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Sun's Twin Discovered — the Perfect SETI Target?
astroengine writes "There are 10 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy that are the same size as our sun. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that astronomers have identified a clone to our sun lying only 200 light-years away. Still, it is fascinating to imagine a yellow dwarf that is exactly the same mass, temperature and chemical composition as our nearest star. In a recent paper reporting on observations of the star — called HP 56948 — astronomer Jorge Melendez of the University of San Paulo, Brazil, calls it 'the best solar twin known to date.' Using HP 56948 as a SETI target seems like a logical step, says Melendez."
First post?
Wrong, then it makes a good colonization target. Fill the barges with androids and seeds NOW!!1
...if what we were seeing was actually ourselves, just 400 years ago. A wormhole, acting as a mirror...floating at the point they're looking at?
C'mon...you can dream, can't you?
---- Please be nice in case my Slashdot karma ~= my real life karma.
Maybe they could organize an expedition to colonize this fertile planet 70 percent covered with liquid water, only 200 LY away?
If they're advanced enough to do that then they're advanced enough to have detected our planet and its composition long ago. If they wanted to colonize Earth then the plan would have already been put in place and SETI would have nothing to do with it.
So don't worry. It's only a problem if these aliens are for some reason willing to travel 200 light years just to acquire a bunch of slaves. Maybe we should make it clear in our SETI broadcasts that we are very inquisitive creatures, but also lazy and difficult to train?
The enemies of Democracy are
1) Send a message, "Hello, are you out there?"
2) 200 years later..., "Yes we are, is there something we can help you with?"
3) 200 years later..., "Can you give us the secret to faster than light travel?"
4) 200 years later..., "Obviously not."
Total time: 800 years.
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Seriously, there are 10 billions stars essentially equivalent to our Sun, but you have to go 200 light years to find the closest one?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Exactly! What was the score from last nights game and what has Britney Britney been up to this week?
I drank what? -- Socrates
You can have the prototype model, but don't ask why we left the teeth out.
I worry that China is broadcasting the source code for Windows Vista, and 200 years from now some alien civilization will receive it and think they're schematics for something great. They'll build it, nearly destroy themselves and then come looking for us.
1. "Hello are you out there?"
2. 200 years later, they receive message, send "Yes we are, how can we help?"
3. We receive first response (400 years total now)
4. We send "Can you teach us FTL travel?"
5. They receive the additional response (600 years total now)
6. They reply "thank you for holding, can you verify your phone number please"
7. We receive their message (totaling 800 years now)
8. We hang up in a panic, realizing our entire planet has been outsourced.
"Let's say we discovered a TV Signal from an alien race that was less advanced than us?"
You mean 1000 channels and nothing on?