Slashdot Mirror
'Einstein's Planet' Becomes First Exoplanet Discovered Using New Method
cylonlover writes "Due to their relative faintness compared to their parent stars, most known exoplanets have been discovered using indirect detection methods – that is, detecting the effects they have rather than observing them directly. There are numerous indirect methods that have proven useful in the detection of exoplanets and now yet another, which relies on Einstein's special theory of relativity (abstract), has joined the list with the discovery of an exoplanet known as Kepler-76b."
There are some numbers in this newest comic: http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1584
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
I did not say we should stop looking; but it would be nice to find Earth 2. We will need it eventually.
Find Earth 2? Pfft, I'd rather make Earth 2. Anyone want to give me some funding to get some terraforming going on?
You can never know everything, and part of what you do know will always be wrong. Perhaps even the most important part.
A planet doesn't need to be in the Goldilocks zone to be habitable, it's just the safest bet we have for estimating habitability. It's dangerous to exclude planets that are too big, too far out or in general unlike Earth. Moons around gaseous giants might very well be just as habitable as Earth is, but for a different reason than being close to a star. All that is really needed is enough energy to keep water liquid, which could be had via volcanism or gravitational pressure from a larger neighbor.
... whatever