Thread: First Planet in Habitable Zone Confirmed

I just can't wait until we are able to actually get to other planet and go see ourself. I am really hoping that we advance medice quick enough that people will have vastly larger life spans, so that it is possible.

Meh, they really know nothing about the planet. It receives roughly the same amount of sunlight as Earth, but it's probably not remotely like Earth. It could have no atmosphere and be freezing, it could have no water on it, it could have a runaway greenhouse effect like Venus, it could be made of gas...

Good to see the technology for planet searching getting steadily more advanced, but there's still some way to go before it's useful.

Originally Posted by Xei

Meh, they really know nothing about the planet. It receives roughly the same amount of sunlight as Earth, but it's probably not remotely like Earth. It could have no atmosphere and be freezing, it could have no water on it, it could have a runaway greenhouse effect like Venus, it could be made of gas...

Good to see the technology for planet searching getting steadily more advanced, but there's still some way to go before it's useful.

Of course.

We need more advanced ways of magnification- better, keener, observier.

Originally Posted by Alric

I just can't wait until we are able to actually get to other planet and go see ourself. I am really hoping that we advance medice quick enough that people will have vastly larger life spans, so that it is possible.

We also need a fuel source to travel 600 light years, and be able to travel near (or beyond) the speed of light while keeping said people alive and sustained for that many years... the ship itself would take such huge quantities of resources for fuel, living requirements, etc...

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's highly improbable without resources (plus China is stockpiling all of the precious metals they can to be used for energy production, solar cells, wind turbines, etc.) It would be a neat idea, though.

Wouldn't it be weird if we ended up being alien invaders?

Originally Posted by ThePreserver

We also need a fuel source to travel 600 light years, and be able to travel near (or beyond) the speed of light while keeping said people alive and sustained for that many years... the ship itself would take such huge quantities of resources for fuel, living requirements, etc...

> Implying you need to apply a force for constant velocity
> In 2011

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

Well the two ways that I see it as being possible would be either freezing yourself, or you upload your mind into a computer. Obviously both takes technology we don't have. However if a person became a robot or uploaded their mind into a computer or something of that nature, they could turn themself off and use no energy and then turn themself back on when they reach the destination. Or if we prefected cryonics you could freeze yourself, and space is cold enough that you don't need power to remain frozen, then when you arrive you could unfreeze yourself.

The cryonics approach is probably easier technology wise. Of course finding a way to bend space for faster than light travel is a much nicer way to travel. Either way, I don't think it will happen in my life time unless they drasticlly increase human life spans within my life time. Then my life time might be far longer and it may be possible. Which is my hope.

Two words: Generation Ships.

One more: Recycling!

Originally Posted by Xei

> Implying you need to apply a force for constant velocity
> In 2011

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

Fuel as in energy... for which to keep systems aboard the ship running... I presume you cannot use solar power, since you'd be traveling outside of star systems...

Originally Posted by Sornaensis

One more: Recycling!

Also... the value of recycling is much lost upon people... they think it works... it doesn't (unless you design the product to BE recycled.)

Take, for example, the humble aluminum can; the paint and lining do not recycle, yet they are mashed and melted and molded with the aluminum, causing it to lose purity. You can't RE-cycle it, you have to DOWN-cycle it, and use it for a lower-grade product. Unless people start designing products to BE recycled, it won't save the planet. We seem to forget Recycle's two best friends, Reduce and Reuse.

(See book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things.)

Why is everyone talkin bout ships? We have stargates.

The planet is even more mysterious because its radius is between that of Earth and Uranus and Neptune, both of which have radii about four times the size of Earth's. So we don't know what a planet in this size range typically looks like.

"We have no planet like this in our solar system," he said.

What the fuck does this mean? I mean, really this makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Also, cool if this is true. Hopefully they find one a little closer though lol
Like maybe 1 lightyear would be nice. As long as we can invent light speed travel lol

As far as I can tell the meaning is quite simple; we know of a few planets smaller than Earth, and a few larger than Neptune, but none in the range in between.

And it's pretty unlikely we ever find any planets within 1 lightyear. I'd bet you £100 against it.

Well that is obvious, the only planets within a light year of us are the ones in our solar system. The nearest solar system to ours is like 4 light years away, there isn't anything between.

The media sure knows how to work a crowd don't they?

pffft.. Scientists claims that they do not yet know if Kepler-22b has a predominantly gaseous, liquid or rocky composition.

But of course they do. Look at all the pictures next to each article regarding Kepler-22b.



I wouldn't mind meeting the person who actually gets paid to Photoshop these these spheres in front of bits of nebulae all day? I can just imagine the conversation.

NASA Engineer: "Hey we just found one and it's a big one! We need you to get right to work on your rendition, like Asap! Shit's going public in 10!
Artist: "So what do you suppose this one should look like?"
NASA Engineer: "Beats the hell out of me, it's 600 freakin light-years away. How the @#$% should I know!"
Artist: " uh... ok.. I'll just pick a planet from an old Star Wars episode at random then."
NASA Engineer: "Ok, yea you do that, but hey! No funny stuff. Save the stars, rainbows, and unicorns for your acid trips."
Artist: "Nebulous clouds in the background- check."

Originally Posted by ThePreserver

We also need a fuel source to travel 600 light years, and be able to travel near (or beyond) the speed of light while keeping said people alive and sustained for that many years... the ship itself would take such huge quantities of resources for fuel, living requirements, etc...

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's highly improbable without resources (plus China is stockpiling all of the precious metals they can to be used for energy production, solar cells, wind turbines, etc.) It would be a neat idea, though.

There are alternatives. Bussard ramjet, laser proulsion, anti-matter catalyzed fusion.

Originally Posted by Ne-yo

The media sure knows how to work a crowd don't they?

pffft.. Scientists claims that they do not yet know if Kepler-22b has a predominantly gaseous, liquid or rocky composition.

But of course they do. Look at all the pictures next to each article regarding Kepler-22b.

This is the EXACT conversation I was having with my friend about this planet. They saw a small sphere within the habitable zone. That's it. They know the diameter, and that it's probably the right temperature for water to be liquid (if it even has water.) Buuut everyone is talking about it as if it's a "second earth" (thanks to sensationalist media). For its size it seems likely to be a gaseous planet.


ALSO: I agree. All artistic representations of planets should feature nebulous clouds, regardless of the reality of that sector of the galaxy. It just makes for better photos.

Originally Posted by Xei

As far as I can tell the meaning is quite simple; we know of a few planets smaller than Earth, and a few larger than Neptune, but none in the range in between.

What do they mean they don't know what a planet like this looks like?
It looks like a planet between Earth and Neptune size....

Oh and I know they probably won't find a planet that could sustain life within 1 light year.
I was just sayin', it would be cool. Coz then we could get there in my life time lol

Originally Posted by ThePreserver

Fuel as in energy... for which to keep systems aboard the ship running... I presume you cannot use solar power, since you'd be traveling outside of star systems...



Also... the value of recycling is much lost upon people... they think it works... it doesn't (unless you design the product to BE recycled.)

Take, for example, the humble aluminum can; the paint and lining do not recycle, yet they are mashed and melted and molded with the aluminum, causing it to lose purity. You can't RE-cycle it, you have to DOWN-cycle it, and use it for a lower-grade product. Unless people start designing products to BE recycled, it won't save the planet. We seem to forget Recycle's two best friends, Reduce and Reuse.

(See book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the way we make things.)

What?

On a generation ship, everything would be built to be recycled. Meaning you aren't sitting on a million tons of rations that will be depleted. The ship simply becomes a miniature earth for a few hundred years.

Originally Posted by Sornaensis

What?

On a generation ship, everything would be built to be recycled. Meaning you aren't sitting on a million tons of rations that will be depleted. The ship simply becomes a miniature earth for a few hundred years.

AH, you meant for the ship itself. (I also suspect people wouldn't be mindless consumers aboard a generation ship, too. That would defeat the ship's ability to sustain life for that long.)

But still, fuel for a power source would be required, I'd assume nuclear power, but then again you need all of the resources to BUILD a ship with such an expanse and GET the pieces into outer space (that would take countless launches before assembly.) It's such a massive project we may not have sufficient resources on earth to accomplish it!

Originally Posted by ThePreserver

AH, you meant for the ship itself. (I also suspect people wouldn't be mindless consumers aboard a generation ship, too. That would defeat the ship's ability to sustain life for that long.)

But still, fuel for a power source would be required, I'd assume nuclear power, but then again you need all of the resources to BUILD a ship with such an expanse and GET the pieces into outer space (that would take countless launches before assembly.) It's such a massive project we may not have sufficient resources on earth to accomplish it!

It's theoretically possible we could first mine resources from other planets in our solar system. If they have any useful ones.

Originally Posted by khh

It's theoretically possible we could first mine resources from other planets in our solar system. If they have any useful ones.

This is true, but then we need to use resources and launch fuel to get mining equipment on a large enough scale to build such a ship! And then you have to launch THOSE resources off of other planets somehow...

Originally Posted by ThePreserver

This is true, but then we need to use resources and launch fuel to get mining equipment on a large enough scale to build such a ship! And then you have to launch THOSE resources off of other planets somehow...

The asteroids have extremely shallow gravity wells and lots and lots and lots of rocket fuel.

Originally Posted by cmind

The asteroids have extremely shallow gravity wells and lots and lots and lots of rocket fuel.

But do they have any other valuable resources? Metals that can withstand the impact of micro-meteoroids over and over and over as it travels for hundreds of years through space? You need a hell of a lot of resources... you can't build a ship out of pure fuel... OR CAN YOU?! :O