Posted on 12/06/2011 11:17:56 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Explanation: It's the closest match to Earth that has yet been found. Recently discovered planet Kepler 22b has therefore instantly become the best place to find life outside our Solar System. The planet's host star, Kepler 22, is actually slightly smaller and cooler than the Sun, and lies 600 light-years from Earth toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). The planet, Kepler 22b, is over twice the radius of the Earth and orbits slightly closer in, but lies in the habitable zone where liquid water could exist on the surface. Pictured above is an artist's depiction of how Kepler 22b might appear to an approaching spaceship, in comparison to the inner planets of our Solar System. Whether Kepler 22b actually contains water or life is currently unknown. A SETI project, however, will begin monitoring Kepler 22b for signs of intelligence.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Illustration Credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech ]
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"Oh, crap. They found our planet."
Our discovery, our planet.
How appropriate. Orbiting a star named after a man without whom we wouldn’t have a Goldilocks zone.
Don’t think that there are others out there...but...
They are looking at our galaxy and wondering if life exists on our planet.
They are still a bit backward and do not have the capability to send signals to us.
They are way advanced beyond us and their signals have been lost in the past. They are trying to resolve their own financial problems and no longer provide funds for space exploration.
They are at our level and still trying to figure out how to govern without taking out the job creators.
LOL!!
This is the second piece I’ve read about this planet and both times from what is written we can assume that astronomers believe they are looking at a rocky planet and not a gaseous one.
But I haven’t read the actual words: This is a rocky planet.
Is it? Is that fact knowable from this distance?
A gaseous planet (a small Jupiter) even in the “habitable zone” probably isn’t going to have life.
It’s highly unlikely to be a gas planet at that size and distance from such a star. Something called hydrodynamic escape means that a gas planet needs to be quite a distance from its star, or very large, or both.
It could be a water planet - similar to Uranus or Neptune, which used to be called gas giants along with Jupiter and Saturn but are now more commonly called ice giants because their structure is quite different from the two largest planets in the solar system - but with liquid rather than ices because of its temperature. It would still have a rocky core (as Uranus and Neptune are both believed to) but it’s “ocean” would cover the entire surface. Or it could be a rocky planet like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These are the two most likely possibilities from what I’ve been able to find out.
N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L
It’s highly unlikely to be a gas planet at that size and distance from such a star. Something called hydrodynamic escape means that a gas planet needs to be quite a distance from its star, or very large, or both.Thank you very much for that. I didn't know that. Are you a science writer?It could be a water planet - similar to Uranus or Neptune, which used to be called gas giants along with Jupiter and Saturn but are now more commonly called ice giants because their structure is quite different from the two largest planets in the solar system - but with liquid rather than ices because of its temperature. It would still have a rocky core (as Uranus and Neptune are both believed to) but it’s “ocean” would cover the entire surface. Or it could be a rocky planet like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. These are the two most likely possibilities from what I’ve been able to find out.
Assuming (always a dangerous practive) a rocky planet, with its apparent mass, its gravity would be greater than Earth’s. I haven’t done the math (probably won’t), but I would guess it to be 3 to 4 times that of Earth. So, a 150 lb. human would weigh from 450 to 600 lbs. Hmmmmm. wonder what they would look like?
Whatever lives there would probably be very low to the ground.
[ A gaseous planet (a small Jupiter) even in the “habitable zone” probably isn’t going to have life. ]
But one of it’s moons might....
Life on the moon of a gaseous world... Avatar!
But as someone posted up-thread, the chances of a gaseous giant in the habitable zone are slim.
...A request, if there are UFO's visiting us, don't bring weapons. Let the aliens land, they might be here to pick me up.
They sent me this postcard, "We're on the way. Don't forget your toothbrush."
Funny. You know, he always reminded me of Sidney Greenstreet in “Casablanca.”
Not very 'Earth-like' to my mind.
Godspeed
No, I’m a high school teacher. :)
There are a few conservatives among us. My specialty is history, but I teach in a very good school where they expect all of us to be experts in our subjects and that means I get to talk about these things with people who have reasonable expertise (a lot of us have Masters degrees in our subject area and I have lunch with a couple of science teachers a couple of times a week and this issue came up at lunch the other day.)
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