Slashdot Mirror
Astronomers Claim Discovery of Earth-like Planet
Raver32 writes "A team of astronomers announced they have discovered the smallest and potentially most Earth-like extrasolar planet yet. Five times as massive as Earth, it orbits a relatively cool star at a distance that would provide earthly temperatures as well, signaling the possibility of liquid water. 'The separation between the planet and its star is just right for having liquid water at its surface,' says astronomer and team spokesperson Stephane Udry of the Observatory of Geneva in Versoix, Switzerland. 'That's why we are a bit excited.' But researchers do not yet know if the planet contains water, if it is truly rocky like Earth, which might make it hospitable to life as we know it, or whether it is blanketed by a thick atmosphere. 'What we have,' Udry says, 'is the minimum mass of the planet and its separation" from its star.'"
For you maybe, but anything that evolved in that environment would be really strong on this planet, be able to leap...wait, what was the name of that planet?
Can you imagine the women, why they'd be build like a brick shi...cue the Commodores.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong fix.
It had to go through Slashdot's rigorous peer review process before getting published.
See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
It was just posted to Digg yesterday is why it's showing up on Slashdot. /old news overflow
Valkyrie is about to die! Wizard needs food -- badly!
TFA is dated 24 April, 2007 -- I'm pretty sure that this is old news.
Hmm, and it reaches us now. Assuming it traveled at the speed of light, it must have originated 1.25 lightyears away. It must have been sent from a relay station quarter of a way to Alpha Centauri.
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
Invade!
--- What?
Maybe it's the fabled space alien depleted Uranium dumping ground.
It's a dupe of a 2007 article.. No wait, it's a dupe of a 2007 dupe . Someone call the Guinness Book of World Records.
I came here for a good argument
``No, we can even measure how surface gravity varies from g=9.78 m/s2 to g=9.82 m/s2 when moving from the equator towards a pole. And this is because Earth is not perfectly round, the people at higher latitudes are closer to the center of Earth and fall faster.''
No, that's because they drink more alcohol there.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Give each member of the team of astronomers a Steakhouse burger from BK!
I think that in planetary terms we can safely assume 5x mass will create an environment of roughly 5g ... maybe give or take 20%. Enough to ensure that the simple act of getting out of bed would be a gruelling ordeal.
I don't know about you, but getting out of bed is a grueling ordeal at any gravity for me!
It is located roughly at a point where it COULD have liquid water and it could have a thick atmosphere.
It may or may not.
But may is better than not a chance.
Seems like it would be worth pointing a radio telescope at and see if we find there version of I Love Lucie.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
I'm not fat, im just from a higher latitude :(
Captain Kirk found a new Earth-like planet almost every week. What was even more amazing was they were occupied by PEOPLE with 1960s haircuts and clothing.
So what you're saying is we should go there to work out?
"Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is." ...and thats the thing about a really big place- sheer size provides an astronomical number of opportunities for such astronomically unlikely things to happen, over and over agin.
!#&*
Says you.
We don't know what it's composed of, and it *could* be solid gold. It *could be* heavy metal.
I personally believe it's composed entirely of soft rock. Chances are very slim that it's composed of top-40 pop or country&western.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
I'll hold the Guinness, thank you very much.
Cheers!
I drank what? -- Socrates
IANAB but I don't see that being a problem for ocean life or insect-size land creatures, right? Probably no birds though.
What do botanists know about that?
When the policeman of the tie, rule you violate, hello punishment of the kitty?
To the many, many people who've taken the time to correct my shitty assumption, berate me, mod me down, and otherwise point out that in my rush to post I forgot to turn my brain on ... I hang my head in shame. I will now seek out my grade 10 physics teacher (or locate his grave as the case may be) and confess my sins.
And of course, for the angriest among you, this post presents another opportunity to mod me down.
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
No, no, no. Fill it with hairdressers, tired TV producers, insurance salesmen, personnel officers, security guards, management consultants, and telephone sanitizers.
...that I'm "very Brad Pitt-like" in my online dating profile, even if I'm actually "five times as massive?"
I mean, otherwise we are VERY, VERY, VERY, similar, right down to the molecular level!
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
Aaaugh! Damn it! I blew it. Was supposed to be How to Cook Humans . /I shred and tear up my geek card.
Sigh. I had such a low /. number, too.
I drank what? -- Socrates