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POPSScientists Discover An Earth-Sized Planet Possibly With An Ocean Scientists also discovered that the orbit of planet Gliese 581 d, which was found in 2007, was located within the "habitable zone" — a region around a sun-like star that would allow water to be liquid on the planet's surface, Mayor said. He spoke at a news conference Tuesday at the University of Hertfordshire during the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science. Gliese 581 d is probably too large to be made only of rocky material, fellow astronomer and team member Stephane Udry said, adding it was possible the planet had a "large and deep" ocean. "It is the first serious 'water-world' candidate," Udry said.
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POPS'Second Earth' found a cool red dwarf called Gliese 581 has a planet companion that seemingly fits within the limits set for being inhabitable. The possibility of life evolving on the planet is realistic enough to consider the fact that we may not be as alone in the universe as previously thought. Conjecture and speculation combine to fuel interest in the possibility that either we may have neighbors or that we may have real estate to colonize in the future. Who knows what the future will bring to us while our own planet grows increasingly uninhabitable.
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POPSLife on Distant Planet Astronomers look for the perfect conditions that would support evolution of life on other worlds. Eons from now, our own world will eventually become uninhabitable. Will we simply become extinct, or will we migrate to other worlds in hope of survival? As astronomers view the universe, they see all different stages of development in stars, their encircling planets, and other celestial objects or matter. Astronomers are continually learning as they look at the universe around us.
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POPSPlanet Earth 2.0 1.5 times the size. Nice growth curve over version 1.0. I hear Switzerland is beautiful this time of year...
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POPSOnly 20 Light Years Away, New Planet Could Support Life
So what's not known about this new planet? A lot, it seems. But isn't that what science is all about. Peeking into the unknown to find answers to what was previously unanswerable is what drives scientific inquiry. If in our galaxy alone there are something like 100 million planets that could support life and only 10% actually do there are 10 million planets that do support life. If only 10% of those support some form of intelligent life then there are 1 million planets in the Milky Way Galaxy that support intelligent life. If only 10% support advanced civilizations then there are some 100,000 planets in our galaxy alone that support advanced civilizations. I am willing to bet that none of those folks out there look anything like human beings. In spite of the fact that Star Trek confirmed that everyone in the galaxy speaks English, I doubt that as well. The point here is that we may not be so isolated or unique as we might want to think. I, for one, am excited about living
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POPSThe first planet that could support life as we know it! The newly found "super-Earth," about five times more massive than our planet, is 14 times closer to its star than the Earth is from the sun. As a result, its year lasts only 13 Earth days. It has been named , named 581 c. Astronomers estimate that the world's surface temperature would therefore be between 0 and 40 degrees. Water would thus be liquid...
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