First Habitable Planet Close To Being Confirmed By Scientists

[ShyGuyInChicago]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/17/first-habitable-planet-2030_n_862785.html?fbwall

Scientists may be just steps from discovering the first habitable planet beyond our own.
Gliese 581d, a planet orbiting the red-dwarf star Gliese, may be the first real candidate for human expansion. That is, if it didn't take 3,000 lifetimes to get there, according to Science Daily.
581d is the third candidate for becoming the first hospitable exoplanet from the Gliese system, but the previous two candidates have both been ruled out. Gliese 581e was ruled too cold, and 581g turned out to be entirely nonexistent.
In order to determine that this planet was actually a viable candidate, the scientists behind the new report used a new computer model, which uses methods similar to those used to measure Earth's own climate, to analyze the atmosphere of 581d.
From Fast Company:
There are no days on Gliese 581d; one side is perpetually light and one side is perpetually dark. People thought this would mean that the night side would be perpetually frozen. But a new study by the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique at the Institute Pierre Simon Laplace found that because of the local star's red light that penetrates deep into the heavy carbon atmosphere, the planet regulates heat quite well. Downside: It will always be a sort of red-hued dusk. And gravity is twice as strong, meaning it won't be too pleasant to walk around. But at least we'll be able to live there. The problem, as with most things in space, is the distance. At 20 light years away, it would take 300,000 years to get there.
But maybe we should be trying to get there a lot faster.
A new study (completely unrelated to the Gliese 581d report) has determined that at our current pace of using resources we're going to need two Earths by 2030. While Gliese 581d seems a bit far as a candidate, the Living Planet Report isn't actually suggesting we search out another planet, but is instead emphasizing how quickly we're depleting Earth's resources and highlighting the urgent need to change our course.

But with over 2 billion potential alien earths out there, there has to be at least one backup for Earth, right?

[Roses_Are_Yellow]

Hey, it's the Goldi Locks Planet...well..I think scientist called it that a few months ago...


...new vacation spot...well...for my great great great great great great to the 9th power children....

[JunkBondTrader]

I do hope they're right this time. It seems like scientists are always discovering habitable planets but then turn round and say they were wrong. :(

[Nihilus]

Hey, it's the Goldi Locks Planet...well..I think scientist called it that a few months ago...


...new vacation spot...well...for my great great great great great great to the 9th power children....

^ and if it's a high carbon atmosphere, wouldn't it be really hard to breath because of little oxygen???? Plants may have trouble growing with the amount of gravity too.

[Spook]

Here's the big question- Does this planet have water? ^_^

[Perseus]

^ and if it's a high carbon atmosphere, wouldn't it be really hard to breath because of little oxygen???? Plants may have trouble growing with the amount of gravity too.

Evolution can act differently there, assuming there is life. Just because our life here wouldn't be able doesn't mean life that has evolved there wouldn't be able to.

What's funny is, a couple of months ago, my friend was talking about this planet and getting all nerdy about it, lol.

[Azunite]

I was going to say the same thing, I heard this very news months ago and I commented a lot on this, including my infamous comment " So what will we call here, Mother Gleis instead of Mother Earth? "

[CantLiveWithoutYou]

lol it's so cute to see you guys arguing about stuff you don't know anything about. <3

[UnknownError]

^ LOL says you. :rolleyes:

I wish we could just do what they did in WallE except without the fat. :3

[Iron Man]

^ LOL says you. :rolleyes:

I wish we could just do what they did in WallE except without the fat. :3

If each spaceship was designated by country, only the American ships would have the fatties.

[Azunite]

lol it's so cute to see you guys arguing about stuff you don't know anything about. <3

Said the Chief Scientist of NASA

[Sage]

lol it's so cute to see you guys arguing about stuff you don't know anything about. <3

If you aren't going to make any real contribution to a thread, shut the fuck up.

As fascinating as this planet may seem, that's all it really can be for now, and possibly for a long time to come. The fact remains that we still have no means of traversing the distances between planets and solar systems in any practical way.

[Kahn]

If you aren't going to make any real contribution to a thread, shut the fuck up.

As fascinating as this planet may seem, that's all it really can be for now, and possibly for a long time to come. The fact remains that we still have no means of traversing the distances between planets and solar systems in any practical way.

It's almost sad to think that there is another bastion of life, were this planet to be habitable, just floating around in space. Considering it is habitable, we'll try to colonize it if the opportunity ever arises.

[Sage]

It's almost sad to think that there is another bastion of life, were this planet to be habitable, just floating around in space.

I don't see anything sad about that.

[Kahn]

I don't see anything sad about that.

The fact that we know it's out there, yet we cannot reach it. That's what I find sad.

[Continuum]

The fact that we know it's out there, yet we cannot reach it. That's what I find sad.

People will find a way to discover extreme high-speed travel. Somehow.

If it's habitable, there's already something inhabiting it, probably microbial life. Nobody wants a taste of alien flu, right?

[Sage]

People will find a way to discover extreme high-speed travel. Somehow.

Not necessarily. For all my knowledge of physics, there's a fair likelihood it's not possible, or at the very least, not possible in any practical sense of the word.

[Continuum]

Not necessarily. For all my knowledge of physics, there's a fair likelihood it's not possible, or at the very least, not possible in any practical sense of the word.

People generations before us thought of our current technological achievements unlikely to happen, too. We can't expect anything plausible that may be discovered anytime soon, especially with our fast-progressing knowledge in technology.

[Kahn]

People generations before us thought of our current technological achievements unlikely to happen, too. We can't expect anything plausible that may be discovered anytime soon, especially with our fast-progressing knowledge in technology.

Fast-progressing or not, it would take something monumental- hell, something that can never be paralleled to give us the technology to reach this planet anytime soon.

[Sage]

People generations before us thought of our current technological achievements unlikely to happen, too. We can't expect anything plausible that may be discovered anytime soon, especially with our fast-progressing knowledge in technology.

But you and I both know that's just wishful thinking.

[Passion]

and even if that technology is discovered, it is still very idealistic that there is life on this planet when taking into account that scientists are very inconsistent on the matter.

[Peace God]

Not necessarily. For all my knowledge of physics, there's a fair likelihood it's not possible, or at the very least, not possible in any practical sense of the word.
Fast-progressing or not, it would take something monumental- hell, something that can never be paralleled to give us the technology to reach this planet anytime soon.
Damn son, be some haterz up in dis thread!

What makes you guys say that our technology can't advance that far? "Monumental" and "soon" are both relative terms. Who knows how long we'll be around as a species and I've only known our technology to grow exponentially. I also wasn't aware of anything in physics that would prevent such a thing (unless you wanted to go faster than the speed of light).

[Sage]

I also wasn't aware of anything in physics that would prevent such a thing (unless you wanted to go faster than the speed of light).

That's exactly what I was referring to.

[RoseyCadaver]

I was reading an article about a life form not carbon based,but phosphorous(I THINK,I'm not sure what element).Maybe we could send little bacterias on there and maybe get life started on there?Who knows what would happen.My science teacher was saying that some scientist wanted to do that to Mars,which makes more sense to me.They have to ice caps,maybe we could melt them like said planet*Earth :rolleyes:*.I've been studying Marine Biology and I think if we could send fresh and salt water to mars,and try to heat up mars via green house gases(stay with me!) and maybe we could try to colonize on mars.I heard it's only a one year trip ^_^.

[Perseus]

They have to ice caps,maybe we could melt them like said planet*Earth :rolleyes:*.I've been studying Marine Biology and I think if we could send fresh and salt water to mars,and try to heat up mars via green house gases(stay with me!) and maybe we could try to colonize on mars.I heard it's only a one year trip ^_^.
It would take over one hundred years to terraform Mars.

[Peace God]

That's exactly what I was referring to.
Yeah we can never travel faster than light. But that's not a huge concern.

[Drew7]

hmm, turns out speed of light, not so fast. we won't be colonizing mars either, we aint going anywhere. i think the science guys like to day dream that they could live somewhere else. we visited the moon and skylab.... that's it and do anything more will cost billions which i doubt the world is up for

[RoseyCadaver]

It would take over one hundred years to terraform Mars.

I was saying a ,as in one,trip.Ik one trip to Mars(which is around a year or two to get there) wouldn't do the job :P.