NASA finds 'new earth'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space...Earth.html

Nasa’s Kepler space telescope finds 'new Earth'
A planet called Kepler 22b is more like Earth than any yet discovered and has been identified as a potential future home for mankind.



Kepler 22b contains both land and water and has temperatures which average around 72 degrees (22 Celsius).

It also contains the right atmosphere to potentially support life.

It is, however, 600 light years from Earth.

The planet, where a year lasts 290 days, was first spotted two years ago.

However, Nasa scientists using the agency’s Kepler space telescope have now concluded that it offers the best hope yet for future human habitation outside the Solar System.

One of the key criteria for a planet to be habitable is that it remains roughly the right distance from its main star to be neither too cold nor too hot.

This range of ideal temperatures is known to scientists as the “Goldilocks” zone, as the temperature is “just right” for life.

Bill Borucki, Kepler principal investigator at NASA Ames Research Centre, said: “We have now got good planet confirmation with Kepler 22b.

“We are certain that it is in the habitable zone and if it has a surface it ought to have a nice temperature.”

There are now three planets outside the system, known as exoplanets, which experts believe could potentially be colonised by future generations.

In May, French astronomers identified Gliese 581d, pronounced “gleezer”, which is far closer at around 20 light years away.

It is about six times the mass of Earth and is one of a family of at least six planets.

In August, a team from Switzerland reported that another planet called HD 85512b and 36 light years away seemed to be habitable.

The planet is in the constellation of Vela, measures around 3.6 times the Earth's mass.

According to an online catalogue that indexes bodies outside our solar system by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, a total of 47 exoplanets and exomoons are potential habitable candidates but not enough research has been done to be sure.

Bit late on this, but damn... 22 celsius temperature (average) and 290 days long year? That's damn much like our planet.

Though... 600 lightyears away and they call it a potential future home? uhh excuse me NASA, but even with the speed of light it would take 600 years. Human couldn't possibly live that long nor could the space ship or human body survive in such speed, no?

Yeah I thought there were more than 3 but it is interesting. You should watch about parrellel universes, the theories on them are mind candy.

Why is everyone overreacting about this? Haven't we seen Earth-like planets before?

A few ideas:
1) The closer you get to the speed of light, the slower time gets. So if humans could travel at (or near) the speed of light, then the "600 year journey" wouldn't take very long at all to the travelers. If we reached the speed of light, the journey should be instantaneous to the passengers.
2) If we can't get to the speed of light, then what's so wrong about the idea of a ship designed to support multiple generations? I mean, you're set out to colonize the planet, there's bound to be men, women and children on board. Why not design your ship to have a nursery, schools, etc. on board?
3) A fully-autonomous robot ship carrying frozen embryos (and/or cryogenically frozen adults), specially programmed to "hatch" a (new) generation several years before contact with the planet. The humans would be in charge of establishing the colony. Or of course, you can have the robots finally unfreeze the humans after the base is established.
4) Wormholes?

A few ideas:
1) The closer you get to the speed of light, the slower time gets. So if humans could travel at (or near) the speed of light, then the "600 year journey" wouldn't take very long at all to the travelers. If we reached the speed of light, the journey should be instantaneous to the passengers.
2) If we can't get to the speed of light, then what's so wrong about the idea of a ship designed to support multiple generations? I mean, you're set out to colonize the planet, there's bound to be men, women and children on board. Why not design your ship to have a nursery, schools, etc. on board?
3) A fully-autonomous robot ship carrying frozen embryos (and/or cryogenically frozen adults), specially programmed to "hatch" a (new) generation several years before contact with the planet. The humans would be in charge of establishing the colony. Or of course, you can have the robots finally unfreeze the humans after the base is established.
4) Wormholes?

1) Let's teleport. By the time we manage that, we surely will be able to pass particules instantly from one place to the other.
2)That seems like what happened in the movie "Wall-E". Not sure I like that.
3)This is a difficult one, having such advance I.A. would be trouble, wouldn't it?
4) We have more knowledge about this planets than of wormholes. :/


I'm curious to know, if this planets can support life, how come there isn't at the moment? If anyone knows, please tell me.

I'm curious to know, if this planets can support life, how come there isn't at the moment? If anyone knows, please tell me.

Because scientist have only discovered the planet? And i dunno how the exploration of life would work throught a telescope, i mean they needed to get a drone to mars to discover water/ice w/e right? (Dont know much about that)

1) Let's teleport. By the time we manage that, we surely will be able to pass particules instantly from one place to the other.
2)That seems like what happened in the movie "Wall-E". Not sure I like that.
3)This is a difficult one, having such advance I.A. would be trouble, wouldn't it?
4) We have more knowledge about this planets than of wormholes. :/


I'm curious to know, if this planets can support life, how come there isn't at the moment? If anyone knows, please tell me.

2)LOL, WUT?
3)What A.I.? Thats simple programming

They don't know, they know temperature and other stuff via spectro scan or something like it.

How old are these planets?

How old are these planets?

Old enough to be inhabitable by the time we get there due to nuclear wars.

1) Let's teleport. By the time we manage that, we surely will be able to pass particules instantly from one place to the other.
2)That seems like what happened in the movie "Wall-E". Not sure I like that.
3)This is a difficult one, having such advance I.A. would be trouble, wouldn't it?
4) We have more knowledge about this planets than of wormholes. :/


I'm curious to know, if this planets can support life, how come there isn't at the moment? If anyone knows, please tell me.

1) Wouldn't teleporting be limited by either the lack of some kind of "assembler" at the target destination, or the massive energy needed to "shoot" us such a large distance without losing any atoms? I could see teleporting being more of a thing we could do in the future between two pre-established points (e.g., you could teleport from one "phone booth" to another), or for short distances (couple hundred feet? non-orbiting pomegranate -> ground? But not 600 lightyears)
2) Never seen the movie, though it's been on my list for quite a while. :/
3) Depends on who you ask. Yes, there are many potential sci-fi/horror movie plots in there, but it's an idea.
4) That's what science is for. I'm not even sure if the idea of the existence wormholes has been debunked.

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask, why not?" ~Robert Kennedy

Without threadjacking this to a meaning / origin of life thread:
If you ask a Creationist, then God / FSM didn't work his magic on the planet (yet?).
If you ask an Evolutionist, then life basically came from random chance, which hasn't occured yet. This article mentions nothing about the age of the planet.

Of course, this is assuming that there isn't any life already there, which we can't tell (from this article anyway).

I read this from a separate newspaper and it said that the planet was actually not habitable because it was too large. Makes me wonder if our bodies really are that frail.

I read this from a separate newspaper and it said that the planet was actually not habitable because it was too large. Makes me wonder if our bodies really are that frail.

We are but a bag of meat in the end, a well balanced and equilibrated bag of meat.

Of course if people started living in that planet somehow lolevolution would start after centuries me thinks.

Of course, this is assuming that there isn't any life already there, which we can't tell (from this article anyway).

We can't tell because we can't do that (AFAIK), if you where at that planet staring at us you wouldn't know there is life here because
1) How do you get pictures of something so small so far (stars and the like emit radiation, life not much)?
2) 600 years ago we didn't produce radiation that said we are here and even now I don't think is strong enough to messure it.

2)LOL, WUT?

3)What A.I.? Thats simple programming

They will surely add something, too many science fiction movies have shown me so. And our existance relying on pure robots, I think that idea would be the hardest to accomplish.


They don't know, they know temperature and other stuff via spectro scan or something like it.

2) Do not click if you haven't seen the movie.

 Spoiler

You know, how humanity escaped from Earth and went into space, where generation after generation left humankind like that. It would be like that. :f6:

3)They will surely add something, too many science fiction movies have shown me so. And our existance relying on pure robots, I think that idea would be the hardest to accomplish.


And it's like everyone is alreeady considering the Earth lost.

2) Do not click if you haven't seen the movie.

 Spoiler

You know, how humanity escaped from Earth and went into space, where generation after generation left humankind like that. It would be like that. :f6:

lol, you don't get it do you? I saw the movie but thats the first one I know that makes a colony ship so stupid, others at least show that there would be human issues like crime and the likes.

We are but a bag of meat in the end, a well balanced and equilibrated bag of meat.

Of course if people started living in that planet somehow lolevolution would start after centuries me thinks.

Physics > evolution > lolevolution

Other forms of life may prevail, especially sea life, but other than that I don't really have confidence.

And it's like everyone is alreeady considering the Earth lost.

Every planet we colonize will essentially be given a greatly decreased lifespan. I'd trust an advanced robot over a human to make an important decision, at the very least. They will do what is most efficient for everything as a whole instead of simply going on some shady "gut feeling", lol.


Also, because of how large and dense this planet is, the gravity would be much stronger and, if it has ANY form of atmosphere like the one Earth has (you know, what we need to breathe ), the temperature increase would make the planet way too hot to be habitable, most likely...

Also, because of how large and dense this planet is, the gravity would be much stronger and, if it has ANY form of atmosphere like the one Earth has (you know, what we need to breathe ), the temperature increase would make the planet way too hot to be habitable, most likely...

Well at least in lolwiki it says that if its density is similar to earth it would be 2.5 g on surface, not bad if you ask me.

Well at least in lolwiki it says that if its density is similar to earth it would be 2.5 g on surface, not bad if you ask me.

That's not quite how gravity works.
By being 2.5 times bigger than the earth it might weigh 2.5 times more but because it's larger there's also a bigger increase in the radius and thus that makes the gravitation weaker.
Jupiter is like 318 times bigger than the earth and the gravity is only 2½ times stronger or so because of this.

4) Wormholes?

you die no less than 2-4 times trying to pass through a black hole with our current knowledge.

not really a good way to go. scifi books/shows make it look too easy because it opens up the galaxy/universe to quick travel.