Looking for Earth-like Alien Planets? Focus on the Blue Ones

Space.com ^ | 11/16/2010 | Space.com

[Chode]

duh...

[ari-freedom]

hmm I’d also focus on the ones that are lit up at night unless for some reason, all the aliens are commies.

[Islander7]

Well DUH! ....and how much did this ‘study’ cost?

[calex59]

Until we find a way to cross great distances in a short time, it will do no good to find “earth like” planets. Even light speed would be useless in getting to far reaches of space.

[GladesGuru]

Blue! Blue is for boys. Pink is for girls. How dare they suggest looking for just blue planets?

That is just soooo sexist! /sarc

[JRandomFreeper]

Hmmm. We have one measurement point, and that's this solar system.

Mercury is tide locked and has no effective atmosphere.

Venus is a sulphuric atmosphere and is white (in our view of the wavelengths).

Dirt, AKA Terra, AKA Earth, is a water planet that looks blue (to our eyes), Mars is a cold and barren place with lots of CO2, if you measure 'lots' in microbars.

After that it gets easier....

So... what couldn't I have learned in 3rd grade if I'd stayed awake vs this study?

Not much. Liquid water is pro-life.

700 degree sulphuric acid might not be. Very, very thin CO2 is completely out.

/johnny

[preacher]

“Looking for Earth-like Alien Planets? Focus on the Blue
Ones”

We can’t have that. Discrimination based on color!

[The Cajun]

Well that's great, but Neptune and Uranus (I hated like hell to mention Uranus) are blue... largely due to methane in their atmospheres.
Try again gang ;^)

[BillT]

The largest angle available to look down range is the diameter of the earth approximately 1 light second or 186,000,000 miles. How many light years away are these suns makes this angle incredibly small. I am not sure that I believe that our best equipment is capable of this kind of accuracy.

[onedoug]

Let us all know when you find a new earth.

[montanajoe]

Blue for carbon based life forms but possibly red for silicon based...

[dr_who]

What about purple ones?

[muffaletaman]

Not to be a picker of nits...

One light second is 186 thousand miles, not 186 million miles.

Light could go AROUND the earth about 7-1/2 times in one second. The circumference of the earth is about 24,900 miles... 186,000 / 24,900 = 7.47

Light could “CROSS” the Earth (diameter at the equator about 7,925 miles) 186,000 / 7925 = 23.47 about 23-1/2 times in one second... or in other words it would take 0.043 second to cross the Earth’s diameter at light speed.

I don’t know about “looking down range” comment but my bet is you mean the angle the earth would subtend (appear to be) at stellar distances is VERY VERY small!

But future telescopes that are planned WILL be able to make observations at these distances.

This is ALL so very interesting!!!

Makes me wish I stayed in physics and astronomy, instead of taking up piano playing in the French Quarter... ;-)

[Whenifhow]

FYI

[mikey_hates_everything]

Astronomers hunting for Earth-like alien worlds could improve their odds by zeroing in on planets that look blue...

How can that possibly work? Isn't that profiling?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Whenifhow. Reminds me of a George Carlin joke.

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[dragnet2]

Not to be a picker of nits...One light second is 186 thousand miles

Actually, it's a couple hundred miles per second, faster than that, approximately 186,282 per second.

[UCANSEE2]

Actually, it's a couple hundred miles per second, faster than that, approximately 186,282 per second.

That figure may not be completely accurate.

[dragnet2]

You’ll note I used the word, “Approximately”.