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Title: New Earth-like planet discovered; Gliese 581g in 'Goldilocks zone'
Source:
Guardian News
URL Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2 ... /earth-like-planet-gliese-581g
Published: Sep 29, 2010
Author: Ian Sample
Post Date: 2010-09-29 18:30:09 by Hondo68
Keywords: Movin on up, Goldilox Zone, Lots for Sale
Views: 51101
Comments: 58
Gliese 581g in 'Goldilocks zone' of space where liquid water could exist is strong contender for a habitable world Astronomers have discovered a potentially habitable planet of similar size to Earth in orbit around a nearby star. A team of planet hunters spotted the alien world circling a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, 20 light years away. The planet is in the "Goldilocks zone" of space around a star where surface temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to form. "Our findings offer a very compelling case for a potentially habitable planet," said Steven Vogt, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "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." If confirmed, the planet would be the most Earth-like that has ever been discovered in another solar system and the first strong contender for a habitable one. More than 400 exoplanets have been discovered by astronomers, but most are gas giants, like Jupiter, that would be inhospitable to life as we know it. Astronomers used the Keck telescope in Hawaii to study the movement of Gliese 581 in exquisite detail and from their observations inferred the presence of a number of orbiting planets. The team report two new planets in the Astrophysical Journal, bringing the total number known to be circling the star to six. One of the planets, named Gliese 581g, has a mass of three to four times that of Earth and takes 37 days to orbit the star. Astronomers believe it is a rocky planet with enough gravity to retain an atmosphere. Unlike the previously discovered planets, Gliese 581g lies squarely in the region of space were life can thrive. "We had planets on both sides of the habitable zone — one too hot and one too cold — and now we have one in the middle that's just right," Vogt said. One side of the planet is always facing the star, much as one side of the moon constantly faces Earth. This means that the far side of the planet is constantly in darkness. The most habitable region of the planet would be the line between the light and dark regions. "Any emerging life forms would have a wide range of stable climates to choose from and to evolve around, depending on their longitude," Vogt said. The average temperature on the planet is estimated to be between -31 to -12C, but the ground temperature would vary from blazing hot on the bright side and freezing on the dark side. "The number of systems with potentially habitable planets is probably on the order of 10 or 20 percent, and when you multiply that by the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way, that's a large number. There could be tens of billions of these systems in our galaxy," said Vogt.
An artist's impression of Gliese 581g, which astronomers say is near Earth - relatively speaking - at 120 trillion miles. Photograph: Zina Deretsky, National Science Foundation/AP
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 13.
#4. To: hondo68 (#0)
Ever since "scientists", including astronomers, told me there was man made global warming, I couldn't give a flying fuck what they say.
I don't know Woody. I bet you would not be able to contain your excitement and revelation if they posted a proof showing there was a flat Earth, and that the Universe was Geo- centric and revolved around us. You not only likely would give a flying fuck, you would be spreading 'I told you so' far and wide over the Internet. With joy overflowing from your flinty little conservative heart.
You not only likely would give a flying fuck, you would be spreading 'I told you so' far and wide over the Internet. With joy overflowing from your flinty little conservative heart. And that, exactly, is why you're a fucking idiot Mike, who believes his life's work is to sit, like a monkey, in a tree. If they showed me "proof" that "there was a flat Earth, and that the Universe was Geo- centric and revolved around us", I call them as crazy as I call you. They'd be as stupid as you are in my book. You don't have my ability to do that Mike.
Heehee, thanks for sharing Woody. Always enjoy your misguided passion. As for trees, I'm more of a 'branch manager,' teaching the art of climbing to younger folks interested in continuing the struggle of forest defense then I am into doing the rank and file work myself. And Dude I would say that I am as convinces as you are not that there is indeed global warming, and that the world is overpopulated with humans, and that the natural world looks a lot more like that depicted in the movie Soylent Green then it used to actually be like when that film was made in the early 1970s. Earth First! No compromise in the defense of mother Earth Take care, and watch out for those see monsters and that grand waterfall at the edge of the world.
Oh, and don't call me Dude.
Thanks for your service by the way.
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestAstronomers have discovered a potentially habitable planet of similar size to Earth in orbit around a nearby star.
#5. To: Wood_Chopper (#4)
#6. To: Ferret Mike (#5)
I don't know Woody. I bet you would not be able to contain your excitement and revelation if they posted a proof showing there was a flat Earth, and that the Universe was Geo- centric and revolved around us.
#8. To: Wood_Chopper (#6)
#11. To: Ferret Mike (#8)
And Dude
#13. To: Wood_Chopper (#11)
Replies to Comment # 13.
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