"Earth-like" planet found.

spiney

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(this might be already posted, somewhere, if so then sorry but I missed it!).

see: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502231.html .

Previously, planets in other solar systems have been found by measuring a star's "wobble", through spectroscopic analysis (an amazing enough achievemnt!).
But, this limited resolution to finding "Jupiter size" giant planets, not "good candidates" for life. Now, it seems, we can look for "earth size" ones as well!
 

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I think we could find a "few" out there:D
 

Channel Hopper

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Bennett, another Planet researcher, added that there will be more small planets to come. Microlensing has so far detected three exoplanets -- two giants and OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb -- and "higher-mass planets are more easy to discover," he said. So if scientists have already found a small one, "these must be substantially more common."

Hmmm, not really a scientific conclusion.

28000 light years away to confirm an object a mere 15,000 miles in diameter, quite some feat.
 

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if im the first to move to one to live with my family, can i take my setup so i can still watch Premiership footy :)

might need a BIG dish though lol
 

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Sorry Red Devil, most other planets are outside the transponder's "footprint", but try contacting a local cable company!

Seriously, though, it's about 150 years since Comte said we'd never know what stars are made of! More recently, just a few years ago finding any extra solar planets would have been imposssible. And now earth sized ones! I thought that would come from special infra red booms on satellites, but now it can be done from earth, where conditions allow.

This method might allow a reasonable idea of the galactic distribution of earth size plannets. But, dammit, we still won't know if any have life on them.

Whatever one's religious or philosophical beliefs, it does look as though life arises through "blind mechanics", with a very low probability. But, if the Panspermia theory is true, this only need happen once, and life could then be quite common.

( www.thespectroscopynet.com/educational/Dawkins.htm ).

PS, I'm not a fan of Richard Dawkins, that link was just to explain Comte!
 

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Speaking of life on other planets (maybe)

if it was ever found, do you think it would be hushed up, or do you think it would be made public and obviously be big news worldwide?

if its the first option.... then maybe it HAS already been found??? we would never know...
 

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Channel Hopper said:
28000 light years away to confirm an object a mere 15,000 miles in diameter, quite some feat.

With a few minutes to kill

The distances involved in spotting that planet are truly mind boggling

To 'see' an earth sized planet from 28,000 light years away, is similar to noticing a pound coin at a distance of....






....wait for it .....







200 million miles :eek:

(must be the Scottish blood in them):D
 

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RedDevil_UK said:
Speaking of life on other planets (maybe)

if it was ever found, do you think it would be hushed up, or do you think it would be made public and obviously be big news worldwide?

if its the first option.... then maybe it HAS already been found??? we would never know...

Well, as Enrico Fermi said (about ETs), "where is everybody"?

The various SETI searches etc have been well publicised, NASA uses "possible life on Mars" to get funds, and so on, so no I don't think there would be any chance of hushing it up. Supposing an ET spaceship landed, or even if we just found a radio signal, exactly how (and why!) would this be kept secret?
But, little chance of that, as we've been looking seriously for quite a while now, and there's nothing.
 
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