Posted on 03/07/2008 5:44:45 PM PST by KevinDavis
Earth may have a twin orbiting one of our nearest stellar neighbors, a new study suggests.
University of California, Santa Cruz graduate student Javiera Guedes used computer simulations of planet formation to show that terrestrial planets are likely to have formed around one of the stars in the Alpha Centauri star system, our closest stellar neighbors.
Guedes' model showed planets forming around the star Alpha Centauri B (its sister star, Proxima Centauri, is actually our nearest neighbor) in what is called the "habitable zone," or the region around a star where liquid water can exist on a planet's surface.
The model also showed that if such planets do in fact exist, we should be able to see them with a dedicated telescope.
"If they exist, we can observe them," Guedes said.
Guedes' study has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
We need to send a probe there. We have the technology, we just don’t have the funding.
Earth II?
The Diggers won’t be happy to see us.
"doppelganger."
Did that show make it to a second season?
They are probably up to Clinton’s 4th term by now.
I don’t think so. It had potential but they decided that it needed to crawl and it became unwatchable.
ahh..You can’t get there from here. You would have to last longer than Mom’s fruitcake to get a reasonable fraction of the distance there and you wouldn’t enjoy the trip.
I think I lost interest around the time Tim Curry joined the show.
I always heard the it has the wrong kind of star — not like our sun.
Didn’t help that it had a “man is evil and spoils everything he touches” message.
I liked the “just-add-water horse” they had that show. That was funny as all get out!
I think it would take 50,000 years.
Nope...you can do it in under 50 years. If you accelerate at 0.1g the whole trip (half would be acceleration, half deceleration) the trip takes about 10 years, at 5 years for signal reception and you’ve got a minimum of 15 years. Lower accelerations give you longer trip times. I have a chart in a book somewhere.
I just don't to get there and find out it's not there....
ping for future.
I truly hate the vacuous space articles that are being pumped out it seems daily about new planets, etc.
All of these articles are speculation and conjecture. I have never seen so many “may”, “might”, “could”, “perhaps”, “if” and the rest of the article goes on assuming all the coulds and ifs have been proven true.
These articles are more science fiction than science. They are wishing so damn for this stuff to be true, and can;t help themselves writing it as if it is.
I heard there was a revolt on Alpha C. ;’)
Nearest Star System Might Harbor Earth Twin
Space.com | 07 March 2008 | Andrea Thompson
Posted on 03/07/2008 5:28:00 PM EST by jmcenanly
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