Space, the Final Fontier

[Riverwind (imported)]

We Just Discovered 54 Earth-Like Planets - LET'S GO TO THEM!

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z1CwkyeNQd

Using a huge telescope orbiting the sun, scientists just found 1,200 new planets. 68 of them are about Earth's size. 54 of them are Earth's size AND temperature – meaning they are potentially habitable.

This news is buried five full mouse-wheel scrolls down the page on NYT.com. (http://www.nytimes.com/)

Outrage!

The last time humanity discovered habital masses across an unknown abyss it was North America (http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/North_America). In the 500 or so years since, we've experienced an unprecedent flowering of commerce, science, and culture. Back then, the average life span was 30 to 40 years.

Sure, some bad things happened as a result of this adventuring and colonization. Peoples disappeared. Disease spread. Buffallo died.

But on the whole, it looks like the Spaniards (http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Spanish_people), Dutch, and Portugese were pretty smart to pack entreprenuers onto ships and send them into the unknown.

Let's do it again! It'll be dangerous, slow-going, technically difficult, and not immediately fruitful, but that was the case last time too.

(If humanity wants to keep going, by the way, we're going to have to find a new home eventually anyway. The sun won't last forever.)

Join the conversation about this story » (http://www.businessinsider.com/we-just- ... 2#comments)

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z1CwkN3kvz

We knew this was going to happen, this happened looking at one little bit of space, do the math, there are tens of thousands of planets out there just like ours.

River

[moi621 (imported)]

Garbage science!

It is not just about the Goldilocks Zone for liquid water but also a nice magnetic field as allows organic molecules to become larger and a moon more akin to a binary planetary system so as to moderate tides, among other considerations.

Such news releases are intended for the science disabled consumption.

Moi

Believe in the Arboreal Octopus of the Pacific Northwest!

[BossTamsin (imported)]

While there might be a lot of other considerations that go into determining if a planet is habitable or not, the discovery of exoplanets the size of Earth, orbiting so close to their stars, and even having a rough estimate of their temperature is a major feat.

Exactly how many exoplanets were known 20 years ago? In another 20, might we be able to work out rough atmospheric compositions?

Like I said, even if none of them prove habitable, their discovery is still big news and helps move science forward.

[moi621 (imported)]

My problem with this type of science is it plays to the least science educated.

"LIFE", because a planet is found in the Goldilocks Zone without consideration of other factors, such as cosmic rays exposure.

This kind of article could be a little more in depth and a little less tabloid.

Is that fair?

Moi

w/o bells and whistles

[Riverwind (imported)]

NASA, our government has spent millions more likely billions to look at deep space and found the fabrics of what everybody asks "what is on the other side of the mountain" and the great mind Moi, calls it GARAGE SCIENCE. A month ago on another thread someone said there was no proof that planets existed outside our solar system and now we know, WE KNOW of over 1200 planets just in one little stamp sized section of space, do a little math and it would suggest that the Universe, yes Moi, the one we live in has BILLIONS OF GALAXY'S, each having Trillions of stars, and they have stars with planets. When we were kids this was something we knew nothing about, today we can only imagine of other civilizations on other worlds and the possibilities it holds, but the Great Moi, calls it garbage science. That's OK Moi, fundamentalist Christians believe in Intelligent Design and call it science.

Garbage Science my ass.

Moi, stop now while nobody is looking maybe nobody will notice.

River

[BossTamsin (imported)]

My problem with this type of science is it plays to the least science educated.

"LIFE", because a planet is found in the Goldilocks Zone without consideration of other factors, such as cosmic rays exposure.

This kind of article could be a little more in depth and a little less tabloid.

Is that fair?

Moi

w/o bells and whistles

Considering how little funding NASA gets, and how big a target it presents for anyone claiming to want to 'cut waste', I encourage as many of these kinds of press releases as the agency can manage. Anything to get people thinking about the topic, and show people that space is worth the paltry sum spent exploring it. If they have to dumb down the science, and up the tabloid sensationalism, then that's what they have to do.

Mankind is far too caught up in bullshit like the Kardashians, the Oscars, and celebrity gossip to pay any attention to science unless science plays the publicity game. (Read as: "The human race is too #$%^ing stupid to pay any attention...")

To quote a great writer:

"There's more metal in one little asteroid than was mined all over the world in the last five years! And there are hundreds of thousands of asteroids. All we have to do is go get 'em."

"Even with the technology we already have, we could do it. Johnny, out there in space it's raining soup, and we don't even know about soup bowls."

(Larry Niven, in case you're wondering.)

So quite honestly, I'll take the dumbed down science, the tabloid sensationalism, and the rest of it if it makes people actually put some thought into what kinds of potential might be out there, and how we can get out there to meet it. After all, it's been damn close to twenty years since NASA has even managed 1% of the federal budget, and yet it's one of the programs that seems to wind up first on the chopping block. (Exactly how many near-useless TSA scanners, or unnecessary new military bombers would it take to match NASA's total budget??)

Just think... less than six months until the US loses the capability to launch men into space. Think about it, and weep.

[Slammr (imported)]

Science builds one block on the other. Without the foundation laid by previous discoveries, new ones won't be made. It hasn't been that many years since we couldn't detect planets outside the solar system at all. That they can now detect earth sized planets is astounding. In time, I don't doubt they'll be able to tell whether or not such a planet can support life.

Even if they do discover one, however, I wouldn't plan a trip for the next 1000 years or so; but who knows what science, if we keep looking, will accomplish.

[Riverwind (imported)]

At the current rate of funding I would say not much, after all there is the national debt to pay and to do that we need to cut our expenses, and raise the tax on the poor, somebody must pay for it.

River

[Slammr (imported)]

At the current rate of funding I would say not much, after all there is the national debt to pay and to do that we need to cut our expenses, and raise the tax on the poor, somebody must pay for it.

River

That's OK. The first man on another planet will probably be Chinese, but by that time, we may all be Chinese.

This was said tongue-in-cheek. China has problems of its own keeping its own people happy, and if they're not careful, they could experience an Egypt like moment. (just an explanation of my comment, not an attempt to hijack this thread).

[Riverwind (imported)]

I do believe you IE and I are on the same page.

River