. A turbulent medium (either liquid or gas) that will contain the elements and energy so they can react with each other; and
4. Millions of years.
The theory is that with more millions or billions of years the complex organic molecules will somehow evolve into living organisms. The problem is that no one has ever actually figured out how to convert complex organic molecules into even the simplest living organism.
It is possible that, given enough time and the right conditions, life will eventually evolve from organic molecules. It is also possible that the evolution of life on Earth required an infinite number of trillion to one occurrences that have never or extremely rarely all occurred anywhere else.
It is like the old infinite monkey theorem: Given enough time and an infinite number of monkeys banging on typewriters, one of them will eventually reproduce all of the works of Shakespeare. The universe of planets could be the infinite number of monkeys banging on typewriters and Earth could be the only one that resulted in life.
If we actually find even simple living organisms on Mars, Europa, Titan, Enceladus or anywhere else in the solar system that appears to have the necessary mix of conditions, then it is likely that life is common throughout the universe. If, however, it turns out that the rest of the solar system is sterile, then it is possible that the rest of the universe is just as sterile.
Like microbes? Or pigs?
[ Let Liberals go there and they’ll screw that up too ]
We can;t let liberals have access to space travel, we should leave them here to bask... umm suffer in the “utopia” they so dearly want...
Ultra cool red dwarves.
Hip commie midgets?
They must have seen something “wobble”.
Hehehe, ‘nearby’ star they saw. Now uh, how many earthling lives does it take to get there?
We’re just one Zefram Cochrane away from being able to do it!
Yes, but not nearly enough. Especially for a 316,000+ year travel adventure. 8>)
I am old enough to vividly recall watching each of the Apollo moon landings. I now doubt that I will live long enough to ever see man walk on the moon again, let alone Mars or anywhere else in the universe.
Hah! It is certainly a wonderful thought. I’ve never been sold on the idea that our materials or our anatomy could survive a FTL trip though.
I could be wrong but it seems to me that most of the exo-planets they've found have been close and tidally-locked. These are probably the easiest planets to detect which would explain their abundance so far.
I think it’s true that the types of exoplanets we know about are skewed by the ability of our current technology.
So What? Twice as fast and you're down to 159,000 years, a distinction without a difference
Hmmmmm ..?? The GOD I worship, created ALL humans in HIS image .. I guess that leaves out whatever weird creatures you find on your new planets.
Oh yes, Rush did mention that there is some sort of weird movie coming out .. may include a new group of planets.
Leave it to the Hollywood people .. they only create junk.
Survive a 318,000 year trip? I suspect that even the dust would be hard to identify as remains. In fact anything more complicated than a lump of rock or metal would cease to function before 1% of the trip was over.
Man's future is definitely not in space.
Survive a 318,000 year trip? I suspect that even the dust would be hard to identify as remains. In fact anything more complicated than a lump of rock or metal would cease to function before 1% of the trip was over.
Man's future is definitely not in space.
That was a joke. 8>)
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