US scientists find potentially habitable planet near Earth

[TykeClone]

US scientists find potentially habitable planet near Earth - Yahoo! News

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.
If Gliese 581g has a rocky composition similar to Earth's, its diameter would be about 1.2 to 1.4 times that of the Earth, the researchers said.
The surface gravity would be about the same or slightly higher than Earth's, so that a person could easily walk upright on the planet, Vogt said.
Gliese 581g was discovered by scientists working on the Lick-Carnegie Exoplanet Survey, during 11 years of observing the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is only 20 light years from Earth.
For astronomers, eleven years of observation is considered a short time and 20 light years, which is roughly 117.5 trillion miles, rather close. The sun is around eight and a half light minutes from Earth.
"The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common," said Vogt.
The planet is tidally locked to its star, meaning that one side is always facing the star and basking in perpetual daylight, and the other is in perpetual darkness because it faces away from the star.
With surface temperatures decreasing the further one goes toward the dark side of the planet and increasing as one goes into the light side, the most habitable part of the new planet would be the line between darkness and light, which is known as the "terminator".
The researchers estimate that the average surface temperature of the planet would be between -24 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-31 to -12 degrees Celsius).

They have an interesting definition of "habitable"

[1100011CS]

" The researchers estimate that the average surface temperature of the planet would be between -24 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-31 to -12 degrees Celsius)."

Sounds peachy if I can bring my ISU Snuggy

[cyclonedave25]

Oh, its only 20 light years away (117.5 trillion miles), I can't wait to walk around on it!

[isukendall]

" The researchers estimate that the average surface temperature of the planet would be between -24 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-31 to -12 degrees Celsius)."

Sounds peachy if I can bring my ISU Snuggy

It all sounded pretty good up until that part, didn't it. Being an agricultural researcher, I can't help but think how would you raise plants with perpetual (or near perpetual) sunlight. I'm sure it happens on the poles, but is certainly interesting. Of course, that's before I read that it would be frigging freezing there.

Say we could travel at the speed of light. How would you like to take your wife on a nice 20 year stroll so you could populate a freezing planet. Talk about a honeymoon

[CyForPresident]

Its kind of amazing how far NASA and space exploration has come. 10-15 years ago there were a total of 9 known planets in the universe. Now there are 490 known planets and we have only looked relatively close to our solar system and only in our Galaxy. The odds are incredibly good that there are planets very similar to Earth and with life on them.

The problem is getting to these places. But now there is a theory that time doesn't exist, and if that is true, faster than light travel may be possible.

I call first dibbs on being a Captain in Star Fleet.

[Palmer]

can we send a couple of posters from here to there?

[mksmith2]

can we send a couple of posters from here to there?

but we need to POPULATE the planet...

of course, if we ever really need a good couple decades of cyclone sports we could send CDubs over for him and his wife to repopulate.



I'm skeptical, every year we find another planet that is suitable for life or looks like a second earth or something, then we never hear of it again.

This whole theory about time not existing is interesting...wish I was a theoretical physicist. I'm genuinely interested in a link. Seems like a job where you learn physics and etc. maybe say you have glaucoma then get theoretical.

[The_Architect]

With surface temperatures decreasing the further one goes toward the dark side of the planet and increasing as one goes into the light side, the most habitable part of the new planet would be the line between darkness and light, which is known as the "terminator".

Hilarious, how did they come up with the name for the safe-zone as the Terminator?

[cytech]

With surface temperatures decreasing the further one goes toward the dark side of the planet and increasing as one goes into the light side, the most habitable part of the new planet would be the line between darkness and light, which is known as the "terminator".

Hilarious, how did they come up with the name for the safe-zone as the Terminator?

american gladiators? Maybe it is a obstacle course.

[simply1]

We can send our industrial work there and get that temperature bumped up.

[jdoggivjc]

But will my Droid work there?

[RyCy04]

It all sounded pretty good up until that part, didn't it. Being an agricultural researcher, I can't help but think how would you raise plants with perpetual (or near perpetual) sunlight. I'm sure it happens on the poles, but is certainly interesting. Of course, that's before I read that it would be frigging freezing there.

Say we could travel at the speed of light. How would you like to take your wife on a nice 20 year stroll so you could populate a freezing planet. Talk about a honeymoon

If you traveled near the speed of light the trip would take a very short time for you. Those on Earth would experience 20 years but it would be almost instantaneous for those traveling that fast.

[ianoconnor]

But will my Droid work there?

[Aclone]

With surface temperatures decreasing the further one goes toward the dark side of the planet and increasing as one goes into the light side, the most habitable part of the new planet would be the line between darkness and light, which is known as the "terminator".

Hilarious, how did they come up with the name for the safe-zone as the Terminator?

My admittedly inexpert impression was that the light/dark line (observable on Earth from space) has always been called the terminus--so, just translate from the Latin.

*As I recall, the Moon also has a permanent light/dark terminus.

[TykeClone]

*As I recall, the Moon also has a permanent light/dark terminus.

The moon is tidally locked to the earth so we only see one side - but the light/dark terminus moves around the moon (appearing as moon phases to observers on earth)