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New alien planet is perfect for life, scientists say
FOX News ^ | February 2, 2012 | Denise Chow

Posted on 02/03/2012 7:15:40 AM PST by C19fan

A potentially habitable alien planet — one that scientists say is the best candidate yet to harbor water, and possibly even life, on its surface — has been found around a nearby star. The planet is located in the habitable zone of its host star, which is a narrow circumstellar region where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: life; planet; xplanets
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Only catch is gravity is 4.5 times that on earth.
1 posted on 02/03/2012 7:15:45 AM PST by C19fan
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To: C19fan

Perfect for life? After that I did not bother to read it.


2 posted on 02/03/2012 7:19:59 AM PST by mountainlion (I am voting for Sarah after getting screwed again by the DC Thugs.)
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To: C19fan

Find it interesting that NASA makes this call based upon location of the planet in the “habitable zone”. IOWs, the intensity of the sunlight being the key factor. Yet other NASA scientists are all wrapped up in “Anthropromorphic Global Warming” and “Greenhouse Gases” which the other guys seem to neglect.

Go figure?


3 posted on 02/03/2012 7:20:25 AM PST by Tallguy (It's all 'Fun and Games' until somebody loses an eye!)
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To: mountainlion

Don’t let Planned Parenthood near it.


4 posted on 02/03/2012 7:22:39 AM PST by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
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To: rarestia


One potential Astronaut for the mission to the place is already dressed...
5 posted on 02/03/2012 7:25:51 AM PST by BigEdLB (Now there ARE 1,000,000 regrets - but it may be too late.)
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To: C19fan
Only catch is gravity is 4.5 times that on earth.

I guess that mean all their babies look like this:


6 posted on 02/03/2012 7:27:16 AM PST by Maceman (Obama: As American as nasei goreng)
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To: C19fan
Perfect for life?

Do we know the gravtational pull on surface?
Percentage of surface covered by water?
Atmospheric pressure?

Can we identify areas which are, say, equivalent to a Mediterranean climate?

Do we have any idea what we're talking about when we say it is "perfect" for life?

7 posted on 02/03/2012 7:28:53 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (When the night falls, it falls on me, and when the day breaks I'm in pieces.)
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To: C19fan

The scientists are welcome to go there. An don’t forget to write.


8 posted on 02/03/2012 7:33:37 AM PST by Phlap (REDNECK@LIBARTS.EDU)
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To: C19fan

Actually what sticks out at me is the fact that the system appears to be poor in metals which can be a real problem for life as we know it.


9 posted on 02/03/2012 7:37:01 AM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: Tallguy

Hey, aren’t there tons of Class M planets out there in the galaxy? They found them on Star Trek. (sarcasm , LOL )

On one old episode, they found a life form which was silicon based, not carbon based.

As far as global warming goes, we don’t know if the aliens on these planets have been using coal fired power plants or driving SUVs. (more sarcasm)


10 posted on 02/03/2012 7:41:29 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Tallguy

Blame the science writers, they write the sensational crap. The science itself suggests that its in what we consider to be the habitable zone where all the water doesn’t freeze or boil away.


11 posted on 02/03/2012 7:43:47 AM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: C19fan

A planet in the habitable zone could be Venus, Earth or Mars.

So far Keppler isn’t finding many Earth candidates...


12 posted on 02/03/2012 7:49:29 AM PST by desertfreedom765
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To: C19fan

Occupy GJ 667C!

I’ll even kick in a couple of hundred bucks for rocket fuel if they can get all the OWSers on the ship.


13 posted on 02/03/2012 7:51:10 AM PST by old3030 (I lost some time once. It's always in the last place you look.)
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To: C19fan

Long way to go before it can be deemed “perfect for life”. Have to get past “tolerable for life” first:

Does it have a magnetic field to deflect solar radiation?
Is water present?
Does it have a sizeable satellite that stabilizes axis drift?
Does it have a relatively massive sister planet to suck up or deflect asteroids/comets/meteors?


14 posted on 02/03/2012 7:53:55 AM PST by kidd
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To: desertfreedom765

In all fairness to Kepler, it only sees transiting planets which means their orbit has to be on a plane with the telescope. If you were looking for earth from a similar distance but from above, you wouldn’t find us.

Almost all of these planets are found in tight orbits around small stars. In this case the star is about one 1/3 the size of ours and the orbit of the planet is much closer and shorter. Again, if you were looking for earth from a similar distance, earth would only transit once every 365 days.


15 posted on 02/03/2012 8:00:52 AM PST by cripplecreek (What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?)
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To: C19fan
Only catch is gravity is 4.5 times that on earth.

And they know this how? My recollection is that the only way to determine the mass of an astronomical body without making assumptions about its density is if you can observe something orbiting that body.

Also do these folks looking at supposed habitable planets every worry about the other things we take for granted here: atmosphere and atmospheric pressure, availability of water, vegetation, etc.

ML/NJ

16 posted on 02/03/2012 8:04:18 AM PST by ml/nj
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Not only were there tons of Class M planets, they were usually populated by hot chicks in 60’s miniskirts, and Captain Kirk took every opportuinty to become very familiar with the indigenous life forms.


17 posted on 02/03/2012 8:08:29 AM PST by Astronaut
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To: C19fan

Perfect place to send all of the liberals.


18 posted on 02/03/2012 8:10:25 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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To: Astronaut

It’s amazing Kirk never ended up with lots of alien STDs.


19 posted on 02/03/2012 8:11:37 AM PST by fieldmarshaldj
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To: fieldmarshaldj
It’s amazing Kirk never ended up with lots of alien STDs.

Like Eddie Murphy said, "If the bitch is green, there must be something wrong with the p***y."

20 posted on 02/03/2012 8:14:55 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
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