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Scientists discover potentially habitable planets
- eddiecalzone 10y agoAwesome! Let's strip-mine it!
- Bluestrike2 10y agoLots of options a lot closer to home :).
- cowardlydragon 10y agoI thought planets in dwarf star habitable zones would be tidally locked / not rotating?
- ccallebs 10y agoThey mention that in the article -- they postulate that there may be "sweet spots" with the correct temperature to be habitable. These would be located close to where the planet transitions from light to dark.
- civilian 10y agoAnd unfortunately, these spots would be very windy. There'd be a constant barrage of cold wind as the air in the hot side rose.
- rubidium 10y agoAt a mere 40 light years away :) But seriously, that's a good find. 2 planets are orbit-locked. I've always thought those make the best for sci-fi fiction, since they're effective halo's in terms of habitability. source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature17448.html http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/natu... [paywalled] Wikipedia already has some info on the telescope and findings: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRAPPIST
- welterde 10y agoPreprint of the paper: http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1615/eso1615a.pdf http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/es... Via the ESO press release: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1615/ http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1615/
- rajandatta 10y agoBrilliant. Love the approach of using Trappist to search for candidates and then be able to turn to instruments like the Hubble and other land based big guys. It'll be amazing to see what the Hubble can see at 40 light years.
- _kst_ 10y agoIt's odd that the article doesn't mention the phrase "brown dwarf", which is what 2MASS J23062928-0502285 is. (See http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=2MASS+J23062928-0502285 http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=2MASS+J230629..., linked from the article.) The phrase "ultracool dwarf star" is descriptive, but both less familiar and less precise than "brown dwarf". Perhaps the author assumed the audience wouldn't know what a brown dwarf is, but a lot of us do (and the rest could have it explained easily enough).
- ak4g 10y ago"Brown dwarf" also doesn't command the same je ne sais quoi of "ultracool".
- _kst_ 10y agoPerhaps it isn't really a brown dwarf. According to http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/03/three_earth_sized_exoplanets_found_around_nearby_red_dwarf_star.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/03/three_ea... : > TRAPPIST-1 is an M8 dwarf, only 0.08 times the mass of the Sun; just barely massive enough to fuse hydrogen into helium in its core. If it were much lower mass we wouldn’t call it a star at all (we’d say it’s a brown dwarf). And the Wikipedia article on brown dwarfs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_dwarf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_dwarf > Brown dwarfs are substellar objects not massive enough to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, unlike main-sequence stars. Apparently TRAPPIST-1 is an actual star, which makes it a (small, cool) red dwarf, not a brown dwarf. But it is near the dividing line. (A brown dwarf with planets would be interesting, but they probably wouldn't be potentially habitable.)
- kafkaesq 10y agoThe sizes and temperatures of these worlds are comparable to those of Earth and Venus, and are the best targets found so far for the search for life outside the solar system. That's quite a variation in temperature. Especially since Venus generally isn't considered to be "habitable."
- s_q_b 10y agoVenus could well have been habitable, but the runaway greenhouse effect stopped that. I'm sure there's thousands of types of planets out there "just like Earth, but..."
- gboss 10y agoThere are altitudes within Venus' thick atmosphere that are actually quite reasonable, with it being proposed that humans would only need a simple oxygen mask to survive. The idea of setting up a "floating" colony in Venus' atmosphere has been proposed a few times: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Venus#Aerostat_habitats_and_floating_cities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Venus#Aerostat...
- akita-ken 10y agoI've always been intrigued by the idea of aerostats on Venus. Certainly the idea seems sound (at least in theory), and the fact that an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere mix would be a lifting gas on Venus greatly reduces the launch cost of bringing a dedicated lifting gas from Earth. But gosh, imagine going to bed on such a habitat knowing that all that's keeping you from a hot and fiery end are your gas balloons and a couple of steel cables!
- simonh 10y agoI can see the point of an observation and science platform, but not colonization. What resources would be available that would be worth the cost? Maybe you could manufacture rocket fuel, water and other useful materials from the atmosphere? I'd be interested to see a proposal on that front otherwise it's a bit pointless.
- hanniabu 10y agoIf we're going to make it to another planet that far away, we're going to either need to put our astronauts in some type of suspended state or be able to give birth and raise children on ships. I wonder what the effects would be of a child forming in a womb, being born, and growing up in zero gravity conditions.
- SEJeff 10y agoVery very early onset osteoporosis when they come back to somewhere with gravity?
- prodmerc 10y agoGrowing up in zero G? I'm afraid the problems would be substantial. Not being able to walk, improperly formed skeleton and organs, extremely weak immune system, and I'm guessing much more...
- sokoloff 10y agoWhat's the zero-G impact on the immune system? (genuine question)
- SEJeff 10y agoIn short, it wrecks it: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/T_Cell http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/T_Ce... http://www.nasa.gov/content/study-reveals-immune-system-is-dazed-and-confused-during-spaceflight-u http://www.nasa.gov/content/study-reveals-immune-system-is-d... http://www.space.com/4302-stresses-immune-organs.html http://www.space.com/4302-stresses-immune-organs.html
- Turbots 10y agoRotate the ship fast enough to mimic 1G gravity... Solved!
- s_q_b 10y ago
- mrfusion 10y agoDon't forget they might have habitable moons too!
- CapitalistCartr 10y agoWe won't go to the stars until we're actually IN space. Not visiting, but there permanently. When people are born, live and die without ever being dirtside on Earth; when they live in habitats made from lunar and asteroidal materials, we're there. When we've colonized this system we will be prepared to reach out to another. Now imagine these people, who've lived all their lives in wonderful space habitats, worked in ships and on other planets and such. I don't think they'll be looking for another Earth. Why would they? They'll think their space habitat is far more comfortable. As far as interstellar travel is concerned, I'm certain we will solve longevity well before we travel to the stars. FTL won't be the big obstacle it seems now. When your lifespan is several centuries, spending 30-50 years of it traveling across the stars is as reasonable as our ancestors crossing Europe, the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, or the American Continent to colonize a new land. Since their colony ship is a fine habitat, they won't be looking for an Earth-like planet; they'll be looking for a Sun-like star. Of which there are many. Humans can spread out at a sub-light speed across our arm of the Galaxy. But most trips will be one-way. Each colony must be self-sustaining. The best find would be an asteroid belt in the habitable zone. Cheap resources!
- blhack 10y ago>They'll think their space habitat is far more comfortable. I really, really, really doubt that. People who spend most of their time living on oil rigs now, or people who lived large parts of their lives on ships, did not end up losing the desire for dry land.
- CapitalistCartr 10y agoI don't see them as comparable. A space habitat several kilometers in size with plenty of interior enjoyable space, and managed, perfect weather is nothing like an oil rig. And its better than a cruise ship, and there are people who would love to live permanently on those, although not as crew. Since they aren't down this deep gravity well, they are already more than halfway to anywhere in the neighborhood. For them, visiting The Moon or Venus is vastly more practical. An afternoon spent in Zero G games is always available. Insect pests such as roaches and mosquitoes aren't a problem. Which is why traveling from Earth to the habitat will be subject to such a strict quarantine.
- stuff4ben 10y agoCurious what an ultracool dwarf star would like like from an orbiting planet considering it emits radiation in the infrared band? What would the flora/fauna look like? How do they evolve in an infrared environment?
- 0xmohit 10y agoMake habitable planets great again -- Trump for habitable planets.
- ultrasandwich 10y agoTrying to figure out a great Belgian Trappist beer goggle joke and just dropping the ball...
- known 10y ago80% of beneath the Oceans are NOT explored on Earth;