Medium Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 found this on the net today. sounds pretty damn awesome. id be keen to move there http://www.3news.co.nz/Goldilocks-zone-New-planet-found-just-like-Earth/tabid/417/articleID/178927/Default.aspx Scientists are celebrating the discovery of the first 'Goldilocks planet' – one in which all the conditions for life to thrive are just right. Gliese 581g orbits a red dwarf star only 20 light years away – a relative next-door-neighbour on a galactic scale. It is between 20 and 50 percent larger than Earth, and orbits right in the centre of the Gliese 581 solar system's habitable zone. "Personally, given the ubiquity and propensity of life to flourish wherever it can, I would say that the chances for life on this planet are 100 percent," astronomy and astrophysics professor Steven Vogt told Discovery News. "The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common." 'G' is the sixth planet discovered in the Gliese 581 system. 'C', discovered in 2007, was previously thought to be habitable, until climate models showed it had probably undergone a runaway greenhouse effect, much like our neighbour Venus. But unlike its overheated brother, 'G' orbits in just the right spot. "Everything we know about life is that it absolutely requires liquid water," says astronomer Paul Butler. "The planet has to be the right distance from the star so it's not too hot, not too cold... and then it has to have surface gravity so that it can hold on to a substantial atmosphere and allow the water to pool." Discovery News said the red dwarf star the planet orbits is especially long-lived, so life would have had plenty of time to develop. Also, being tidally-locked means life would not have to deal with conditions on the surface changing every day as the planet rotates, as we have on Earth. "This planet doesn't have days and nights," says Vogt. "Wherever you are on this planet, the sun is in the same position all the time. You have very stable zones where the ecosystem stays the same temperature... basically forever. "If life can evolve, it's going to have billions and billions of years to adapt to the surface." Unfortunately, Gliese 581g is not able to be analysed chemically due to its solar system's orientation. "That being said," said Vogt, "it is so close and we have found this thing so soon that it suggests we will start finding a lot of these things in the future and eventually we will find systems that do transit. "This is a harbinger of things to come." Last week, in a piece of great timing, two university scientists in the US said the chance of finding a planet in the Goldilocks zone was 50/50 by May 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 'G' orbits in just the right spot. lol, really? G spot? too bad we'll never get there...maybe they could visit us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taiko Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 You'll get there one day, Phonetics - for some people it just takes practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nato Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 You'll get there one day, Phonetics - for some people it just takes practice. Hoooooooooooooooo lordy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 You'll get there one day, Phonetics - for some people it just takes practice. Hoooooooooooooooo lordy i doubt it even exists... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 You'll get there one day, Phonetics - for some people it just takes practice. Hoooooooooooooooo lordy i doubt it even exists... . stop doing it wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pakage Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 oh damn, does anyone remember this link Catalyst put up in the spam thread a while back: http://www.vbs.tv/en-gb/blog/ragbir-bhathal-aussie-alien-hunter Gliese 581g is the planet this dude detected the lazer pulses coming from. Pretty sure we've just found our first alien race. note that article linked doesnt actually say that the signal he found was coming from Gliese, but some quick googling does give the supporting claim: http://tinyurl.com/35jlyb5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phonetics Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Unlike most of the tin-foil hat wearing whackadoos in his field... crack up DBNZ EXCLUSIVE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducky Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Man, there's always one aye... michael baptiste03 Oct 2010 6:48a.m. When nasa make arrangements to start testing and building on the goldilocks planet will the U.S. and the rest of the world know about it. I think that we the people of the U.S. should know about what the U.S. attends to do to see if humans can live on the goldilocks planet. I also think that we should know what kinda life is going on there know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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