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Alien Solar System Much Like Ours

Posted by michael on from the don't-get-your-hopes-up dept.

MrGort writes "Wired News reports that British astronomers say they found the first sun-like star with a giant gas planet in an orbit similar to Jupiter's, which leaves plenty of room for worlds like Earth and Mars. This system is a quick 90 light years away. The similar solar system to ours means that this gas giant could attract most of the debris, allowing smaller planets closer to the sun to develop like ours did!"

2 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Re:patent by ChadN · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You know, this reminds me of the setup of a book by John Varley, called "The Ophiuchi Hotline". It starts off with us learning that humanity started receiving transmissions from space, in the direction of the Ophiuchus constellation. We started receiving it about 400 years prior, and have been decoding peices of it ever since. Of the amount that can be decoded and translated, we've learned about medicine, space travel, computers, etc. All kinds of amazing technology. No one knows who is sending it, or why.

    But a repeating message has appeared, taking up more and more of the transmission. Our hero is summoned to a meeting where he learns that some of this repeating message has ben translated.

    In summary, it reads: "Payment for service is overdue. Please remit immediately, or severe consequences will result."

    The book plays out from this premise.

    Let's hope we never have to deal with intergalactic IP issues.

    --
    "It's overkill, of course. But you can never have too much overkill." - Anonymous Slashdot Coward
  2. Cosmic Wonders! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    Whatever they find there, it just ain't gonna compare to the cosmic goatse.cx.

    Don't worry, kids, it's a NASA site!