Goldilocks moons

PHYSorg ^ | Mike Simonsen, Universe Today

[SunkenCiv]

The habitable zone (HZ) around a star is defined as the range of distances over which liquid water could exist on the surface of a terrestrial planet, given a dense enough atmosphere. Terrestrial planets are generally defined as rocky and similar to Earth in size and mass. A visualization of the habitable zones around stars of different diameters and brightness and temperature is shown here. The red region is too hot, the blue region is too cold, but the green region is just right for liquid water. Because it can be described this way, the HZ is also referred to as the "Goldilocks Zone"...

For the Kepler 16 system, planetary orbits around the primary star are only stable out to 0.0675 AU (astronomical units). "That is well inside the inner limit of habitability, where the runaway greenhouse effect takes over," Billy explained. This all but rules out the possibility of habitable planets in close orbit around the primary star of the pair. What they found was that orbits in the Goldilocks Zone farther out, around the pair of Kepler 16's low-mass stars, are stable on time scales of a million years or more, providing the possibility that life could evolve on a planet within that HZ.

Kepler 16b's roughly circular orbit, about 65 million miles from the stars, is on the outer edge of this habitable zone. Being a gas giant, 16b is not a habitable terrestrial planet. However, an Earth-like moon, a Goldilocks Moon, in orbit around this planet could sustain life if it were massive enough to retain an Earth-like atmosphere. "We determined that a habitable exomoon is possible in orbit around Kepler-16b," Quarles said.

[SunkenCiv]

The Goldilocks Zones around various type stars. Credit: NASA Kepler Mission

[SunkenCiv]

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[cripplecreek]

I’ve always believed that moons are the best place to be. If our solar system is any indication, there must be 50 or 60 thousand moons just among the planets we know about.

There are at least 200 moons in our solar system.

[Tucker39]

“What they found was that orbits in the Goldilocks Zone farther out, around the pair of Kepler 16’s low-mass stars, are stable on time scales of a million years or more, providing the possibility that life could evolve on a planet within that HZ.”

IMHO, The only monkey wrench in that scenario is that there never has been macro-evolution as the God haters attempt to peddle it, so the whle premise has slightly less validity, even, than the fairy tale of Goldilocks and her Ursine Encounter of the Third Kind!

[SunkenCiv]

Oh, look, the thread hijacking stalker’s back!

[Tucker39]

Dear SunkenCiv,
First of all, may I say that YOUR stellar/astronomically informative threads are very interesting and usually include objects of beauty in the heavens. This particular threads reminds me of some of the information included in the DVD presentation: THE PRIVILEGED PLANET.

A little while ago I made a boo-boo. After it was too late and I’d already posted my reply on your thread I realized that it WAS YOUR thread.

Now, to MY mind, once someone posts a thread or makes a reply to one, that thread, as well as any and all replies, are fair game for opinions spanning the entire spectrum of possibilities.

But since you have taken offense and castigated me for posting occasional replies which you don’t like, I have made it a point NOT to post replies on your threads. This time I replied without looking who had posted it. Mia culpa!

However, I don’t mind repeating that once a thread is posted it is open for all to enjoy or not, and to agree or disagree, or to praise or criticize.

[raybbr]

IMHO, The only monkey wrench in that scenario is that there never has been macro-evolution as the God haters attempt to peddle it, so the whle premise has slightly less validity, even, than the fairy tale of Goldilocks and her Ursine Encounter of the Third Kind!

Could you rewrite that in Earth's English so I may know how to respond.

[Hawk1976]

I always wonder why we would choose to return to a gravity well after we mastered not needing one. It doesn’t make much sense to confine yourself to a gravity well.

[cripplecreek]

In the followup book to Clarke's 2001 (3001) humanity had largely left the gravity well of earth behind. The people mostly lived in the ring around the planet at the top of the space elevators.

In spaceflight, big really is better but not for launch from the surface.

Daedalus next to a Saturn V

[Viking2002]

It'll never fly..........*BOOM*! LOL

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for his name is Obama."

[Tucker39]

The article upon which the thread is based is very interesting, and the idea that there may be life on other planets is intriguing. But as one who believes the Bible and is trusting Christ for Salvation; and as one who also has a half decent brain, I can see for myself the complex SYSTEMS AND EXQUISITE ORDER by which the world and the Universe operates.

SYSTEMS do not come into operation by happenstance. Evolution, as described by Darwin and his followers, is a huge crock! If evolution ever took place, it would be taking place right now, yet we see NO “experimental models,” anywhere; all we see are exquisitely DESIGNED things which perfectly function in all respects as FINISHED PRODUCTS. We see the work of a DESIGNER/CREATOR, whose Name happens to be Jesus Christ. Read the first chapter of The Gospel according to John.

Did you ever hear of SETI? It’s a program which has placed many, many HUGE satellite dishes all over the Earth, which have been searching the heavens for many years now in hopes of hearing one peep that they could possibly claim had come from some intelligent beings on some other planet somewhere. The movie CONTACT, starring Jodie Foster was based on that concept. Not only have those large dishes NEVER picked up one intelligent peep; I don’t think they ever will.

That is what I meant that the idea of intelligent life “evolving” on some planet “out there, somewhere” is less real than the fairytale of GOLDILOCKS and the THREE BEARS.
Thank you for the reply.

[raybbr]

The article upon which the thread is based is very interesting, and the idea that there may be life on other planets is intriguing. But as one who believes the Bible and is trusting Christ for Salvation; and as one who also has a half decent brain, I can see for myself the complex SYSTEMS AND EXQUISITE ORDER by which the world and the Universe operates.

Okay, I get it now.

Why can't it be that God created more than one world like ours? Is it really so hard to believe that in the millions and millions of star systems out there that there could be more like us? I'd rather believe that God created millions of places like our earth than to think that He would have created the Universe but only put life on one planet out of billions. If I'm wrong what harm does it do? If I'm right wouldn't it be one of man's greatest achievements - to make contact with another one of God's worlds?

[Tucker39]

Hey, whatever blows your skirt up! You aren’t compelled to believe what I do. And it’s O.K. with me if there are other occupied planets. It’s just that, first of all, I am unalterably convinced that evolution is a crock; so that IF there are other inhabited worlds, the life there HAD TO have been put there by the Lord, like you suggested. But if that actually happened, the Scriptures are totally silent about it.

Since the Scriptures go to such lengths to tell us how much God loves the human race here on this “little blue marble”, to the extent that He would send his only Son to shed his blood to redeem us back out of sin....at least as many as will acknowledge their need and put their FAITH in His son....that I cannot help but believe we are the only “family” He has.

I accepted Christ as my Savior on August 18, 1962....I’m older than dirt! In all these years of knowing God and experiencing Him carrying me through life, I am totally convinced that we are IT. There aren’t any others besides us.

The scientist or whoever wrote that article about planets needing to be in the “Goldilocks Zone” stated that evolution surely has taken place on some of those many worlds out there.

I merely replied that it’s so obvious to anyone who does some HONEST observation and thinking about it, that evolution NEVER TOOK PLACE HERE, so why would we be so foolish as to think it did anywhere else, either?

[Tucker39]

P.S. No need to worry about all those “billions and billions” of uninhabited worlds out there going to waste. “GOD & COMPANY” has all of ETERNITY to develop those worlds, in fellowship and joy with His redeemed ones who have put their faith in His Son.

A little hint as to what He and His Son have planned is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. Actually, when Paul wrote the 1st Corinthians statement, he was QUOTING what Isaiah had said loooooong before that. God isn’t in a hurry. He.....and His family of redeemed ones have FOREVER to joyfully do it.

Isaiah 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

1st Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

[TheOldLady]

Hey, that Daedalus is really cool. They're planning on its traveling at 0.071 c, which is 47,541,600 MPH in its first stage, and then a boost to 0.12 c (80,352,000 MPH) for the cruise.

Once attaining 12% of light, it would take less than an hour for her to travel the equivalent of earth's distance from the sun.

Sigh. Talk about being born too early. Heck. I would have worked my tail off to get on that puppy for an interstellar mission.

[cripplecreek]

Still a long ride to the nearest stars but everything in our solar system would be a matter of hours away. Icarus pathfinder would be a small test run craft expected to go out to 1000 AU and Icraus Starfinder would be a test vehicle to run out to 10,000 AU. Icarus starfinder MK II would be a 50,000 AU test vehicle.

Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel

For reference the New Horizons craft is only a bit more than 22 AU from the sun (about 3 light hours out) and still 10 AU from its pluto flyby.



For further reference...

[cripplecreek]

BTW Voyager 1 was 119 AU from the sun as of October.

Alpha Centauri is something like 280,000 AU from here.

[TheOldLady]

Wow! Thanks for the interesting charts of our drone exploratory spacecraft! That's neato!

Yeah, I don't think we can attain the speeds necessary for interstellar flight while we're still within our solar system.

It takes quite a while to get going that fast, two years to get to 0.071 c, and after jettisoning that stage, another 1.8 years to get to 0.12 c. We can't accelerate fast because it would crush the passengers.

I was just using 1 AU to illustrate how fast the interstellar speeds will be.

[cripplecreek]

Its all really cool stuff and by rights we should be a lot further along than we are. We should be in the Icarus testing phase by now at the least.

[TheOldLady]

We have the left and their whiny protesters to thank for that. "We should spend it on the children, don'tcha know!" "Investments in solar and wind power would be better spent than in the dead-end of space!" "mozlim outreach!!" [spit]