7 new Earth-like exoplanets discovered, NASA announces

[Bahamut]

Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'

I hope we never meet them, we will be dead then......... ................

 

[A chauhan]

The war is between humans and speed of light, if we win then next obstacle - how to see obstacles in the dark space when cruising at light speed, and how to avoid them at that speed defying extreme g-force !!?

 

[Krusty]

The war is between humans and speed of light, if we win then next obstacle - how to see obstacles in the dark space when cruising at light speed, and how to avoid them at that speed defying extreme g-force !!?

Speed of light won't help as much as wormholes and concepts like warp drive. Even if we were to travel at 99.9999999......% (theoretical limit allowed for conventional definition of speed)speed of light it would still take over 4.5 years just to reach our nearest star without considering relativistic effects. Forget exploring the universe, we won't even be able to explore our quadrant of our galaxy even if we conquer 'c'.

Of course all these are still in the realms of concepts and theories ...

G forces are really not an issue in space travel.

 

[Mikesingh]

I mean, NASA even annouced a few days back that they were going to reveal a great discovery. And it turned out to be this; I thought they were gonna announce that reptilians in fact do rule us.

Of course some do - like the ISIS! No, seriously!

 

[A chauhan]

Speed of light won't help as much as wormholes and concepts like warp drive. Even if we were to travel at 99.9999999......% (theoretical limit allowed for conventional definition of speed)speed of light it would still take over 4.5 years just to reach our nearest star without considering relativistic effects. Forget exploring the universe, we won't even be able to explore our quadrant of our galaxy even if we conquer 'c'.

Of course all these are still in the realms of concepts and theories ...

G forces are really not an issue in space travel.

I don't know why but warm holes appear to me as only science fiction... Yet no one knows future who knows we might succeed in traveling through warm holes...

 

[Kshatriya87]

Talk about lucky number seven. Astronomers have discovered not one, not two, but seven Earth-sized planets orbiting a star called TRAPPIST-1.

What’s more, three of them are in the habitable zone— the happy place where liquid water can exist on the surface of rocky planets, as it’s not too hot or cold. (Although liquid water could potentially exist on any of the seven, NASA said, it likes the odds on those three best.) The space agency calls the discovery of the fascinating solar system record-breaking.

“The discovery gives us a hint that finding a second Earth is not just a matter of if, but when,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, said at a news conference announcing the discovery.

Zurbuchen called it a "major step forward" towards the goal of answering the very big question: Is there life on other worlds?

The discovery "is very promising for the search for life beyond our solar system,” Michael Gillon, astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium, added during the press conference.

This is the first time astronomers have found so many Earth-sized planets circling the same sun.
Since the seven planets orbit the star-- which is roughly 40 light years away-- fairly close to each other, the view from one planet would reveal other planets to look as big, if not bigger, than the way we see the moon from Earth.

“If you were on the surface of one of these planets, you would have a wonderful view [of] the other planets,” Gillon said, adding that they would be much more than just "dots of light" in the sky, as we see other planets, like Venus, from our home planet.

Expand / Contract

(NASA)


The three planets in the habitable zone, also known as the Goldilocks Zone, are called TRAPPIST-1e, f, and g. Exoplanet “e” is about the same size as Earth and even gets around the same amount of star light as we do.

Scientists already knew of thousands of planets beyond our own solar system.

All told, the tally of confirmed exoplanets stood at 3,449 on Wednesday. But only a small number of discovered exoplanets meet the criteria for being possible Earths-- Earth-sized planets that are not too big, and in the habitable zone of a star.


While this discovery was made using the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of the most important instruments in the search for other planets is the Kepler Space Telescope, which is credited with 2,331 confirmed exoplanet discoveries. It uses a technique called the transit method, watching for a star to dim when a planet passes in front of the distant sun. About 74 percent of known exoplanets have been discovered using that method, according to NASA.

Exoplanet discoveries just keep coming.

Earlier this month, astronomers announced that they had evidence of perhaps as many as 114 new exoplanets; the data they used to find those came from Hawaii’s Keck Observatory, which made observations of over 1,600 stars for over two decades. One of those newly-discovered planets that has garnered attention is a hot, rocky “super Earth” called Gliese 411b.

Scientists have even discovered a planet orbiting the closest star to Earth, aside from the sun. Called Proxima b, that planet is somewhat larger than our own planet and lies about four light years away— close by cosmic standards but still incredibly far away from a human perspective. (One light year— the distance light can travel in one Earth year— equals almost 6 trillion miles.) The important Proxima b discovery was announced last August.

Link

Life in space has already been discovered. But they can't just show it as breaking news, all hell will break lose on earth. They reveal this kind of news bit by bit so that humans can slowly digest the reality of it.

 

[alphacentury]

One thing about our system here, that should really interest us, is when the next asteroid is going to bury us all. The last one was quite a while ago, we're due, at present.

I see all signs of Kaliyuga around me dude. So, yeah we are due. The sooner it happens the better.

 

[HeinzGud]

Question for everyone. Do you think existence of alien life is possible? Or do you think earth is alone in having intelligent life. I am very specific about intelligent life. Offourse the level of intelligence varies, so let's stick to Capability of asking the question "are we alone in this universe?"'

It is indeed possible. As the other posters said, universe contains billions of stars (maybe more) even if we allocate fraction of a percentage where intelligent life is possible from these billions of stars. we get at least around 10,000 planets which could possibly host intelligent life forms. therefore, Intelligent life is a mathematical possibility. We are yet to discover them.

 

[HeinzGud]

The probability is close to 1.0 (one,) considering the vastness of the uni/multiverse. But if they ever find us they are going to FUBAR us royally. As Stephen Hawking suggested, we'd be more like the native americans in the US or the native Siberians in Russian siberia, reduced to near-extinction, if not extinction-level numbers.

I don't think that super intelligent alien life forms will be barbarians. As of humans, we have learnt to become compassionate along with our increment of intelligence. I believe that super intelligent aliens will be far more compassionate to us rather than being hostile.

 

[Razor]

1.I don't think that super intelligent alien life forms will be barbarians. As of humans, we have 2.learnt to become compassionate along with our increment of intelligence. 3.I believe that super intelligent aliens will be far more compassionate to us rather than being hostile.

1. Why do you not think so? You've been in contact with any? Or you just being subjective?

2. Oh really?? Humans have become more compassionate? Really? Well, nuking two civilian cities on the fake pretext of japan not surrendering (japan was in fact ready to surrender) was compassion after all. Japs raping 300k chins was compassion.
In any case you would have to measure the compassion of previous era (impossible because compassion can't be measured) and compare it with todays compassion levels (which again can't be measured.)
And in any case what direct relation between intelligence (again non-measurable entity) and compassion has been established?
So another subjective statment from you.

3. Believe based on what exactly?
When was the last time you were compassionate to that cockroach hiding in your toilet. Or the rat running around the yard in the night. Perhaps you have some compassion for the snakes or tigers in the woods? "Super-intelligent" aliens will see us as worms and will note the resources of the planet with a greedy eye.

 

[HeinzGud]

1. Why do you not think so? You've been in contact with any? Or you just being subjective?

Being subjective. I compare them with human behavior.

2. Oh really?? Humans have become more compassionate? Really? Well, nuking two civilian cities on the fake pretext of japan not surrendering (japan was in fact ready to surrender) was compassion after all. Japs raping 300k chins was compassion.
In any case you would have to measure the compassion of previous era (impossible because compassion can't be measured) and compare it with todays compassion levels (which again can't be measured.)
And in any case what direct relation between intelligence (again non-measurable entity) and compassion has been established?
So another subjective statment from you.

We have come a long way from the atomic bombs. We have learnt the cost of wars. People have become more pacifist since then. Only exclusion is of course the Muslims. If not for them. World would have been a far better place.

As a Buddhist, I know that ultimately when you become enlightened you would be compassionate beyond your normal self. Therefore I believe that there is a direct relationship between intelligence and compassion.

3. Believe based on what exactly?
When was the last time you were compassionate to that cockroach hiding in your toilet. Or the rat running around the yard in the night. Perhaps you have some compassion for the snakes or tigers in the woods? "Super-intelligent" aliens will see us as worms and will note the resources of the planet with a greedy eye.

Super intelligent being won't be needing our puny resources if they have the technology to come such a distance to our planet. Therefore they won't have any need for being violent.

As I said earlier, we as a race haven't evolved much to become compassionate as you suggest. If we could do that, then we would be compassionate towards cockroaches and mice.

 

[Razor]

I don't know why but warm holes appear to me as only science fiction... Yet no one knows future who knows we might succeed in traveling through warm holes...

Warm holes are not science fiction bro.
They are real, we have even explored a few.

 

[alphacentury]

And in any case what direct relation between intelligence (again non-measurable entity) and compassion has been established?

Well, I think there is relation between intelligence and compassion. Because the attribute compassion or its opposite 'hate/evil?' stem from intelligence. You wont find any compassionate species other than us humans in this planet. Similarly, you wont find any wicked species like us. We recognize ourself, have sense of community/society, same time build walls/borders. We adopt children not of ours, help unknown people/animals, at the same time make weapons/plan the genocide of our own species(enemies). Most other species is incapable of all this due to lack of intelligence. Very few species with little intelligence hint of these characters.

I hope we never meet them, we will be dead then......... ................

You will never meet them, likh ke lelo. The probability of we meeting aliens in our lifetime is same as pakis winning a war against India.

They are real, we have even explored a few.

Rly, I didnt know that, unless this is a sexual innuendo.

 

[Krusty]

I don't know why but warm holes appear to me as only science fiction... Yet no one knows future who knows we might succeed in traveling through warm holes...

Of course we don't know. We have barely scratched the surface of out universe. Btw, Travelling at light speed is as science fiction-ey as Travelling using a worm hole, we are no closer or farther to using either of the methods. Both are equally distant from complete human understanding. I'd actually go as far as saying we understand more about worm holes than faster than light travel.

 

[Screambowl]

I don't know why but warm holes appear to me as only science fiction... Yet no one knows future who knows we might succeed in traveling through warm holes...

worm holes are only then possible if there is so much gravity concentrated at a point that it brings two arbitrary points in space separated even by an inch co incident on each other by moving the space. Never observed any such phenomenon but yes , they have proved that space also moves.

 

[Krusty]

I don't think that super intelligent alien life forms will be barbarians.

How did you come to that conclusion?

 

[Razor]

Well, I think there is relation between intelligence and compassion. Because the attribute compassion or its opposite 'hate/evil?' stem from intelligence. You wont find any compassionate species other than us humans in this planet. Similarly, you wont find any wicked species like us. We recognize ourself, have sense of community/society, same time build walls/borders. We adopt children not of ours, help unknown people/animals, at the same time make weapons/plan the genocide of our own species(enemies). Most other species is incapable of all this due to lack of intelligence. Very few species with little intelligence hint of these characters.


You will never meet them, likh ke lelo. The probability of we meeting aliens in our lifetime is same as pakis winning a war against India.


Rly, I didnt know that, unless this is a sexual innuendo.

Oh come one man. He said "warm" hole.
I just had to take a "jab" at that. No pun.

First part of your post I'll reply later in the night. Going out of town now. L8r.

@A chauhan Did not intend any offense, just trying to be funny.

 

[A chauhan]

Warm holes are not science fiction bro.
They are real, we have even explored a few.

Oh come one man. He said "warm" hole.
I just had to take a "jab" at that. No pun.

First part of your post I'll reply later in the night. Going out of town now. L8r.

@A chauhan Did not intend any offense, just trying to be funny.

I know mate, everyone waits for such warm hole in his life

 

[HeinzGud]

How did you come to that conclusion?

Simply by observing muslims and non muslims.

 

[Horushmar.]

Great now all we need is a warp drive. Event Horizon, anybody?
(or warhammer 40k for that matter)