Earth-sized rocky planet orbiting a nearby star

phys.org ^ | November 11, 2015 | Provided by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

[Red Badger]

X-O Planet Ping!.........................

[kjam22]

Okay.... you know this is garbage just by the title. There is no “nearby” star other than our own sun.

[MNDude]

Agreed.

“Our galaxy spans about 100,000 light-years,” Berta-Thompson says. “So this is definitely a very nearby solar neighborhood star.”

So how do they define nearby? Just that it’s not in another galaxy?

[cripplecreek]

I really prefer this description than the usual “Earthlike”.

[Red Badger]

Well, 39 light years away is ‘relatively’ close........................

[kjam22]

Yep.... it's intellectually a lie to use "close" and "39 light years" in the same sentence.

[aimhigh]

Considering we had to just send a rocket to Pluto to see what it looks like, I question how accurate these scientists are about planets around other stars.

[Red Badger]

I would say that anything within a 100 light year radius could be classified as ‘nearby’.............................

[muir_redwoods]

All such distance are relative. 39 light years is relatively close by.

[Red Badger]

[kjam22]

1 light year = 5,878,499,810,000 miles. You cannot call that close and be anywhere near correct.

[boomop1]

That is the first thing I thought nearby as around the corner such BS.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Coincidentally, isn’t that about the distance that the EPA will require cars to travel on one gallon of gasoline by 2020?

[cripplecreek]

Yup. Like a million vs a trillion.

Both are large numbers but one is considerably smaller.

[kjam22]

LOL..... yeah... but it’s not unreasonable... cause it’s nearby.

[kjam22]

So instead of saying “nearby” in the article. Just type out how many miles it is away.... and then see how many people really believe that they figured out it was made of rock, earth size, and orbiting a star. Because the “made of rock and earth size” implies POSSIBILITY OF LIFE. OMG, there is life out there....

[Diana in Wisconsin]

“...in the language of ‘Star Wars,’ would be the polar opposite of frigid Hoth, and even more inhospitable than the deserts of Tatooine.”

But, is it a wretched hive of scum and villainy? If not, I ain’t goin’!

[cripplecreek]

Because light years is the standard of measurement on this astronomical scale. There was no mention of life or even a possibility of it.

[kjam22]

I understand. It’s so close, that before long they’ll be able to tell us the color of its sunsets...