Haven't they known about the Gliese 581 system for a while or did they just discover a new smaller planet in it(581g)?

Originally posted by RSF77
Haven't they known about the Gliese 581 system for a while or did they just discover a new smaller planet in it?

Some of these links aren't working for me.

No, they now the whole system for a while, but new data confirm that Gliese 581g is really similar to Earth, more than previously thought.

As a rough comparison, we could say that Gliese 581g is similar to Earth and that Gliese 581d is similar to Mars.

Man, I wouldn't be surprised if we find human artifacts there from a long ago expedition from our technological past. Or a thriving colony. I just think that its POSSIBLE, that maybe travel between these planets could have already happened. I bet there's some pyramids there at the very least...

Also OP, if you want the images you embed to fit, use the [ ATS ] tags for external Images.

For instance,

[ ats = 627x700 ] http : //img442.imageshack.us/img442/1345/phlgl581small.jpg [/ ats ] resizes it to fit without having to use scroll bars.



So many details are often missed by people who don't use the scroll bars with some images, and if it's a HUUUGE image, people can still click to view it in a new tab, etc, in it's full resolution.

OT. It's amazing that given the size of Mars and it's distance from the sun, we're still looking there for signs of life, and finding evidence of water, and know it still has frozen ice caps. It also has a cycle ever 10 million years or so, where it's axis tilts giving it the needed sunlight to melt those caps. Life may be coming and going on mars over and over, and we're stuck in a dry spell.

Seeing Gliese 581g and knowing it's relative distance from it's star, really makes you wonder - a little too close, or a little far away, it's too hot or too cold.. that one is just right. How can there NOT be life on it. We will never know in our life time. It may be a savannah full of space cows, and tribes of 8 legged herdsmen...

They may be looking back at us, going "Ya know Barry, I rekon that panet, that one there, the one we detect there, No, THERE.. I rekon that just might have life on it.." only to be mocked by the religious controlling state, who put him in a castle and say "Don't you come out till your dead you miscreant! - all hail Xenu and may his DC10 never falter."

I wish I knew we'd know one day. At least the knowing that we'd know would be enough to know, so that I could stop pining to exist longer and longer until we find out how long that piece of string is...

Originally posted by mainidh
I wish I knew we'd know one day. At least the knowing that we'd know would be enough to know, so that I could stop pining to exist longer and longer until we find out how long that piece of string is...

IMO, one thing is for sure is that, given the exponential progress of the signal detection techniques, we will see the discovery of life outside our solar system in the next decade.

It will be the most important discovery of human kind, and we will be lucky enough to be part of it!

glad it's confirmed..I was sad when I found out it was unconfirmed

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MY WHOLE LIFE! CAME ACROSS THE READ UP ABOUT IT LASTNIGHT AND ITS BEEN ON MY MIND ALL DAY!