Posted on 04/25/2007 3:07:03 AM PDT by FostersExport
Astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System to date, a world which could have water running on its surface. The planet orbits the faint star Gliese 581, which is 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra.
Scientists made the discovery using the Eso 3.6m Telescope in Chile.
They say the benign temperatures on the planet mean any water there could exist in liquid form, and this raises the chances it could also harbour life.
"We have estimated that the mean temperature of this 'super-Earth' lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius, and water would thus be liquid," explained Stephane Udry of the Geneva Observatory, lead author of the scientific paper reporting the result.
"Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky - like our Earth - or covered with oceans."
Xavier Delfosse, a member of the team from Grenoble University, added: "Liquid water is critical to life as we know it."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
Running water? Does this mean indoor plumbing? What are their building codes like? How about their public schools?
The world is wondering.
The big question about these far-away planets: Does it appear to be cooling or warming. Perhaps aiming our radioscopes and telescopes at them may be inducing warming there.
Any scientist studying this planet must of course now purchase offsets to allow investigations to continue... to receive more funding grants, that is.
Some scientists are desperate for fame. They will say anything to get into the news. The news media comply and use words like “another earth”, “habitable planet”, and other fantasies.
It is much too soon to know if the planet is earthlike.
sure..that's for now.
wanna bet "they" will soon notice huge flucuations in those temps and we'll have Global Warming II....AND it will STILL somehow be linked to SUVs, cell phones, and/or George W. Bush.
(dang...you beat me by a minute! MORE COFFEE!!!)
BBC articles can be posted in their entirety.
This exoplanet is the closest in size to Earth so far found, and is in its star system’s habitable zone.
Ping of interest.
Hmmm, another “Class M” planet. Prepare an away team to beam to the surface.
Class M Planet
This is GREAT news! A perfect place for our liberals and enviros to migrate. They can start over fresh, with an unspoiled planet, implement their utopian nut case ideas there, and LEAVE US ALONE! It would take them about a year to realize, once and for all, that their ideas don’t work in the “real world”. Free Republic, Rush Limbaugh, and President Bush would be a little too far away for them to be able to blame at that point.
Planet Kucinich - Only 150 trillion miles away!
Lets get the oil rigs up and running.
Any astronomy literate people here who can describe how they determine it has liquid water and how they plan on determining if it has life? Is it spectral analysis like they use to determine star makeup?
But what about this? Does it have a moon to protect it from asteroids and to churn this seas? We have a remarkable planet here in our girl Earth. No need to go elsewhere.
OH, they'll get there and realize they weigh a whole lot more. Then, imagine the weird diets they'll go on to lose weight.
Ok, I’m confused. I did a search for planet and none of those threads came up. This did surprise me but I’ve double checked my search.
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