Moving out of Earth....gonna live on SUPER EARTH!

[Jack_Bauer]

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/16/super.earth.discovery/index.html

http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TECH/12/16/super.earth.discovery/t1larg.jpg
(CNN) -- Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.

While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity's search for life on other planets.

"The big excitement is that we have found a watery world orbiting a very nearby and very small star," said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery, which appeared this week in the journal Nature.

The planet, named GJ 1214b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our sun. That's significant, Charbonneau said, because for many years, astronomers assumed that planets only would be found orbiting stars that are similar in size to the sun.

Because of that assumption, researchers didn't spend much time looking for planets circling small stars, he said. The discovery of this "watery world" helps debunk the notion that Earth-like planets could form only in conditions similar to those in our solar system.

"Nature is just far more inventive in making planets than we were imagining," he said.

In a way, the newly discovered planet was sitting right in front of astronomers' faces, just waiting for them to look. Instead of using high-powered telescopes attached to satellites, they spotted the planet using an amateur-sized, 16-inch telescope on the ground.

There were no technological reasons the discovery couldn't have happened long ago, Charbonneau said.

The planet is also rather near to our solar system -- only about 40 light-years away.

Planet GJ 1214b is classified as a "super-Earth" because it is between one and 10 times as large as Earth. Scientists have known about the existence of super-Earths for only a couple of years. Most planets discovered by astronomers have been gassy giants that are much more similar to Jupiter than to Earth.

Charbonneau said it's unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn't discount the idea entirely.

"This planet probably does have liquid water," he said.


Now if they can find a way to make the place liveable.

[Soluzar]

Now if they can find a way to make the place liveable.More likely they'd just find a better choice of planet. I don't know if they could change enough about this planet with any technology you can imagine us having in the next couple hundred years...

[superplough]

Yeah and figure out how to travel for 40 light years in a reasonable amount of time. That would take something like ten generations to reach there. I'm guessing wildly here so dont call me stupid, because I already know that I am

[Soluzar]

Yeah and figure out how to travel for 40 light years in a reasonable amount of time.
That would be a hell of a lot easier than figuring out how to cool down the planet and change the atmosphere. What... are we supposed to just put a rope around the highest mountain from our interplanetary tow truck and drag it further away from the sun? How about the atmosphere, maybe we can just... no I'm out of even dumb ideas. :P

[Jack_Bauer]

Yeah and figure out how to travel for 40 light years in a reasonable amount of time. That would take something like ten generations to reach there. I'm guessing wildly here so dont call me stupid, because I already know that I am

I suck at math myself sir. But yea, I forgot the fact that it takes 40 light years to get there.

@soluzar

I think it will beyond our grandchildren's children before we get to the age where humans need to evacuate out of earth and try to find another place to live. Id like it if we dont give up just yet and find ways to treat our planet better and make use of its resources more respectfully than what we've been able to accomplish thus far. Take Australia for example. They got this program where they use solar energy facility that has 13 people working on it and it can power all of Australia. I wish the rest of the world will start doing something similar. http://www.enviromission.com.au/EVM/content/home.html

[Aragami]

Wouldn't the gravity of a planet that big crush us at this scale?

Edit; O I thought it said it was 10 times as big, not 1.10.

ah.

Mars first.

[Old Ape Face]

More likely they'd just find a better choice of planet. I don't know if they could change enough about this planet with any technology you can imagine us having in the next couple hundred years...

Unless they find a way to boost the trajectory of the planet's orbit just a tad so that the planet swings back around it's sun with the proper orbit needed to sustain life.

[superplough]

That would be a hell of a lot easier than figuring out how to cool down the planet and change the atmosphere. What... are we supposed to just put a rope around the highest mountain from our interplanetary tow truck and drag it further away from the sun? How about the atmosphere, maybe we can just... no I'm out of even dumb ideas. :P

:lol:

Yeah I know it's easiER, but it's still not easy. :naughty:

Maybe if they put all the scientists on a rocket and leave now, by the time they get there they will have figured out how to make it habitable.

[Soluzar]

Unless they find a way to boost the trajectory of the planet's orbit just a tad so that the planet swings back around it's sun with the proper orbit needed to sustain life.
Well OK... lets assume that would work. Now what do you do about the atmosphere?

[Old Ape Face]

Well OK... lets assume that would work. Now what do you do about the atmosphere?

Wait several million years, because that's how long it would take to change the ecosystem on mars if we ever tried to change it.

But if this new earth suddenly grew like a Chia pet because it's in the life supporting zone. It might do that on it's own.

[Soluzar]

Wait several million years, because that's how long it would take to change the ecosystem on mars if we ever tried to change it.
I suspect the atmospheric density is partly due to the size of the planet... that won't change.

[Caster13]

You all have forgotten the fact that we still have no ability to travel even near the speed of light, so how exactly would we get there?

[Old Ape Face]

You all have forgotten the fact that we still have no ability to travel even near the speed of light, so how exactly would we get there?

Light Speed is not necessary to travel long distances, but those who leave for that planet will never see it by the time they are half way through the trip, that's why it would take a few generations for a single trip to be successful.

[Arnold]

You all have forgotten the fact that we still have no ability to travel even near the speed of light, so how exactly would we get there?

I think that near-lightspeed travel will eventually happen. It's just a matter of how many centuries it is down the line.

Another possibility is cryogenics. Freeze ourselves for however many years it takes to get there, then set the system to automatically unfreeze when we're in striking distance. Of course then there's the issue of an energy source to keep the systems operative for that long...

[SapperSix]

Wired has a contest to name the new planet.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/name-that-waterworld

[Soluzar]

You all have forgotten the fact that we still have no ability to travel even near the speed of light, so how exactly would we get there?
Generational ships, or a form of travel which will be developed in the future. That's the least of the problems. I don't see cryogenics as a solution though. I've never seen any evidence that it leads to anything other than a nicely preserved corpsicle.

[Undrave]

Certain life form can be cryogenized safely, fish, amphibians, microbes, etc... so there is a secret to be discovered there.

Maybe we'll send genetically altered fish-humans there :p

Whatever happened to scientists naming their discovery themselves? Now its always some lame scientific coordinates like G whatever here... just think up of a name! that's how they used to do it with planets! Name it 'Kevin Costner' for all I care :p just name it!

[Leader Desslock]

Wired has a contest to name the new planet.
If it's not named 'Bob', I'm going to be very disappointed.

[SapperSix]

If it's not named 'Bob', I'm going to be very disappointed.

The widget on the site got hacked and all the names for the planet are called Reach. There is an entry for Siberia though.

[Shiroiyuki]

I vote for "Fluffy".

[Siendra]

Certain life form can be cryogenized safely, fish, amphibians, microbes, etc... so there is a secret to be discovered there.

Maybe we'll send genetically altered fish-humans there :p

Whatever happened to scientists naming their discovery themselves? Now its always some lame scientific coordinates like G whatever here... just think up of a name! that's how they used to do it with planets! Name it 'Kevin Costner' for all I care :p just name it!

Because there's too many bodies to index now. Allowing them to receive random names before a proper certified designation would just end up being terribly confusing.

[Old Ape Face]

I vote for Orion...

[Jack_Bauer]

What if they already got natives there? WIll we try to co-exist or take over? As for cryogenics, I think we should wait till they succesfuly re-animate Walt Disney first before we try it on the whole human race.

[Caster13]

I vote for Urectum.

[Lacan]

Generational ships, or a form of travel which will be developed in the future. That's the least of the problems. I don't see cryogenics as a solution though. I've never seen any evidence that it leads to anything other than a nicely preserved corpsicle.

But they can undo the damage that cryogenics does to humans and revive them in the future, right?

I want to name the planet, FalseEarth.

[Woooh]

Real life Avatar coming right up.

[Jatz]

Generational ships, or a form of travel which will be developed in the future. That's the least of the problems.
Kids living in space for twenty years probably won't live too well in gravity.

I don't see cryogenics as a solution though. I've never seen any evidence that it leads to anything other than a nicely preserved corpsicle.

If you're cooled down far enough it might work.

[bastet]

I vote for "Fluffy".

i'm not sure i'd want to name a planet "fluffy" unless it was a gas giant... it just doesn't seem "fluffy"

If it's not named 'Bob', I'm going to be very disappointed.

haha... that would be funny... it'd be even funnier if it was called Bobville... inside joke, but it involves a back story of a character in an old D'n'D adventure.

I vote for Orion...

very kool name, i like that idea.

i haven't decided what i think it should be named.

[Old Ape Face]

very kool name, i like that idea.

i haven't decided what i think it should be named.

Well it is Greek, (sort of) it's also the name of my favorite constellation, :P

[Melion]

It should be named Melion.

EDIT: Or maybe Prons

/thread

[Old Ape Face]

No I like Snorp

[fujyoshi]

/heh sounds epic, so what they mean ta tell us is that when this earth blows up then we have another earth to move to :O

[Jatz]

/heh sounds epic, so what they mean ta tell us is that when this earth blows up then we have another earth to screw up :O

Fixed. filler

[Aragami]

Fixed. filler

Hmm.

I wonder if we'll ever have it as good as on earth. There was such a diverse ecology to screw up. Everything we will screw up hereafter, we'll have to make ourselves.

[Phantom]

Hopefully I'll still be alive to get a ticket on Bransons virgin new earth one way rocket ship.

[Arnold]

If it's not named 'Bob', I'm going to be very disappointed.

Wow, have I actually found another person who's remembers Titan A.E.?

As for cryogenics, I think we should wait till they succesfuly re-animate Walt Disney first before we try it on the whole human race.

Another urban legend that's untrue.

[Old Ape Face]

Wow, have I actually found another person who's remembers Titan A.E.?

I saw it, but I thought Bob was the name of every new earth like planet long before that movie mentioned it.