100,000 years travel away at current technologies.. absent the development of Warp Speed. I'm looking towards a Mars Base.
Nasa's 'holy grail': Entire solar system that could support alien life discovered
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Hey selfie............welcome back. I see that your grasp of space matters is about on par with that of other topics, but keep trying sweetie.
Scientists find 7 Earth-size worlds orbiting star
Marcia Dunn, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 02:19 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, February 23, 2017 12:24 AM EST
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a single nearby star — and these new worlds could hold life.
This cluster of planets is less than 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, according to NASA and the Belgian-led research team who announced the discovery Wednesday.
The planets circle tightly around a dim dwarf star called Trappist-1, barely the size of Jupiter. Three are in the so-called habitable zone, the area around a star where water and, possibly life, might exist. The others are right on the doorstep.
Scientists said they need to study the atmospheres before determining whether these rocky, terrestrial planets could support some sort of life. But it already shows just how many Earth-size planets could be out there — especially in a star’s sweet spot, ripe for extraterrestrial life. The more planets like this, the greater the potential of finding one that’s truly habitable. Until now, only two or three Earth-size planets had been spotted around a star. A rocky Earth-sized world inside a star’s habitable zone is considered the best candidate for finding evidence of life.
“We’ve made a crucial step toward finding if there is life out there,” said the University of Cambridge’s Amaury Triaud, one of the researchers.
The potential for more Earth-size planets in our Milky Way galaxy is mind-boggling. The history of planet-searching shows “when there’s one, there’s more,” said Massachusetts Institute of Technology astrophysicist Sara Seager.
“With this amazing system, we know that there must be many more potentially life-bearing worlds out there just waiting to be found,” she said.
NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the science mission, said the discovery “gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” and addresses the age-old question of “Are we alone out there?”
“We’re making a step forward with this, a leap forward in fact, toward answering that question,” Zurbuchen said at a news conference.
Last spring, the University of Liege’s Michael Gillon and his team reported finding three planets around Trappist-1. Now the count is up to seven, and Gillon said there could be more. Their latest findings appear in the journal Nature.
This crowded yet compact solar system — 235 trillion miles away — is reminiscent of Jupiter and its Galilean moons, according to the researchers.
Picture this: If Trappist-1 were our sun, all seven planets would be inside Mercury’s orbit. Mercury is the innermost planet of our own solar system.
The ultracool star at the heart of this system would shine 200 times dimmer than our sun, a perpetual twilight as we know it. And the star would glow red — maybe salmon-colored, the researchers speculate.
“The spectacle would be beautiful because every now and then, you would see another planet, maybe about as big as twice the moon in the sky, depending on which planet you’re on and which planet you look at,” Triaud said Tuesday in a teleconference with reporters.
Years are exceedingly short in this star system — the planets take just 1 1/2 to 20 days to orbit Trappist-1.
The Leiden Observatory’s Ignas Snellen, who was not involved in the study, is excited by the prospect of learning more about what he calls “the seven sisters of planet Earth.” In a companion article in Nature, he said Gillon’s team could have been lucky in nabbing so many terrestrial planets in one stellar swoop.
“But finding seven transiting Earth-sized planets in such a small sample suggests that the solar system with its four (sub-) Earth-sized planets might be nothing out of the ordinary,” Snellen wrote.
Altogether, astronomers have confirmed close to 3,600 planets outside our solar system since the 1990s, but barely four dozen are in the potential habitable zone of their stars, and of those, just 18 are approximately the size of Earth.
Gillon and his team used both ground and space telescopes to identify and track the seven Trappist-1 planets, which they label simply by lowercase letters, “b” through “h.” As is typical in these cases, the letter “A” — in upper case — is reserved for the star. Planets cast shadows on their star as they pass in front of it; that’s how the scientists spotted them.
Tiny, cold stars like Trappist-1 were long shunned by exoplanet-hunters (exoplanets are those outside our solar system). But the Belgian astronomers decided to seek them out, building a telescope in Chile to observe 60 of the closest ultracool dwarf stars. Their Trappist telescope lent its name to this star.
While faint, the Trappist-1 star is close by cosmic standards, allowing astronomers to study the atmospheres of its seven temperate planets. All seven look to be solid like Earth — mostly rocky and possibly icy, too.
They all appear to be tidally locked, which means the same side continually faces the star, just like the same side of our moon always faces us. Life could still exist at these places, the researchers explained.
“Here, if life managed to thrive and releases gases similar to that that we have on Earth, then we will know,” Triaud said.
Chemical analyses should indicate life with perhaps 99 per cent confidence, Gillon noted. But he added: “We will never be completely sure” without going there.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnKFaAS30X8
Scientists find 7 Earth-size worlds orbiting star | World | News | Toronto Sun
I was watching a show on tv in which some scientists think that there maybe moons and planets on the opposite side of the sun.
Marcia Dunn, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, February 22, 2017 02:19 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, February 23, 2017 12:24 AM EST
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — For the first time, astronomers have discovered seven Earth-size planets orbiting a single nearby star — and these new worlds could hold life.
This cluster of planets is less than 40 light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, according to NASA and the Belgian-led research team who announced the discovery Wednesday.
The planets circle tightly around a dim dwarf star called Trappist-1, barely the size of Jupiter. Three are in the so-called habitable zone, the area around a star where water and, possibly life, might exist. The others are right on the doorstep.
Scientists said they need to study the atmospheres before determining whether these rocky, terrestrial planets could support some sort of life. But it already shows just how many Earth-size planets could be out there — especially in a star’s sweet spot, ripe for extraterrestrial life. The more planets like this, the greater the potential of finding one that’s truly habitable. Until now, only two or three Earth-size planets had been spotted around a star. A rocky Earth-sized world inside a star’s habitable zone is considered the best candidate for finding evidence of life.
“We’ve made a crucial step toward finding if there is life out there,” said the University of Cambridge’s Amaury Triaud, one of the researchers.
The potential for more Earth-size planets in our Milky Way galaxy is mind-boggling. The history of planet-searching shows “when there’s one, there’s more,” said Massachusetts Institute of Technology astrophysicist Sara Seager.
“With this amazing system, we know that there must be many more potentially life-bearing worlds out there just waiting to be found,” she said.
NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the science mission, said the discovery “gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” and addresses the age-old question of “Are we alone out there?”
“We’re making a step forward with this, a leap forward in fact, toward answering that question,” Zurbuchen said at a news conference.
Last spring, the University of Liege’s Michael Gillon and his team reported finding three planets around Trappist-1. Now the count is up to seven, and Gillon said there could be more. Their latest findings appear in the journal Nature.
This crowded yet compact solar system — 235 trillion miles away — is reminiscent of Jupiter and its Galilean moons, according to the researchers.
Picture this: If Trappist-1 were our sun, all seven planets would be inside Mercury’s orbit. Mercury is the innermost planet of our own solar system.
The ultracool star at the heart of this system would shine 200 times dimmer than our sun, a perpetual twilight as we know it. And the star would glow red — maybe salmon-colored, the researchers speculate.
“The spectacle would be beautiful because every now and then, you would see another planet, maybe about as big as twice the moon in the sky, depending on which planet you’re on and which planet you look at,” Triaud said Tuesday in a teleconference with reporters.
Years are exceedingly short in this star system — the planets take just 1 1/2 to 20 days to orbit Trappist-1.
The Leiden Observatory’s Ignas Snellen, who was not involved in the study, is excited by the prospect of learning more about what he calls “the seven sisters of planet Earth.” In a companion article in Nature, he said Gillon’s team could have been lucky in nabbing so many terrestrial planets in one stellar swoop.
“But finding seven transiting Earth-sized planets in such a small sample suggests that the solar system with its four (sub-) Earth-sized planets might be nothing out of the ordinary,” Snellen wrote.
Altogether, astronomers have confirmed close to 3,600 planets outside our solar system since the 1990s, but barely four dozen are in the potential habitable zone of their stars, and of those, just 18 are approximately the size of Earth.
Gillon and his team used both ground and space telescopes to identify and track the seven Trappist-1 planets, which they label simply by lowercase letters, “b” through “h.” As is typical in these cases, the letter “A” — in upper case — is reserved for the star. Planets cast shadows on their star as they pass in front of it; that’s how the scientists spotted them.
Tiny, cold stars like Trappist-1 were long shunned by exoplanet-hunters (exoplanets are those outside our solar system). But the Belgian astronomers decided to seek them out, building a telescope in Chile to observe 60 of the closest ultracool dwarf stars. Their Trappist telescope lent its name to this star.
While faint, the Trappist-1 star is close by cosmic standards, allowing astronomers to study the atmospheres of its seven temperate planets. All seven look to be solid like Earth — mostly rocky and possibly icy, too.
They all appear to be tidally locked, which means the same side continually faces the star, just like the same side of our moon always faces us. Life could still exist at these places, the researchers explained.
“Here, if life managed to thrive and releases gases similar to that that we have on Earth, then we will know,” Triaud said.
Chemical analyses should indicate life with perhaps 99 per cent confidence, Gillon noted. But he added: “We will never be completely sure” without going there.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnKFaAS30X8
Scientists find 7 Earth-size worlds orbiting star | World | News | Toronto Sun
I was watching a show on tv in which some scientists think that there maybe moons and planets on the opposite side of the sun.
So how is it that these clowns at NASA konow what temperatrure these hypothetical aliens thrive at? NASA is fake news.
NASA in the sixties produced most of the real science fiction, all the liftoffs were televised the astronauts celebrated the nimperial feel good hype elevated. I'v never been to the moon myself and I still can't buy a ticket. I think that's odd.
Five decades later, now flights no resturaunts no casinos. Where's the progress? They suck at climate as well. Maybe spaceX will offer tourist packages soon. Just to be able to get off this planet for a bit.
If the sun will melt the earth in about 3.6B years I doubt mars is going to be the long term solution. Live hard/ die when nature says so.
Nature says so, now!!!
Are you listening?
So how is it that these clowns at NASA konow what temperatrure these hypothetical aliens thrive at? NASA is fake news.They don't know how this solar system works.
NASA in the sixties produced most of the real science fiction, all the liftoffs were televised the astronauts celebrated the nimperial feel good hype elevated. I'v never been to the moon myself and I still can't buy a ticket. I think that's odd.
Five decades later, now flights no resturaunts no casinos. Where's the progress? They suck at climate as well. Maybe spaceX will offer tourist packages soon. Just to be able to get off this planet for a bit.
I'm sure that you know a whole lot more than those clowns at NASA ever will.
Thank you for putting us straight.
Nature says so, now!!!
Are you listening?
I'm sure that you know a whole lot more than those clowns at NASA ever will.
Thank you for putting us straight.
So how is it that these clowns at NASA konow what temperatrure these hypothetical aliens thrive at? NASA is fake news.They don't know how this solar system works.
NASA in the sixties produced most of the real science fiction, all the liftoffs were televised the astronauts celebrated the nimperial feel good hype elevated. I'v never been to the moon myself and I still can't buy a ticket. I think that's odd.
Five decades later, now flights no resturaunts no casinos. Where's the progress? They suck at climate as well. Maybe spaceX will offer tourist packages soon. Just to be able to get off this planet for a bit.
Perhaps you might consider writing your own science book. I'm sure the Onion would publish it.
A lot longer than that.
The fastest spacecraft launched by humans so far is the New Horizons probe which travelled to Pluto. It travels at around 36,373 mph.
This means it would take New Horizons 18,449 years to travel one light year, which is nearly 6 trillion miles.
This newly-discovered system is 39 light years away, which means it would take New Horizons 719,511 years just to travel to this solar system, which is a near neighbour. This means that if Homo Erectus launched New Horizons towards this solar system 719,511 years ago, before Home Sapiens was even around, it'd only just be reaching its destination round about now.
That brings up an interesting point. No radio signals from this system? Those three planets that are in such proximity to each other that one can see geological features on them from the neighbouring planets ... like the craters that we can see on the Moon... are probably blasted radioactive wastelands after that three way, interplanetary nuclear war that they had a while back. There were plenty of radio signals from there but we were too busy knapping flint and scraping down Mammoth hides to notice them.
Maybe we are receiving signals from that but they are so alien and unrecognisable to us that we just don't realise it. Maybe the "WOW!" signal came from there.
Hmmm, any kind of pattern, at all would suffice. I wince to think that Alien intelligent life might be receiving TV carrier signals of a Eurovision Sound Contest, running it through their super computing device, unscrambling it and going "What the f...?"
If there is life on those planets, they would have warp drive and worm hole technology. No GenX alien wouldn't leave home without them.