Found planet in "habitable zone" where the elements for life as we know it could live, albeit on a diet?
Earth-like planet found that may support life
quote:
Astronomers claim to have discovered, for the first time, an Earth-like planet outside our solar system that could support water -- and potentially life.
Researchers have not directly seen the planet and it will be years before more sensitive instruments will be developed to look for signs of life on the planet that is about 190 trillion kilometres away from Earth.
But according to measurements, the planet is about 50 per cent larger and five times heavier than Earth. It orbits Gliese 581 -- a diminutive "red dwarf" star located in the constellation Libra.
Other details of the new planet:- It orbits its star every 13 days.
- t circles its star 14 times closer than the Earth orbits the sun.
- Gravity is 1.6 times as strong as the Earth's -- so a 150-pound person would feel like 240 pounds on 581 C.
- Astronomers previously found a Neptune-sized planet circling the star Gliese 581, as well as evidence of a third planet about eight times the mass of Earth.
Search for life is next, researcher says
quote:
Swiss scientist Michel Mayor, who heads the European team that announced the discovery of a new potentially habitable planet, has his sights set on an even bigger target ” detecting signs of extraterrestrial life.
Mayor predicts that top researchers are less than two decades away from being able to detect real signs of such life ” if it exists.
"There's only one thing we can do. We can do science, we can do experiments. We have the methodology, the ability to do this simply on science, so let's do it," the University of Geneva scientist said Wednesday.
Swiss scientist Michel Mayor, who heads the European team that announced the discovery of a new potentially habitable planet, has his sights set on an even bigger target ” detecting signs of extraterrestrial life.
Mayor predicts that top researchers are less than two decades away from being able to detect real signs of such life ” if it exists.
"There's only one thing we can do. We can do science, we can do experiments. We have the methodology, the ability to do this simply on science, so let's do it," the University of Geneva scientist said Wednesday.
That's one short 'year' ... I wonder how that affects things. And the probability that the planet has one face towards it's sun (like our moon).
Enjoy
ps origins forum?
Edited by RAZD, : pyto
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