My Liberal Identity:
You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com
No Longer Unique?
European astronomers have discovered the most Earthlike extrasolar planet to date; the first in the habitable zone of its parent star.
The second planet discovered orbiting Gliese 581, a red dwarf star only 20 light years from Earth, this planet is only about 1.5 times larger than Earth and is likely a rocky planet with liquid water or even oceans. Scientists have estimated the mean temperatures for this planet, presently known as Gliese 581c, as being between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 40 degrees Celsius), and it most likely has an atmosphere. All of these conditions make it highly possible that Gliese 581c also harbors some sort of life.
Gliese 581c is likely to be a prime destination for future space missions, especially those hunting for extraterrestrial life. If future observations of this planet confirm its habitability, it's quite possible that the first manned interstellar missions might choose it as a target, given its relatively close proximity, in galactic perspective.
Now that technology has made it possible to find Earth sized extrasolar planets, astronomers expect to find many more in the years to come.
Personally, I can't wait until they find one with sentient life, though I doubt that will happen in my lifetime.
Thoughts?
It's kind of like life on Star Trek is closer to becoming
reality...And I think it's pretty cool. I would think it even cooler if
Gliese 581 was explored within my lifetime--But I don't know that that will
happen.
I often wonder if they'd find any sentient life here on Earth.
Any other planet with intelligent life is probably watching us and shaking
their little green heads. ;^)
Exciting and scary! Hopefully they're smarter than we are!
Interesting. So how much is 20 light years in human years?
Never mind. I'm trying to get an idea of time. Answers.com says the
Voyager space craft was 13 light hours away in 2004 and it took it
27 years to get that far. So we need some big gains in propulsion or a
ship that would sustain a habitable environment for a long long time. Warp
drive, suspended animation, beam me up Scotty I can't see this happening
any time soon.
Yes, we'd have to improve our propulsion speeds, which are many years in
the future. It's not possible at our current level of technology. But one
day...
