Watery Earth-like planet discovered

If they did travel it would be like 5 years passed to them, they'd return to earth and 50 years would have passed, yet the astronauts only aged 5 years.

Brainkiller05

I don't really understand how a planet with water on it could be too hot to sustain life...But whatever. That's pretty exciting news, even if no life is found.

spazzx625

If they did travel it would be like 5 years passed to them, they'd return to earth and 50 years would have passed, yet the astronauts only aged 5 years.

[QUOTE="jamejame"]

[QUOTE="spazzx625"] Edited in a new link...And the answer is 42 light years...:?FragStains

This is a better way to save trillions. "Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it clothing, educating, and feeding the poor of the world, which it would do many times over, not one human being excluded, and we can explore space, both inner and outer, together. Forever, in peace." -Bill Hicksthunderf00t

Great! So they found another planet that they can't go to and never will and could possibly have water at low pressurers. Really I love space and I am intrigued by it just as much as anyone else is but the reality is, they are wasting their time.

well clearly conventional travel wouldn't work for human space exploration. the vastness of space is too great. we'd need to find a "warp" type technology which would allow us to skip all the space in between. Ontain

[QUOTE="thunderf00t"] This is a better way to save trillions. "Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it clothing, educating, and feeding the poor of the world, which it would do many times over, not one human being excluded, and we can explore space, both inner and outer, together. Forever, in peace." -Bill HicksJandurin

What really gets me though is we have still have people (creationists) who insist Earth contains all the water in the universe. They'll continue to insist on that despite any evidence they are presented with, as well.thunderf00t

That's pretty interesting.

[QUOTE="Brainkiller05"]

If they did travel it would be like 5 years passed to them, they'd return to earth and 50 years would have passed, yet the astronauts only aged 5 years.

spazzx625

If they did travel it would be like 5 years passed to them, they'd return to earth and 50 years would have passed, yet the astronauts only aged 5 years.

Great! So they found another planet that they can't go to and never will and could possibly have water at low tempratures. Really I love space and I amintrigued by it just as much as anyone else is but the reality is, they are wasting their time.

xscrapzx

GJ 1214b, seriously? Is that the best name they could come up with? These guys must have the most original GamerTags :P.

jamejame

Good luck trying to name 50.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00.. (you get the point ;)) planets with original names...

'Think of how many stars and planets and kinds of life there may be, in this vast and awesome universe' :)

Carl Sagan, RIP. You are sorely missed.

Great! So they found another planet that they can't go to and never will and could possibly have water at low tempratures. Really I love space and I amintrigued by it just as much as anyone else is but the reality is, they are wasting their time.

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"] To be honest I don't think the human body would be able to handle a speed such as the speed of light, just a thought.spazzx625

[QUOTE="thunderf00t"][QUOTE="xscrapzx"]

Great! So they found another planet that they can't go to and never will and could possibly have water at low tempratures. Really I love space and I amintrigued by it just as much as anyone else is but the reality is, they are wasting their time.

xscrapzx

People also need to realise that water is an essential component of metabolism of life as we know it, ie based around the tetravalent carbon atom. Who knows what other biochemistries may exist some place else in the universe which probably evolved by the same means as those on earth. It is a staggering thought.

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="thunderf00t"] They are not wasting their time, they are disovering new and exciting things, and educating people along the way. A lot of people are raised to believe all life is on Earth alone, and that as such one of the essential necessities of life, water, is only found on the Earth. These people need to be shown these kinds of things so they can stop being ignorant.the_one34

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="thunderf00t"] They are not wasting their time, they are disovering new and exciting things, and educating people along the way. A lot of people are raised to believe all life is on Earth alone, and that as such one of the essential necessities of life, water, is only found on the Earth. These people need to be shown these kinds of things so they can stop being ignorant.the_one34

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="thunderf00t"] They are not wasting their time, they are disovering new and exciting things, and educating people along the way. A lot of people are raised to believe all life is on Earth alone, and that as such one of the essential necessities of life, water, is only found on the Earth. These people need to be shown these kinds of things so they can stop being ignorant.the_one34

The LIQUID part is what makes it so substantial!

This is pretty exciting news

[QUOTE="Ontain"]well clearly conventional travel wouldn't work for human space exploration. the vastness of space is too great. we'd need to find a "warp" type technology which would allow us to skip all the space in between. spazzx625

[QUOTE="the_one34"]

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"] You do realize at this point earth is the only known planet to have water right?xscrapzx

[QUOTE="comp_atkins"][QUOTE="spazzx625"] In number only...Their bodies would still age at a normal rate...Possibly even at an accelerated rate linkxscrapzx

Of course, acceleration IS a problem, and does kill people. What is the maximum acceleration that a human can survive for a prolonged period of time? I don't know, but probably not much. I'm pretty sure that most people black out at around 10 G's.

The problem with acceleration is...at the maximum acceleration allowable in order to not kill the astronauts, how long would it take to even get them up to near-light-speeds? Once they reach the desired speed, then they'll be fine. They can cruise right along at that speed. But you've got allow them enough time to gradually get up to that speed, and then allow them enough time to gradually slow down.

[QUOTE="thunderf00t"][QUOTE="xscrapzx"]

Great! So they found another planet that they can't go to and never will and could possibly have water at low tempratures. Really I love space and I amintrigued by it just as much as anyone else is but the reality is, they are wasting their time.

xscrapzx

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="comp_atkins"] i would think a species advanced enough to travel at or near the speed of light would have developed sufficient radiation shielding techniques..MrGeezer

Of course, acceleration IS a problem, and does kill people. What is the maximum acceleration that a human can survive for a prolonged period of time? I don't know, but probably not much. I'm pretty sure that most people black out at around 10 G's.

The problem with acceleration is...at the maximum acceleration allowable in order to not kill the astronauts, how long would it take to even get them up to near-light-speeds? Once they reach the desired speed, then they'll be fine. They can cruise right along at that speed. But you've got allow them enough time to gradually get up to that speed, and then allow them enough time to gradually slow down.

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="thunderf00t"] They are not wasting their time, they are disovering new and exciting things, and educating people along the way. A lot of people are raised to believe all life is on Earth alone, and that as such one of the essential necessities of life, water, is only found on the Earth. These people need to be shown these kinds of things so they can stop being ignorant.BumFluff122

[QUOTE="rawsavon"] Guess that answers my questions :(spazzx625

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"][QUOTE="thunderf00t"] They are not wasting their time, they are disovering new and exciting things, and educating people along the way. A lot of people are raised to believe all life is on Earth alone, and that as such one of the essential necessities of life, water, is only found on the Earth. These people need to be shown these kinds of things so they can stop being ignorant.BumFluff122

I don't really understand how a planet with water on it could be too hot to sustain life...But whatever. That's pretty exciting news, even if no life is found.

spazzx625

well, they only said life "similiar" to earths didn't they? granted the is a broad term. do they mean nothing big, like people, or fish. or nothing at all?

to me though, it sounds like the most promising planet we've discovered (in terms of one that may have life on it). all it would take in this case would be some heat resistant bacteria growing and evolving and millions of years. who knows, maybe if we get there in a thousand years, we'll find Admiral Ackbar.

[QUOTE="BumFluff122"]

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"] You do realize at this point earth is the only known planet to have water right?xscrapzx

[QUOTE="BumFluff122"]

[QUOTE="xscrapzx"] You do realize at this point earth is the only known planet to have water right?not_wanted

So when are we gonna start migrating over to this new planet and build mega-complex malls and theme parks on it?Nerd_Man

Link

EDIT: A better link

[quote="The Article"]

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.

...

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.

spazzx625

I don't really understand how a planet with water on it could be too hot to sustain life...But whatever. That's pretty exciting news, even if no life is found.

I'm fairly certain that higher pressure and heavier atmosphere can keep water in a liquid state after it reaches its boiling point, or something like that.

I'm fairly certain that higher pressure and heavier atmosphere can keep water in a liquid state after it reaches its boiling point, or something like that.

-TheSecondSign-

[QUOTE="-TheSecondSign-"]

I'm fairly certain that higher pressure and heavier atmosphere can keep water in a liquid state after it reaches its boiling point, or something like that.

spazzx625

I'm intrigued to find out how astronomers find out there's water on a tiny planet that's 42 light years away.