20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

The most enticing property yet found outside our solar system is about 20 light years away in the constellation Libra, according to a team of European astronomers.

Full story: [url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/25/news/planet.php]20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet - International Herald Tribune[/url]

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

I dont get how they decide what the hell this planet is like? Or what anything is rally like that we can't actually really see. Seems like a lot of supposition to me.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=Mattyk72;301984]The most enticing property yet found outside our solar system is about 20 light years away in the constellation Libra, according to a team of European astronomers.

Full story: [URL="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/25/news/planet.php"]20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet - International Herald Tribune[/URL][/quote]

Cool, my kids got dibbs on ocean front property.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=FRPLG;301993]I dont get how they decide what the hell this planet is like? Or what anything is rally like that we can't actually really see. Seems like a lot of supposition to me.[/quote]

It's a bunch of astrophysics stuff. They examine the star and calculate the size. Given that it's a red dwarf, they know the approximate density of it.

They then measure the pattern of fluctuations in the shape of the star, and they can determine that an object of x size orbiting the star would have enough gravity to pull on the star and cause the observed level of fluctuations in the star's shape. They can also calculate the approximate distance from the star that the object would have to be in order to cause the variances in the star's surface.

So they established the size of the object (about as big as Earth), they established that it is orbiting the star, and they've established how far away it is. Now, since they know how much heat a red dwarf star of that size generates, and they know how far away from the star this planet is, they can calculate the expected temperature on this planet's surface. They've determined the temperatures would be earth-like.

We don't have the technology to see something as small as an earth-like planet from 20 light years away. But we can detect and measure the size of stars from that distance. So they just study the star real closely and extrapolate the rest of the information based on the behavior exhibited by the star.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=angryssg;301994]Cool, my kids got dibbs on ocean front property.[/QUOTE]

Haha. Did you get a piece of the moon too? If not, you better hurry.

[url=http://usa.lunarregistry.com/]Earth's Leading Lunar Real Estate Agency - Buy Moon Property[/url]

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10;302016]It's a bunch of astrophysics stuff. They examine the star and calculate the size. Given that it's a red dwarf, they know the approximate density of it.

They then measure the pattern of fluctuations in the shape of the star, and they can determine that an object of x size orbiting the star would have enough gravity to pull on the star and cause the observed level of fluctuations in the star's shape. They can also calculate the approximate distance from the star that the object would have to be in order to cause the variances in the star's surface.

So they established the size of the object (about as big as Earth), they established that it is orbiting the star, and they've established how far away it is. Now, since they know how much heat a red dwarf star of that size generates, and they know how far away from the star this planet is, they can calculate the expected temperature on this planet's surface. They've determined the temperatures would be earth-like.

We don't have the technology to see something as small as an earth-like planet from 20 light years away. But we can detect and measure the size of stars from that distance. So they just study the star real closely and extrapolate the rest of the information based on the behavior exhibited by the star.[/QUOTE]

Actually I know how it works but my point, not really conveyed well, is that for the most part there is a bunch of guessing going on.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=FRPLG;302093]Actually I know how it works but my point, not really conveyed well, is that for the most part there is a bunch of guessing going on.[/quote]

Word, it is a lot of extrapolation that's for sure.

And I'm not sure why we even care what a planet is like 20 light years away. It ain't like we're going to send anybody there to check it out! Kind of a waste of time, other than the 'oh cool' factor.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

Space is a huge head trip when you really try to wrap your brain around it.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;302101]Space is a huge head trip when you really try to wrap your brain around it.[/QUOTE]

Speaking of, do you plan on seeing this?

[url=http://www.press.discovery.com/ekits/spaceweek/template.cfm?page=programs]Space Week[/url]

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=SmootSmack;302108]Speaking of, do you plan on seeing this?

[URL="http://www.press.discovery.com/ekits/spaceweek/template.cfm?page=programs"]Space Week[/URL][/quote]

Nice, I'm all over that!

I've already seen some of those shows, if we had no moon, most of the universe is missing, and super black holes. The missing universe one really blows your mind.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;302111]Nice, I'm all over that!

I've already seen some of those shows, if we had no moon, most of the universe is missing, and super black holes. The missing universe one really blows your mind.[/QUOTE]

You sound like me...I live on the Discovery Channel.

I don't hold much stock on these planets being the next earth anyway. I jumped on that bandwagon years ago, when everyone thought Titan had water. After a closer look, it was liquid gas.

Also, as of today, we can't reach somewhere that is 20 light years away in time to actually inhabit it. Even if we were lucky enough to send a space ship in the general direction, by the time we arrived, we'd be skeletons.

It always makes me nervous that scientists are so hell bent on finding a new planet. Are they indirectly telling us our planet is doomed?

That super black hole show freaked me out. I had no idea there were so many black holes, and they implied that life derives from black holes. It was very interesting...it gets you thinking.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=GhettoDogAllStars;302090]Haha. Did you get a piece of the moon too? If not, you better hurry.

[url=http://usa.lunarregistry.com/]Earth's Leading Lunar Real Estate Agency - Buy Moon Property[/url][/QUOTE]

WOW. Had no idea they were selling property on the moon. Kind of stupid if you ask me. Not becuase they WON'T make communities up there, I believe we can...but because the moon is already getting closer and closer to the earth every day, put more weight on the moon and then we may see it crash into the earth.
Why are humans self destructive?

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

is there any possibility at all we could get anywhere near this planet? or the main point is, it could be life supporting?

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=jsarno;302146]WOW. Had no idea they were selling property on the moon. Kind of stupid if you ask me. Not becuase they WON'T make communities up there, I believe we can...but because the moon is already getting closer and closer to the earth every day, put more weight on the moon and then we may see it crash into the earth.
Why are humans self destructive?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, not to mention it is basically a desert. No rain, no weather, no water, no lakes -- just a bunch of sand dunes and craters. Kinda dull if you ask me.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=dmek25;302223]is there any possibility at all we could get anywhere near this planet? or the main point is, it could be life supporting?[/quote]

As of now, we've got the capability to reach Mars in about 8 months. Mars is 35 million miles away.

This new planet is 20 light years away, or 120 trillion miles. If we go at the same speed we go when we head to Mars, it would take us 2,285,714 years to get there.

So no we can't get near it; not until Scotty invents the warp drive.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

Someone once said to me "Either life as we know it exists in the universe or it doesn't, either way - it's pretty mind boggling".

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

I saw this show recently on alternate dimensions. Apparently this is a concept that's really gaining some steam amongst scientists. The show really boggled my mind.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=Mattyk72;302261]I saw this show recently on alternate dimensions. Apparently this is a concept that's really gaining some steam amongst scientists. The show really boggled my mind.[/quote]
It's really the dominating theory in physics right now. They've recently gained a great deal of ground on something called "m theory", which unifies about 7 or 8 different "string" theories.

If you've got a lot of time, and psychedelic mushrooms, I'd strongly suggest you watch all of the series called "Elegant Universe". It's hosted by Brian Greene, who is kind of cheesy in it, but really brings to the table what's actually going on.

I'm reading a book by him called "Fabric of the cosmos" and he relates a lot of modern physics to the Simpsons and other familiar ideas. He's got great analogies, and it's definitely a good "sitting on the john" reading.

Here's the link to part 1 of "The elegant universe". You can fumble around and find the rest. [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poINyvCN3tc&mode=related&search="]YouTube - The Elegant Universe Part 1: Einstein's Dream (1/5)[/URL]

A lot of these theories are being put to test by a company called Fermi-Lab. I think it's in Virginia somewhere, I can't remember off the top of my head. They have assembled a giant super collider where basically they're colliding atomic particles at close to light speed. On of the things they're looking for is a theoretical particle called a "gravitron". The theory is that gravity may possible be the strongest of the four forces, but it seems weak in our world because "gravitrons" flow in and out of different universes.

Crazy stuff, that we're actually investing a lot of time and money into to investigation of other universes with different forces altogether.

One last thing, this year in Switzerland they're opening up another super collider that's many times larger and more powerful then Fermi-Lab's. There are almost certainly going to be some mind shattering discoveries in the next 5 years.

Edit: Here is the fermilab particle accelerator.

[IMG]http://www.physics.northwestern.edu/ugrad/img/Fermilab.jpg[/IMG]

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

You know, speaking of warp drive, it got me thinking ... it only took 67 years from the time that we first achieved flight (in a heavier-than-air machine) to landing on the moon. During that time, we also harnessed the power of splitting the atom.

Those were pretty big steps in the progress of human civilization in a fairly short time span when you think about it -- or maybe in the grand scheme of things it's not that significant of an achievement.

But to come to the realization that we aren't anywhere near non-fossil fuel or alternative forms of propulsion for space flight makes this sort of finding interesting, but frustrating at the same time. Well, for people our age anyway. My great-grandkids might see something from it.

We still have a lot to learn.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=jsarno;302146]WOW. Had no idea they were selling property on the moon. Kind of stupid if you ask me. Not becuase they WON'T make communities up there, I believe we can...but because the moon is already getting closer and closer to the earth every day, put more weight on the moon and then we may see it crash into the earth.
Why are humans self destructive?[/quote]

Actually, the moon is getting farther and farther away from the earth. It's also interesting to know that as the moon drifts away, the earth's days are getting longer because of it. It has to do with circular motion, but it's kind of cool that we can actually calculate almost exactly the effect the moon has on our days. I'm a huge nerd, sorry.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

I love reading about outer space.It will completly blow your mind.I mean the speed of light is something around 140,000 miles per second.Thats right, I said a second.

Black holes are also very interesting to learn about.The force of gravity is so strong in them because it is like shoving the mass of ten of our suns into the same space as the earth and the sun is like seven times the size of the earth.(those numbers are not exact but you get the idea).Their force of gravity will suck in anything around them including light.Now thats crazy,so much gravity that it sucks in light.Black holes will also distort the time around them.Meaning there is an area around the black hole where if you could orbit in that area time would actually slow down.Everything is relative you know.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=RobH4413;302306]Actually, the moon is getting farther and farther away from the earth. It's also interesting to know that as the moon drifts away, the earth's days are getting longer because of it. It has to do with circular motion, but it's kind of cool that we can actually calculate almost exactly the effect the moon has on our days. I'm a huge nerd, sorry.[/QUOTE]

But in 100 years it will only be 2 milliseconds longer.
You are right about it getting farther and farther away...I knew that too, I don't know why I said closer and closer. My bad. I saw a documentary on this not too long ago about the effects of the moon.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=love them hogs;302329]I love reading about outer space.It will completly blow your mind.I mean the speed of light is something around 140,000 miles per second.Thats right, I said a second.

Black holes are also very interesting to learn about.The force of gravity is so strong in them because it is like shoving the mass of ten of our suns into the same space as the earth and the sun is like seven times the size of the earth.(those numbers are not exact but you get the idea).Their force of gravity will suck in anything around them including light.Now thats crazy,so much gravity that it sucks in light.Black holes will also distort the time around them.Meaning there is an area around the black hole where if you could orbit in that area time would actually slow down.Everything is relative you know.[/quote]

Yeah, it's insane to realize exactly how gifted Einstein was. He predicted that gravity bent light well before anyone had any experimental evidence to prove so.

It wouldn't take long for his theory to be put to the test, because according to Einstein during a solar eclipse, we would see that the stars observed behind the sun would be out of position in relation to where the stars should be from previous observations.

Sure enough, during the solar eclipse, it was observed that the star near the sun was actually observed to be closer to the sun than it should have been.
[IMG]http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/7779/eclipsaroonivu3.png[/IMG]
and u like my paint skills.

and grammar skills.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

Imagine getting stuck in this [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UZDHHDhog"]elevator[/URL]

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=SmootSmack;302355]Imagine getting stuck in this [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UZDHHDhog"]elevator[/URL][/quote]
That is nuts. I've never seen that before.

Cool shit.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;302355]Imagine getting stuck in this [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UZDHHDhog"]elevator[/URL][/QUOTE]

I just don't see how this can work. I saw previews for this, saying it would take like 3 months to travel on it.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=SmootSmack;302108]Speaking of, do you plan on seeing this?

[URL="http://www.press.discovery.com/ekits/spaceweek/template.cfm?page=programs"]Space Week[/URL][/quote]

Space Week rocks, I wish they would release all of those as a DVD collection. Have you been watching it?

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;302355]Imagine getting stuck in this [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2UZDHHDhog"]elevator[/URL][/QUOTE]

I think this is the most efficient way to transport cargo outside of our atmosphere. An achievement like this could change the world as we know it. Currently, I think the cost of space transport is about $10K per pound (please correct me, if I'm wrong). With something like this, it could be incredibly cheaper -- making space exploration and development much more feasible. I could see this happening within the next 20 years.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;309149]Space Week rocks, I wish they would release all of those as a DVD collection. Have you been watching it?[/QUOTE]

Not as much as I would like

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

The one about the sun was very cool, and I watched a few last night, one about Mars and another one about Saturn. Saturn was very interesting.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=FRPLG;301993]I dont get how they decide what the hell this planet is like? Or what anything is rally like that we can't actually really see. Seems like a lot of supposition to me.[/quote]

Plus, if we tried to go there, we'd die of old age on the way there.

Waste of time and money if you ask me.

Re: 20 light years away, the most Earthlike planet yet
 

[quote=GhettoDogAllStars;302090]Haha. Did you get a piece of the moon too? If not, you better hurry.

[URL="http://usa.lunarregistry.com/"]Earth's Leading Lunar Real Estate Agency - Buy Moon Property[/URL][/quote]

Thanks! I think I'll name a star after you! :pffff: