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Possible Habitable Planet Just 12 Light Years Away

Posted by Soulskill on from the dibs-on-the-oil dept.

sciencehabit writes "Astronomers have discovered what may be five planets orbiting Tau Ceti, the closest single star beyond our solar system whose temperature and luminosity nearly match the sun's. If the planets are there, one of them is about the right distance from the star to sport mild temperatures, oceans of liquid water, and even life (paper)."

21 of 420 comments (clear)

  1. Where's the queue? by eltardo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've got my own helmet. Where do I sign up?

    --
    plop
    1. Re:Where's the queue? by valentinas · · Score: 5, Funny

      Helmet? What about a towel?

    2. Re:Where's the queue? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Cheyenne Mountain oops I said to much.

    3. Re:Where's the queue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Who is much?

    4. Re:Where's the queue? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Nah. Blue Paint and Size XXXXXXX Condoms.

    5. Re:Where's the queue? by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 4, Funny

      sort of flushes sideways

      Great. Now I've got to go back and watch them again. It just occurred to me to wonder whether the Antarctica gate flushes in the other direction.

    6. Re:Where's the queue? by Grayhand · · Score: 5, Funny

      Helmet? What about a towel?

      So you're planning to hitchhike to Tau Ceti? You do know it's off season and the hotel rates are insane? You don't even want to know what a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster will set you back.

    7. Re:Where's the queue? by wgoodman · · Score: 3, Funny

      It was just Stargate Voyager. Stargate DS9 was fun while it lasted, but neither were as good as the original.

    8. Re:Where's the queue? by mcgrew · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dude, it's Tau Ceti. Khan lives there!!!

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
    9. Re:Where's the queue? by jstave · · Score: 3, Funny

      So you're planning to hitchhike to Tau Ceti? You do know it's off season and the hotel rates are insane? You don't even want to know what a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster will set you back.

      A properly made Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster will set you back into infancy, no matter what the season.

  2. Re:It goes the other way, too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just send a B Ship full of your Republicans, climate denialists, gun nuts and all the other right-wingers around the world.

    They can propel themselves there with bombastic hot air, and they'll fuck everything up enough that we'll never see that planet again. Of course, if the other guys have had the same idea, we'll need a strategy to deflect them. Pretending we're gay might seem like a good idea, but before you know it, they'll be "adopting a wide orbital stance" and stalk us forever.

    Suggestions anyone?

  3. Re:"JUST" 12 light years? LOL. by Chrutil · · Score: 5, Funny

    Could you get more by slingshotting around the sun?

    Yeah, but you'll end up in San Francisco in 1986 so it won't do you any good.

  4. Re:It goes the other way, too by gumbi+west · · Score: 4, Funny

    You're forgetting that we can see our own TV signals, sent out and then reflected back at us by an unknown source from 47 years ago. If a low quality mirror is enough to span 47 light years, than a direct view of something 12 light years away should be fine.

  5. Re:It goes the other way, too by gumbi+west · · Score: 4, Funny

    AGGGH just noticed the date on that article. I'm such a tool.

  6. Re:"JUST" 12 light years? LOL. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    LDS is the nym generally ascribed to the church of latter day saints. I suspect you meant LSD.

  7. Re:It goes the other way, too by cervesaebraciator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why would you put the people in charge on the second bus?

  8. Re:It goes the other way, too by betterprimate · · Score: 1, Funny

    Suns have a lot of light noise too, so we probably wouldn't see a laser transmitter either, unless it were from the very edge of the system.

    Noise? No. Sound? Yes. It is precisely how we understand our own sun. It is not by light but by sound.

    There is a nice lecture titled "Songs of the Stars" by Don Kurtz from the University of Central Lancashire. It can be found here: http://feeds.tvo.org/tvobigideas

    The podcast is called Stellar Seismology. Enjoy.

    Shakespeare, among all other poets and artists, was correct. Even the dead poets and artists are still light years ahead of the early 20th century scientist. Modern scientists are just a regression of their predecessor; there are very few scientists today who merit such a title.

  9. Re:It goes the other way, too by kenj0418 · · Score: 5, Funny

    it was determined that at TV frequencies the Earth was the brightest (known) object in the galaxy.

    That is until they learn to decode the signals. Then they will stop thinking we are bright.

  10. Re:It goes the other way, too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So basically it is like high school dating on a galactic scale?

  11. Re:It goes the other way, too by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hello out there! Any potential overlords looking for a slave race that's advanced enough to be useful without being able to defend itself effectively? And might be tasty?

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  12. Re:It goes the other way, too by asylumx · · Score: 4, Funny

    Isn't that exactly what the GP said?