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Parallax
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 Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject: 581 c. - The First Earth-Like Planet |
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Normally, I don't tend to post stuff like this outside of my nation board. However, this article really, really caught my eye. As you can probably tell from the title, European astronomers have discovered what they believe to be the first planet hospitable to organic life. Orbitting a nearby red dwarf star, this planet has a number of features that make it appear Earth-like to the observers.
Of course, we have no way of measuring several factors about the planet that would determine several factors in whether it is, or is not, habitable. We don't know what the atmosphere is like, or if there's really any water on the surface. And we also don't know how to get there within the lifetime of a human being! So it seems that we're not quite yet ready to catapult ourselves into the world of science fiction.
However, this still marks one of the most significant discoveries in space exploration thus far; until this time, no planet that we had observed in the sky even gave us the glimmer of hope that 581 c has.
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Geddoe
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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I saw this article on CNN.com, and I noticed that yes, it would take us hella time to get there. I remembered reading in a book about the TV series Firefly that humans were sent on large ships to the nearest hospitable planet, and that they just lived out their lives, had kids, and died on the ship knowing that not them, but some future generations would finally arrive on the hospitable world and make their home there.
I'm not too sure if humans now could actually process that and go through with it, but it's just a thought that's not [too] far out there.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html
Anyway, that link is the article I saw on CNN. I'm interested in the fact that instead of looking for stars that are most like our sun [which, as stated in the article is a hit or miss proposition], they searched around a red dwarf star, where the light may not be burning quite so intensely like the sun is.
I'm also trying to wrap my head around the fact that the planet doesn't rotate. How the hell? *chuckle* And it revolves around the star once every 13 days. Too many birthdays for me to count, there. [Hell, I'm old enough as it is!]
But yeah, I did find this a really interesting news item and I hope that more in the way of research is done on things like this.
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Yvl
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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I'm also trying to wrap my head around the fact that the planet doesn't rotate. How the hell? *chuckle* And it revolves around the star once every 13 days. Too many birthdays for me to count, there. [Hell, I'm old enough as it is!]
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Just pretend it's elf years.
I want to go to this planet. It's always been a dream of mine to see a new planet firsthand.
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Parallax
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Geddoe wrote: |
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/04/25/habitable.planet.ap/index.html
Anyway, that link is the article I saw on CNN. |
That link is already in my first post. I just like to cleverly hide things in my text instead of blatantly posting links. >_>
But yeah, it's too bad that we don't possess a faster means of space motility. I'd love to go see a new planet myself. I'm pretty much living in a science fiction delusion, I think! Hopefully, however, now that we have someplace to go, there will be more incentive to figure out a good way to get there, no? I mean, before there was not really any incentive for us to explore outside of our solar system, since telescopes told us that there wasn't much out there that we really, really needed to see up close.
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Yvl
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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No, really, this article may have changed my life entirely, now that I think about it. It's likely that we'll see some efforts to get there somewhere in my lifetime, so I may have to adjust my career to increase my chances of being one of those chosen to colonize this planet.
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Tullaryx
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:08 pm Post subject: |
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Even though traveling from Earth to that planet will be too long for any one screw it still doesn't mean getting there is an impossibility even without a faster means of space travel. What will be needed is to designate a large crew that would pretty much travel there as a ready made colony. The crew's grandchildren may end up the ones who finally make it to the planet. That's really the only way Earth can colonize other Earth-like planets light-years away from our solar system.
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Yvl
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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Even though traveling from Earth to that planet will be too long for any one screw it still doesn't mean getting there is an impossibility even without a faster means of space travel. What will be needed is to designate a large crew that would pretty much travel there as a ready made colony. The crew's grandchildren may end up the ones who finally make it to the planet. That's really the only way Earth can colonize other Earth-like planets light-years away from our solar system.
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I'd wager more on cyrogenics. That plan would leave the crew's grandchildren with no hands on experience with skills needed to live on land. But then again, we have no idea if things such as agriculture are the same on this planet.
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Parallax
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Tullaryx wrote: |
| The crew's grandchildren may end up the ones who finally make it to the planet. That's really the only way Earth can colonize other Earth-like planets light-years away from our solar system. |
The limitation on this with present day construction and space flight techniques is, how do we sustain families for so many years? It would take a spacecraft of ridiculous proportions to house that much food and drink, especially since they would need a lot of vitamin supplements and other things to keep them from dying of malnutrition. Oxygen would be another problem, since there's no free supply to be had in space.
We would need some new technology in any case if we wanted people to actually make it there.
| Yvl wrote: |
| I'd wager more on cyrogenics. That plan would leave the crew's grandchildren with no hands on experience with skills needed to live on land. But then again, we have no idea if things such as agriculture are the same on this planet. |
Isn't cryogenics still one of those 'iffy' sciences? I mean, have we ever actually successfully revived someone who was frozen in this way? I'm not saying that this couldn't be done, I'm just curious. New technology, I think, is absolutely needed to make the trip pretty much no matter how we slice things up.
I'd like to see the planet though, so I'll keep my pipe dreams that a new, faster method of travel will be developed.
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iscalio
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:53 pm Post subject: |
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| Parallax wrote: |
| Isn't cryogenics still one of those 'iffy' sciences? |
"Cryogenics" (while often mistakingly used in the way Yvl did) only refers to the branch of engineering/science that studies methods of achieving very low temperatures in general, as well as the effects of those temperatures. As such, the term "cryogenics" has nothing to do with "freezing humans".
And "freezing humans" is not only "iffy" science, it is complete science fiction or "pseudo-science", and about as likely as warp technology à la Star Trek. After all, once you freeze someone, he's dead; if you defrost him later or not doesn't matter - he'll still be dead. Cryopreservation of organic matter is (in a scientific sense) only an option for body parts, cells, embryos etc., not for living beings - at least not if we want to keep said being alive. |
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Tullaryx
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Parallax wrote: |
The limitation on this with present day construction and space flight techniques is, how do we sustain families for so many years? It would take a spacecraft of ridiculous proportions to house that much food and drink, especially since they would need a lot of vitamin supplements and other things to keep them from dying of malnutrition. Oxygen would be another problem, since there's no free supply to be had in space.
We would need some new technology in any case if we wanted people to actually make it there. |
That is true, but technology to achieve those particular goals are already present and only need more research and development to turn into something in the size and scope you just mentioned.
Faster-than-light travel is technology that is still way beyond what man's understanding of space travel is capable of even doing. Some scientists even believe that FTL can't be achieved since to travel faster than light means something or someone will be everywhere in the universe at once. My astrophysics is a tad hazy, but my understanding with that concept is that to travel faster than light means to be able to travel through time itself.
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Ujitsuna
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah I've read about this, it's very interesting. If theres no life on Mars, why not on 581 c.? ;) Realistically I don't think we'd see anyone reach that planet in our lifetimes, I can't see it happening, although I'd be happy if I did. |
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iscalio
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Tullaryx wrote: |
| Faster-than-light travel is technology that is still way beyond what man's understanding of space travel is capable of even doing. Some scientists even believe that FTL can't be achieved since to travel faster than light means something or someone will be everywhere in the universe at once. My astrophysics is a tad hazy, but my understanding with that concept is that to travel faster than light means to be able to travel through time itself. |
We "travel through time itself" constantly (namely forward) - so I'm not sure what you mean by that last part.
In any case, matter can never reach the speed of light, let alone surpass it. There is no speed above it at all. The speed of light is "100%" - light is already whereever it goes. Of course only according to its own perspective, not ours (that's the basic premise of the theory of relativity).
If you would hypothetically reach the speed of light, then your mass would become infinite and your personal time would stop. But as I said, it's not possible anyway. |
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Sparhawk
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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100 years ago there were no airplanes. Hell, 200 years ago there were no trains or automobiles. Almost nothing is impossible. If we don't destroy ourselves first I can see the possibility of space travel within 50 to 100 years.
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Parallax
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Iscalio wrote: |
"Cryogenics" (while often mistakingly used in the way Yvl did) only refers to the branch of engineering/science that studies methods of achieving very low temperatures in general, as well as the effects of those temperatures. As such, the term "cryogenics" has nothing to do with "freezing humans".
And "freezing humans" is not only "iffy" science, it is complete science fiction or "pseudo-science", and about as likely as warp technology à la Star Trek. After all, once you freeze someone, he's dead; if you defrost him later or not doesn't matter - he'll still be dead. Cryopreservation of organic matter is (in a scientific sense) only an option for body parts, cells, embryos etc., not for living beings - at least not if we want to keep said being alive. |
Fair enough. I have to admit, I don't know too much about this "freezing humans" business (or cryogenics in general, really), but that was about what I was thinking. We don't possess a means to suspend animation in a living being without stopping life altogether. Still, cryopreservation could be helpful on a mission like this, since many medical supplies would be needed, and those would have to be stored before the mission was even launched.
I think that the most practical thing proposed here, as impractical as it sounds, would definitely be some kind of multi-generational starship. It sounds a little ridiculous, I know, but it's not that far-fetched, provided that there was a way to feed the people and support them with oxygen. That wouldn't be easy though.
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Thor McOdin
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| Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 2:32 pm Post subject: |
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They always give these planets weird names. Xena...and now 581 c? They should name it Pluto 2. Maybe then, the real Pluto would get back into shape and take the "planet talk" seriously.
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