Posted on 09/29/2010 3:48:50 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
US astronomers said Wednesday they have discovered an Earth-sized planet that they think might be habitable, orbiting a nearby star, and believe there could be many more planets like it in space.
The planet, found by astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, is orbiting in the middle of the "habitable zone" of the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which means it could have water on its surface.
Liquid water and an atmosphere are necessary for a planet to possibly sustain life, even it it might not be a great place to live, the scientists said.
The scientists determined that the planet, which they have called Gliese 581g, has a mass three to four times that of Earth and an orbital period of just under 37 days.
Its mass indicates that it is probably a rocky planet and has enough gravity to hold on to an atmosphere, according to Steven Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and one of the leaders of the team that discovered the planet.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Can I get a time-share or do I need to buy outright?
Gravity would be a problem with 4X Earth mass.
But let’s send a robot probe there now!
Beam me up Scotty!
Interesting stuff. It’s tidally locked according to the story, so the habitable zone would be pretty small.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zefram_Cochrane
“Cochrane was born in 2030 (or 2013, according to the First Contact novelization). He constructed humanity’s first warp-capable vessel, the Phoenix, in Bozeman, Montana, out of an old Titan II nuclear missile.”
I would weigh 600 to 700 lbs. Forget it.
"Near" and "nearby" are relative terms.
Cool, but with this President, isn’t NASA taking a chance at not naming it after a Muslim deity?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zefram_Cochrane
“On April 5, 2063, Cochrane made Earth’s first warp flight, playing Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” during blast-off. The Phoenix’s warp flight is detected by a Vulcan survey ship, the T’Plana Hath, which then makes peaceful first contact with humans, including Cochrane, at the Phoenix’s launch site.[1]”
Looks perfect for a mass relocation of liberals, socialists, eco-freaks, gays, lesbians, fascists, communists and muslims.
Pure arrogance! Reminds me of a little boy who thinks that things don't exist until he has "discovered" them.
You could always live in a swimming pool on the planet.
You’d be weightless then, or at least weigh less...
Yeah, like, it could be covered with junk cars and beer cans.
Oh, so that’s where “they” come from.
Habitable for us is actually a pretty narrow band anyway.
Maybe that’s why aliens are always so thin!
Stellar idea! I’ll contribute to the transportation fund.
20 LY away is hardly ‘near earth’.
Red Dwarf is a waning start type, limited time (few million years at most) before going supernova and consuming this
grand new world.
Red sun, 4x the body weight, I’m not sure. We’d need ironman suits just to support ourselfs standing up.
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