First 'Habitable Zone' Galactic Bulge Exoplanet Found

astroengine writes "For the first time, astronomers have discovered a sun-like star playing host to a 'habitable zone' exoplanet located inside the Milky Way's galactic bulge — some 25,000 light-years distant — using a quirk of Einstein's general relativity. But don't go having dreams of exotic getaways to the glistening lights of the center of our galaxy; this exoplanet is a huge gas giant world, about five times the mass of Jupiter. However, there is something (potentially) very exciting about this new discovery. Like Jupiter, this newly discovered giant exoplanet may possess small satellites; exomoons that could have life-giving potential. 'Indeed, although the data do not explicitly show any signature of a companion to the Jupiter planet, this possibility is not ruled out,' the researchers write [arXiv]. 'The planet is apparently at the edge between the snow line and the habitable zone, but considering a potential greenhouse warming effect, the surface temperature of a possible companion (exomoon) can be suitable for habitability.'"

Comments

EXO my ASSO!

[Baby Duck]

Can we just call them $^@&ing planets and moons and not resort to EXOPLANETS and EXOMOONS?! Seriously? If we find a gas giant with large spherical rocks revolving around them, yet be within its atmosphere, we can call those f--kers ENDOMOONS. You didn't call the humongous bright thing an EXOSUN or EXOSTAR, so let's have some consistency here.

What next? "A long, long EXOTIME ago on an EXOPLANET far, far away"

Re: EXO my ASSO!

[Anonymous Coward]

Sky down Luke. Get a grip. Latin prefixes need not stir the hormonal reservoirs of Titan with such strength as your basal ganglia muster. It's only a game, full of sound and fury, like the audio generated from the idle twiddling of engineers compelled to transmography the plasma wave recordings from Huygens-Cassini's pass near Saturn, signifying nothing.

All the world's not worth your rage.

Re: EXO my ASSO!

[eclectro]

All the world's not worth your rage.

Don't you mean EXORAGE?

Does the moon comtain

[future assassin]

forests and little fur-balls with spears?

Re:Who needs greenhouse?

[Anonymous Coward]

The planet would likely have a massive radiation belt (similar to our gas giants) that would sterilize any moons. This is the same reason that inhabiting any of the Jovian or Saturnian moons is a pipe dream unless you go way below ground.

Re:Who needs greenhouse?

[OhANameWhatName]

The planet would likely have a massive radiation belt (similar to our gas giants) that would sterilize any moons

Sounds lovely. We should definitely send the politicians first.

Re:Black Hole

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Exoblack hole.

'Habitable Zone' Bull***t

[mlauzon]

Just because our planet is a certain distance away from the sun and supports life, doesn't mean that every planet has to be in the exact same place in other systems to support life. Also, there is no way that all life in the universe is going to be carbon, there are going to be silicon beings out there, and who knows, maybe even things more exotic!

Re:'Habitable Zone' Bull***t

[mcgrew]

Oh, yeah, those scientists are SO stupid... sheesh.

Just because our planet is a certain distance away from the sun and supports life, doesn't mean that every planet has to be in the exact same place in other systems to support life.

Stars are classified as to size, spectral class, etc. The "goldilocks zone" is different for every star and guess what? THEY KNOW THAT, fool. They are perfectly capable of discerning how far away from any star a planet must be to have water in all three stages.

Also, there is no way that all life in the universe is going to be carbon, there are going to be silicon beings out there, and who knows, maybe even things more exotic!

You need to read more science and less sci-fi.

silicon has several drawbacks as an alternative to carbon. Silicon, unlike carbon, lacks the ability to form chemical bonds with diverse types of atoms as is necessary for the chemical versatility required for metabolism. Elements creating organic functional groups with carbon include hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals such as iron, magnesium, and zinc. Silicon, on the other hand, interacts with very few other types of atoms.[6] Moreover, where it does interact with other atoms, silicon creates molecules that have been described as "monotonous compared with the combinatorial universe of organic macromolecules".[6] This is because silicon atoms are much bigger, having a larger mass and atomic radius, and so have difficulty forming double bonds (the double bonded carbon is part of the carbonyl group, a fundamental motif of bio-organic chemistry).

We don't know that we're not the only planet with any kind of life whatever. It's unlikely that this rock is the only place with life, but not impossible. We just don't know.

Re:Intergalactic pickup line

[Nidi62]

"Thats right baby, my galactic bulge is full of life"

You're pregnant?