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Super-Earths Discovered Orbiting Nearby, Sun-Like Star
likuidkewl writes "Two super-earths, 5 and 7.5 times the size of our home, were found to be orbiting 61 Virginis a mere 28 light years away. 'These detections indicate that low-mass planets are quite common around nearby stars. The discovery of potentially habitable nearby worlds may be just a few years away,' said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Among hundreds of our nearest stellar neighbors, 61 Vir stands out as being the most nearly similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties."
What'd probably happen is about five years (as the travelers perceive it) after launch we'll develop faster-than-light travel and interrupt their journey. Or maybe just let them ride it out as a curious time capsule to cruise by and show buttcheek to.
High gravity + Close to its star = big fat, sweaty alien women.
I'll get excited when we find a planet about 93 million miles away from its star, the proper solar light properties for blue skin and near earth gravity. I've always had a thing for blue skinned alien girls.
Not so much a problem for the folks on the spacecraft, relativity can make the journey very manageable for them.
I think we're a long way off building a spaceship that can achieve the speeds where that effect would make any difference.
How's that? I'm sure that it's possible to find at least 61 virgins on /. In fact, I think you are the right place if you're looking for virgins.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
At .0002c, it would take about 14000 years to get there, but the lucky astronauts would only experience 13999.99972 years. Sign me up!
61 Virgins? Can I trade them for 8 slutty broads that know what they're doing?
/me puts on his robe and wizard hat.
That's no moon...
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...