Most Earth-Like Extrasolar Planet Found Right Next Door

Just read about this new discovery. It's about 42 light years from Earth, and has huge oceans. Although its a lot hotter, it has oceans of water and is about 6 times the size of our Earth. I believe they are calling it the "most Earth-like" planet discovered yet.

At this rate, I'm sure we will discover another planet with similar characteristics of Earth a lot sooner then some of us expected.

Meet GJ 1214b, the most Earth-like planet ever found outside our solar system.

It’s not exactly Earth’s twin: It’s about six times bigger, a whole lot hotter and made mostly of water. But compared to the giant gas balls that account for nearly every other extrasolar planet ever found, it’s pretty darn close. And through a fortunate happenstance of cosmic geometry, astronomers will be able to study GJ 1214b in great detail.

But compared to the giant gas balls that account for nearly every other extrasolar planet ever found, it’s pretty darn close. And through a fortunate happenstance of cosmic geometry, astronomers will be able to study GJ 1214b in great detail.

Source: www.wired.com...

Just think, we might not even have to terraform some of these planets. Maybe one day, their great distance will be just a small hurdle to overcome.

I'm hoping!!!

BC

[edit on 16-12-2009 by ByteChanger]

reply to post by ByteChanger


dont get too excited just yet. Where liquid water exists on this world the pressure is 20,000 times that of earth. Insane pressure, equivelant to being 200 kilometers underwater on earth except the deepest you can go on earth is about 10km. We have no technology that could withstand those pressures.

its good we're getting closer to terrestrial sized planets though The race is on between kepler & ground based telescopes. Ground based telescopes look like they will bag the 1st terrestrial sized planet around an M class star. I still think kepler will be first to discover a terrestrial planet in the HZ of a G type star like sol.

[edit on 16-12-2009 by yeti101]

reply to post by yeti101


Get Excited!! WE cannot go to those pressures [on Earth] because we evolved on the surface, but there are plenty of creatures that survive extreme pressure/temperature etc. here on Earth.

I think this is thrilling! Imagine an evolved creature that THRIVED in such a situtation. WOW! I want them for a Raiders linebacker.

reply to post by argentus


yeah but its also insane tempreature. The only reason the water is liquid is becuase of the insane pressure. We will never be able to go look in that water so that aspect doesnt get me excited.

The work from ground based telescopes to be able to detect a 6 earth mass world around a G type star and measure its composition does get me excited.

reply to post by argentus


Thanks Argentus,

Yes, I tempted to agree with you. We have life thriving near volcanic ocean vents for instance. And who knows what lurks down deep in our oceans.

But, I also have to agree that the pressure is substantial, but its substantial at the bottom of our oceans too. Maybe not 20,000 times, but my point is, life tends to evolve into its environment... So, maybe they have flat fish, or some such creatures.... They do say "Its not impossible" for life to appear there.

Will we ever see them? I'd sure love to think so. Like they mentioned, it is close enough for us to observe it. So maybe some day.

I think one of the fascinating facts about all this, is they have only looked at a "handful" of stars. We still have a few more handful's to explore.


PS: Neat concept... Linebacker.. They would be unstoppable no doubt, like a lawnmower cutting down grass...


[edit on 16-12-2009 by ByteChanger]

Originally posted by yeti101
reply to post by ByteChanger

 

Hi Yeti101,

dont get too excited just yet.

Too late... All these new planets get me excited.

Where liquid water exists on this world the pressure is 20,000 times that of earth. Insane pressure, equivelant to being 200 kilometers underwater on earth except the deepest you can go on earth is about 10km. We have no technology that could withstand those pressures.

Ummm, I'm not sure how you calculated 20,000 times Earth, I didn't see it mentioned in the article. (I'm not saying you are wrong, just don't understand it fully I guess)

If the atmospheric pressure was 20,000 times of Earth, wouldn't all the atmospheric gases be compressed into a liquid form? But, the article states:

in swirling disks of dust and gas that have yet to accrete: hydrogen, helium, nitrogen, magnesium, oxygen, carbon.

But, like I said, I'm not sure. I wouldn't even know how to calculate the atmospheric pressure from the data given. Or if the variables were given for that matter.

Couldn't there be a possibility that if any life forms exist, they are swimming near the top of the water??

The race is on between kepler & ground based telescopes. Ground based telescopes look like they will bag the 1st terrestrial sized planet around an M class star. I still think kepler will be first to discover a terrestrial planet in the HZ of a G type star like sol.

I'm looking forward to it. Space exploration has sure gotten a lot more interesting lately I think. I can only imagine the wondrous things awaiting discovery...

We are getting closer & closer every day. I can't help but be excited.

Thanks for the reply and extra info.

It would be so funny if there were E.T's there and they look similiar to the one's in the film AVATAR.

reply to post by Cioxolo


I can't wait to see that show Avatar. It sounds so cool. Apparently the creator spent 5 years working out stuff like gravity, the creatures, etc, etc... Supposed to be an awesome film.

Thanks for the reply.

reply to post by ByteChanger


Agree ByteChanger........... I don't think we can conceive of a lifeform........ that we cannot conceive of. There could be single-celled intelligent life that is a micrometer thick, but sixteen feet around; there could be my dream linebacker that is a four-foot circumference, nine feet tall and almost impossibly dense and massive.

As Yeti inferred, humans can probably never visit such a planet without a major innovative technological bubble around us, and perhaps such creatures -- if they exist -- could not tolerate our lightweight pressures -- perhaps their circulation would stall without extreme pressure.

I still find it very exciting, very interesting, and wonderful. At the least, it's something to dream about.

Ok, NASA... You get all excited over a bucket-full of water on the moon, and a pond-full of water on Mars. Well, here is a planet-full of water. Where there is liquid water, there could be life. So get super excited and throw some astronauts into your new ares rocket-capsule... and send them on their way there to search for alien life. Forget the Moon and Mars. Your new destination target is now planet GJ 1214b - get going!

It's only 40 light-years away. So... the sooner they depart, the sooner they get there. We are so fortunate to have such a forward-thinking space agency. Otherwise, we would be found to be technologically inadequate for the task.

Originally posted by Larryman
Forget the Moon and Mars. Your new destination target is now planet GJ 1214b - get going!

It's only 40 light-years away. So... the sooner they depart, the sooner they get there.

Yes, I agree... Lets get the ball rolling.... or rockets flying as it were...

40 light years... hmmm, it almost sounds plausible, doesn't it? What would really make a trip like this a reality is suspended animation, or cryogenics.

If we could figure out how to wake someone that has being frozen... Then these long trips wouldn't be so daunting. That or warp drive...

It would be kind of funny though... We freeze some astronauts, send them 40 light years away... then in 20 years, we discover FTL or warp drive... Send the second batch of astronauts to the same destination as the first. They would be the welcoming party.... Give the FTL light crew, name patches that say Adam & Eve...

Would totally screw with the minds of the original crew..

Give me a quick rundown please, anyone. 40 light years what does that mean in real years. How long would it take to travel 40 light years? Is it possible to send a "bullet" type probe there in half the time it would take manned flight and how long would it take to send and recieve radio signals from there to here?

Originally posted by amazing
Give me a quick rundown please, anyone. 40 light years what does that mean in real years. How long would it take to travel 40 light years? Is it possible to send a "bullet" type probe there in half the time it would take manned flight and how long would it take to send and recieve radio signals from there to here?

In another thread on this water-planet topic, Phage said the travel time would be "oh, several tens of thousands of years (if we're really, really good)."

And it would take 40 years for a radio message to travel 'one-way' over that distance. And another 40 years for the 'reply' radio message.

reply to post by ByteChanger


Yea... that suspended animation and/or warp drive would have been nice.

Oh well... stuff the astronauts into the Orion can, and light the Ares fuse anyway. We have life to find out there, and the Orion/Ares is the best tech that NASA gives us. So let's get one going for planet GJ 1214b.

[edit on 12/17/2009 by Larryman]

Originally posted by amazing
Give me a quick rundown please, anyone. 40 light years what does that mean in real years. How long would it take to travel 40 light years? Is it possible to send a "bullet" type probe there in half the time it would take manned flight and how long would it take to send and recieve radio signals from there to here?

Well... if I had a really bright flashlight, and was standing 40 light years away, it would take that beam of light 40 years to reach your eyes. But that beam of light is traveling at 670,616,629 mph. (I think)

How long it would take to travel, depends on several factors. One being how fast your are traveling. Another would be the possibility of wormholes.

Ok, this is tough for me, but I think this is how it works. Perhaps someone could chime in if I'm wrong.

The problem with traveling at the speed of light according to Einstein's theory of relativity which is E=MC(squared) or (Energy = Mass X Velocity squared) The faster you go, the more your mass increases, thus more fuel is required to go faster... But, that would increase your mass, meaning, you would need more fuel... But that would increase your mass... etc, etc, etc...
I think that is why they think it cannot be done.

A wormhole would be the quickest way, but its like a leap from one spot to another.

A bullet probe would suffer the same laws of physics Einstein spoke of.

I think I've heard a nuclear engine could get near the speed of light eventually if it kept thrusting for as long as possible. Might take a several years to get up to speed though.

Radio signals would travel at the speed of sound (only 761 mph). So, if it takes a beam of light 40 years to get from point A to point B. A sound wave would take ... a really really really really long time to arrive.

(sorry math skills are not working right now... ack)

It would probably be faster to communicate via laser or light. But, it would still take 40 years for a signal to reach its destination. so, about 80 light years for a response. Like saying Hello on the phone, and waiting 80 years for a reply.

Once man masters worm holes... Watch out... The universe will get a lot smaller!


Hope that helps and is somewhat accurate...

Thanks for the response.

Wow...where to start...

The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second

The fastest man-made object (New Horizons) in space went a whopping 10.10 miles per second about four years ago and after a boost from Jupiter was 'clocked' at 37,248 miles per hour (November 2009), which if my math is right 10.346... miles per second, being slowed only by the suns gravity.

So what does all that mean?

Using our current technology to set up a similar mission to this new water world it would take our instruments about 7.4 million Earth years to reach our destination. (My math might be fuzzy)

Sounds pretty cool.

en.wikipedia.org...

"The planet is also significant because its proximity to Earth, and the fact that it transits its parent star, means that its atmosphere can be studied using current technologies." - Thats even better, so we'll learn more about these other planets.

just imagine all the money that has been pumped into the baming system, trillions. Just think what that money could have achieved being put to use to help us explore the universe. Never mind, bankers need their bonus's here on earth. priorities i guess

reply to post by woodwardjnr


we need the discovery of a true earth-like planet to fire peoples imaginations and get the funding. shame we cant scrap constellation & go all out for exoplanets.

i woudnt waste money going to GJ 1214b. Its not the sort of place humans can survive.


[edit on 17-12-2009 by yeti101]

reply to post by yeti101


Hi Yeti101...

I seen the newspaper today... It specified 20,000 times the atmospheric pressure as Earth...

You were right. 100% Bang on.

Thank you.

Edit: Oops, put 22k the first time...

[edit on 18-12-2009 by ByteChanger]