Posted on 11/15/2017 7:01:36 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Astronomers have found a cool, Earth-sized planet that's relatively close to our Solar System.
The properties of this newly discovered planet - called Ross 128 b - make it a prime target in the search for life elsewhere in the cosmos.
At just 11 light-years away, it's the second closest exoplanet of its kind to Earth.
But the closest one, known as Proxima b, looks to be less hospitable for life. Found in 2016, it orbits the star Proxima Centauri, which is known to be a rather active "red dwarf" star. This means that powerful eruptions of charged particles periodically batter Proxima b with harmful radiation.
The new planet, Ross 128 b, orbits a star that's not dissimilar to Proxima Centauri (it's also a red dwarf), but is significantly less active.
Co-discoverer Nicola Astudillo-Defru from the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland told BBC News: "Just because Proxima Centauri blasts its planet with strong flares and high energy radiation, yes, I think Ross 128 is much more comfortable for the development of life.
"But we still need to know what the atmosphere of Ross 128 b is like. Depending on its composition and the reflectivity of its clouds, the exoplanet may be life friendly with liquid water as the Earth, or sterile like Venus."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
First we send all the telephone sanitizers and account executives.
remind me,, why do we want to find life elsewhere ??
And why do we believe anything is near by?
In before the ‘Red Dwarf’ BBC-series references.
Just no Rimmerworld please.
Certainly no place to raise your kids, let alone visit in person.
Dang machines are having all the fun.
I think the unstable star of Red Dwarf was Cat.
So incredibly stupid to state this is a place to “search for life” (as if we have the means to travel 4.3 light years). It’s a FLARE STAR! I will sterilize whatever little planet is in a tight orbit around it, and sterilize it regularly.
and the Carrel ODonnelians,
Because the Deep Swamp wants to increase the tax base?
“At just 11 light-years away, it’s the second closest exoplanet of its kind to Earth.”
11 light years = 11 x 5.9 trillion miles = 64.9 trillion miles
Stupid phone, too. Was supposed to say, “It will sterilize”...
Because there are educated people who are curious and want to know
OTOH, I suggest that launching Bomb 20 from Benson, AZ, might be able to take care of the problem.
Intellectual curiosity? Suppose there is life elsewhere in our Solar System, say, at Enceladus or Europa. Don't you think it would be worthwhile to discover and examine it?
The many abuses of the use of “earth like” in promoting these stories when admittedly:
“But we still need to know what the atmosphere of Ross 128 b is like. Depending on its composition and the reflectivity of its clouds, the exoplanet may be life friendly with liquid water as the Earth, or sterile like Venus.”
“Earth like” is not merely the kind of star a planet is orbiting, the planets size and distance from its sun, suggestions (by light signature) there “may be” water there, and some other variables.
It requires a whole constellation of variables to ALL be present, and in every “earth like” exoplanet claimed so far, too few of those variables are there, or are known to be there.
I call this theme “popular science fraud”.
Send Vger to investigate...
It's quite easy (as such thing go) to determine the distance to a star that's within a few hundred light years of Earth.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.