Potentially habitable planet found

[Buck503]

Originally Posted by By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

Potentially habitable planet found

WASHINGTON - For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."

The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a "red dwarf," is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070425/...bitable_planet

Imagine if life was found on this planet. Explain that one Pope.

[rdf]

How neat it would be on that planet. The red dwarf sun is 20 times bigger than our moon. It would look pretty cool up there in the sky. But you'd have to be on the right side of the planet, they say it probably doesn't rotate.

Expect a lot more Earth like planets being found in the next decade. Too bad we can't travel fast enough to make it feasible to go there.

But maybe we'll figure out something to increase velocity so we can go there in a time scale that isn't so outrageous...I'd volunteer in a new york minute.

[Wise Young]

Originally Posted by rdf

How neat it would be on that planet. The red dwarf sun is 20 times bigger than our moon. It would look pretty cool up there in the sky. But you'd have to be on the right side of the planet, they say it probably doesn't rotate.

Expect a lot more Earth like planets being found in the next decade. Too bad we can't travel fast enough to make it feasible to go there.

But maybe we'll figure out something to increase velocity so we can go there in a time scale that isn't so outrageous...I'd volunteer in a new york minute.

120 trillion miles is pretty far away. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles/second. Even if one could travel at the speed of light, it would take over 20 years to get there. If we want to send a message at the speed of light, it will take 40 years to get a response.

Wise.

[Leif]

I saw this, very interesting; but maybe they have better technology and have watched us for some time and can travel faster “to attach and colonize us first”? Or on the other hand, maybe they have watched us for some time but concluded they will have noting to do with those human earth lunatics at all.

But say; how would one think we would be portrayed by intelligent creatures out there if they existed and could watch us over time? And would they interfere and help for some problems we have if they could, would they attach us if they could, or would they just simply move their antennas to another place while laughing? What you think? Given we can’t go there to “help” them.

[Le Type Français]

Send Bush and his minions there.

[rfbdorf]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

Even if one could travel at the speed of light, it would take over 20 years to get there. If we want to send a message at the speed of light, it will take 40 years to get a response.
Wise.

Actually, if a person could travel at light speed, in that person's time frame it would take no time at all to travel that distance, and to return on a round trip! But yes, to the people waiting at home, it would take 40 years. However, to travel at light speed would take an infinite amount of energy.

It is theoretically possible to travel to Gliese 581 C at, say, 99% the speed of light. During the trip,the traveller would age by just under 3 years, but his friends at home would age by just under 21 years.

Could that, in fact, ever be done? How much energy would it take? Let's suppose that the payload consists of a 100 lb person, with measly 100 lbs added for life support, etc. Before liftoff, the total amount of energy in the payload is E0 = 200 lbs * c^2, where c=speed of light. Once at travel speed, the total energy is E1 = 200 lbs * c^2 * gamma, where gamma = 1/sqrt(1-v^2 / c^2). So in order to accelerate the payload to v=0.99*c, we need to expend an amount of energy equal to (E1-E0) = 200 lbs * c^2 * (gamma-1). This is about 1.4E16 watt_hours, or the same as an explosion of 12,000 megatons. A helluva lot, but not inconceivable. Of course, you'll have to expend the same amount of energy to stop at the destination, but what's a factor of 2 among friends? Another thing to conveniently ignore is the amount of time it would take to accelerate/decelerate.

With these time and energy scales, it's conceivable that interplanetary travel of some sort (most likely robotic) may occur within a few hundred years.

- Richard
(assuming I remembered my special relativity!)

[Wise Young]

Yes, of course, it is the time of our world that is the important factor. It does bring up an interesting thought. We can ask people who are dying of terminal diseases to go on these space flights. After all, they have nothing to lose and they can send a message back when they get there.

Wise.

Originally Posted by rfbdorf

Actually, if a person could travel at light speed, in that person's time frame it would take no time at all to travel that distance, and to return on a round trip! But yes, to the people waiting at home, it would take 40 years. However, to travel at light speed would take an infinite amount of energy.

It is theoretically possible to travel to Gliese 581 C at, say, 99% the speed of light. During the trip,the traveller would age by just under 3 years, but his friends at home would age by just under 21 years.

Could that, in fact, ever be done? How much energy would it take? Let's suppose that the payload consists of a 100 lb person, with measly 100 lbs added for life support, etc. Before liftoff, the total amount of energy in the payload is E0 = 200 lbs * c^2, where c=speed of light. Once at travel speed, the total energy is E1 = 200 lbs * c^2 * gamma, where gamma = 1/sqrt(1-v^2 / c^2). So in order to accelerate the payload to v=0.99*c, we need to expend an amount of energy equal to (E1-E0) = 200 lbs * c^2 * (gamma-1). This is about 1.4E16 watt_hours, or the same as an explosion of 12,000 megatons. A helluva lot, but not inconceivable. Of course, you'll have to expend the same amount of energy to stop at the destination, but what's a factor of 2 among friends? Another thing to conveniently ignore is the amount of time it would take to accelerate/decelerate.

With these time and energy scales, it's conceivable that interplanetary travel of some sort (most likely robotic) may occur within a few hundred years.

- Richard
(assuming I remembered my special relativity!)

[Leif]

Richard, not questioning your math, but regarding mathematics regarding mass, could a solution be to use a tangent approach to black (light) holes to morph be a solution. I know none is on the path, but could the gravitational earth/lunar travel approach be used, in a bigger scale I mean? Maybe also like a detour to gain speed?

[rdf]

Originally Posted by Wise Young

120 trillion miles is pretty far away. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles/second. Even if one could travel at the speed of light, it would take over 20 years to get there. If we want to send a message at the speed of light, it will take 40 years to get a response.

Wise.

I know, and that's a major bummer

But I think someday in the not too distant future (that could mean 40 years or 400) we'll be able to travel at speeds that make it possible to get to nearby solar systems in times that humans can undertake.

A light year is about 6 trillion miles or so, and it's easier to imagine going there when we think of a light year's distance in such a tangible way. One of these days the human mind will figure out how to travel, in some manner by some means, at some fraction of light speed. Or faster, as sub-atomic particles can travel at speeds faster than light. I know that subatomic particles don't necessarily follow our laws of physics, but that's why these laws are usually theoretical. One can hope.

Half-full all the way baby! We just have to believe that it can and will be done. We won't be around, but maybe we'll be able to know anyhow. Or maybe when we die we go to distant planets to dwell forevermore...I hope I end up on a planet with dual suns, one at least a red dwarf, and two or three huge moons of various coloring that create a perpetual tidal motion on that planet's ocean(s)...and just viewing that motion gently rocks us all to sleep each night...

Ok, ok, back to work...and perceived reality

[Leif]

Hey? Were living in a solar system and space. Aliens that is.

But, how about to move the whole earth into a tangent loophole speed gaining “touch and go” instead of a spacecraft? Quite “slowly” of course, making an artificially atmosphere on the way.

Just a few antigravity nuclear rockets to push it out of orbit gaining some speed? And if that is not enough thrust force one could always bomb the moon to gain enough gravitational thrust.