Scientists Will Look For Signs of Life on This Newly Discovered Earth-Size Planet

Ross 128 b is an Earth sized planet orbiting within the Goldilocks zone of inactive red dwarf Ross 128 , the planet was detected recently and at just 11 light years away it is the second closest Earth sized planet to be discovered , the closest being Proxima b.

What makes Ross 128 b so interesting is the star it orbits , Ross 128 is an inactive red dwarf which means it isn't throwing off masses of radiation making the chances of finding life on Ross 128 b better than on Proxima b.

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory estimate the temperature on the planet would be around 20 degrees Celsius with a radiation level at 1.38 times that on Earth and if the planet has retained its atmosphere it is a good place to look for life , something they plan on doing when the Extremely Large Telescope comes on stream in 2024.

What we don't know yet is whether Ross 128 b has an atmosphere - that is something that is best determined by the transit method. But the Extremely Large Telescope, currently under construction and due to see first light in 2024, will be powerful enough to image the planet directly , and hopefully detect the biomarkers that indicate life.
www.sciencealert.com...

Hopefully James Webb will also take a look as that is due to launch in 2019 , with these tools I'm sure we will discover Extra Terrestrial life out there within the next decade , exciting times.

ughhh 2024 is so far away

a reply to: gortex What telescope is set to be online in 2024? I thought James Webb was set to be ready by 2019?

a reply to: gortex

Hopefully James Webb will also take a look as that is due to launch in 2019 , with these tools I'm sure we will discover Extra Terrestrial life out there within the next decade , exciting times.

Hopefully not, what a waste of time it wold be for James Webbs time to be taken up by the search for exo planets.

There are years of known objects to look closer at much further away.

Black holes like at the center of the MIlky Way, Quasars, the Webb deep field(s), farthest galaxies, etc.

First.

a reply to: Allaroundyou

The Extremely Large Telescope comes on stream in 2024.


a reply to: intrptr

Hopefully not, what a waste of time it wold be for James Webbs time to be taken up by the search for exo planets.

It doesn't have to search there are other telescopes doing that , it just needs to look.

Black Holes are amazing, but can it compare with answering the question of "are we alone in the universe"?
Only other question in humanity's history with as much importance, in my opinion, would be "is there any conscious existence after death".

We are getting to the point we could, realistically, answer one of these two questions...

~Winter

a reply to: Allaroundyou

The James Webb Telescope is a space based telescope, planned to be operational by 2019. The Extremely Large Telescope, is a ground based telescope, which is currently under construction at Cerro Armazones in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, due to be completed by 2024.

However, the James Webb Telescope already has many different targets, awaiting its gaze, a list which is no doubt so long at this stage, that adding to it is somewhat ridiculous. Besides, the best observations ever made, the most impressive observations via telescope, have been made by multiple telescopes at once, for higher accuracy and granularity of data recorded.

a reply to: TrueBrit Oh well thank you for clearing that up. I had no idea about the ground based telescope.

"Planet DETECTED" . No planet outside our system has ever been directly observed, this is another theoretical planet.

a reply to: gortex

why can't they focus first on finding all the species we have here on earth, or cure the common cold first.

all this R&D and funding, and technology and people still don't have clean drinking water around the world.

I can save everyone the time - it's as barren as all the other planets out there we can observe.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: Allaroundyou

The Extremely Large Telescope comes on stream in 2024.


a reply to: intrptr

Hopefully not, what a waste of time it wold be for James Webbs time to be taken up by the search for exo planets.

It doesn't have to search there are other telescopes doing that , it just needs to look.

And take up all its time... so thanks for agreeing wth me. 'Just a look' is far more involved than a moment.

The dumbest thing we can do with the best technology is study our navel.

a reply to: Winterpain

Black Holes are amazing, but can it compare with answering the question of "are we alone in the universe"?

Resolving an actual accretion disk surrounding a black hole would be more amazing. I know life exists elsewhere. Probably planets full... of disgruntled masses, polluted biosphere and endless wars.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: gortex

There are years of known objects to look closer at much further away.

There is absolutely NOTHING more important than finding a nearby habitable plant. Nothing. Everything else pales in comparison. We certainly do not know how to get there yet, and our current theoretical mindset can't handle the possibility. But if it takes a Space Ark to do it, then that's what we'll have to do. It's not an option. It's mandatory. Nothing else really matters.

originally posted by: odzeandennz
a reply to: gortex

why can't they focus first on finding all the species we have here on earth, or cure the common cold first. all this R&D and funding, and technology and people still don't have clean drinking water around the world.

That will never happen and if we wait for all the problems of the world to be solved, we'll never venture forth anywhere else. Columbus did not wait for the Black Plague to be cured before he set off. And the fact is, these sorts of things bring inestimable benefits back to humanity. The Apollo Program, for example, brought you the cell phone and was responsible for many components in the computer you take for granted today. If you DO have such a narrow vision of what we ought to be doing, please stay at home and keep out of the way.

originally posted by: slapjacks
ughhh 2024 is so far away

I could very well be quite dead by then.

a reply to: schuyler

There is absolutely NOTHING more important than finding a nearby habitable plant.

While we destroy life here.

Double standards...

originally posted by: sprtpilot
"Planet DETECTED" . No planet outside our system has ever been directly observed, this is another theoretical planet.

That is about to change with the James Webb telescope and Extremely Large Telescope but just because we can't see it with our eyes doesn't mean it isn't there , science works on data and observation.

a reply to: intrptr

The dumbest thing we can do with the best technology is study our navel.

We will be looking outward not inward , our destiny is out there and someday our descendants will travel to the planets we find today , there is no time wasting about looking at exoplanets we are preparing for the future.

originally posted by: schuyler
There is absolutely NOTHING more important than finding a nearby habitable plant. Nothing. Everything else pales in comparison.

In the grand scheme of things, me being happy is much more important than that.

a reply to: gortex

As usual science misses it by a mile. We have to die first to go out there.

Have you ever wondered why we look and listen but never detect any signals or they are not landing and exploring obvious 'tourist spot"?