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NASA basically announced there's no doubt life exist on other planets Kepler 452-b

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posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 05:45 PM
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Why do some people always feel the need to try to make scientific discoveries into more than they are?

This discovery is fascinating, sure, but it doesn't really change anything about our views of potential life elsewhere. I don't think any legitimate scientist in the last several decades has had any doubt that life exists somewhere else in the vast universe.

Also, the comment in the OP about the universe being "fine-tuned to produce life" is absolutely ridiculous...



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 06:16 PM
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a reply to: neoholographic

As far as life on other Goldilocks zone planets,
the spectrometer gasses must be studied.

However, there is another potentially tell-tale
indicator : Space Junk/ Metal Parts in Orbit
surrounding these planets of interest.




posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 06:25 PM
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a reply to: TrueBrit

Perhaps it is you who should take a step back. We are at a tipping point regarding the idea of extraterrestrial life. It will not be long before the idea of life on other worlds is as commonplace as the idea of planets themselves.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 06:29 PM
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I'm confident a lot of NASA nerds got a big ol' jolt of sometimes feel like, OMG, life so good, but the announcement and Q&A was pretty anticlimactic for me.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 06:58 PM
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originally posted by: Jonjonj
a reply to: TrueBrit

Perhaps it is you who should take a step back. We are at a tipping point regarding the idea of extraterrestrial life. It will not be long before the idea of life on other worlds is as commonplace as the idea of planets themselves.


The idea that life exists elsewhere is already commonplace among most people who have just a modest enough education to know the size and scope of the universe. Unless a person is a religious fundamentalist, or has not had the opportunity to learn about the size and scope of the cosmos, they probably believe that life almost surely exists elsewhere.

However, to make it commonplace that life is known to exist would require hard proof.

For example, I think life elsewhere almost surely exists (99.9999% sure -- as sure as I could be without having actual hard proof), but the open-minded part of me knows I can't be 100% sure until I have that hard proof.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 07:20 PM
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a reply to: TrueBrit

You said:

C) making unsupportable statements without physical findings to back them up, is not something which scientists who want to have long and fruitful careers involve themselves in. It is also not often dabbled with, by those who have any respect for the scientific method. We should all respect the scientific method. There would be more signal, and less noise in some quarters if we did.

Stephen Hawking said Aliens almost certainly exist.

Kaku said this on a Science Channel special:

“Some scientists say that perhaps we are the only life forms in the universe. Give me a break! I mean, how many stars are there out there in the universe, anyway? The Hubble Space Telescope can see about a hundred billion galaxies — that’s the visible universe,” Kaku says on the alien TV special.

“Each galaxy consists of a hundred billion stars. Do the math. A hundred billion times a hundred billion is 10 sextillion. That’s one with 22 zeros after it. There definitely are aliens in outer space — they’re out there!”


I can go on but I will stop here and somebody should tell Hawking and Kaku that they're careers are about to end.

This was before they discovered a planet that:

HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT

And there's more candidates out there and data that hasn't been looked over yet.
edit on 23-7-2015 by neoholographic because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 07:39 PM
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originally posted by: Soylent Green Is People

originally posted by: Jonjonj
a reply to: TrueBrit

Perhaps it is you who should take a step back. We are at a tipping point regarding the idea of extraterrestrial life. It will not be long before the idea of life on other worlds is as commonplace as the idea of planets themselves.


The idea that life exists elsewhere is already commonplace among most people who have just a modest enough education to know the size and scope of the universe. Unless a person is a religious fundamentalist, or has not had the opportunity to learn about the size and scope of the cosmos, they probably believe that life almost surely exists elsewhere.

However, to make it commonplace that life is known to exist would require hard proof.

For example, I think life elsewhere almost surely exists (99.9999% sure -- as sure as I could be without having actual hard proof), but the open-minded part of me knows I can't be 100% sure until I have that hard proof.



Once fiction/prediction catches up with reality it is time for a shift in paradigm right?



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 07:42 PM
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This is a very exciting discovery but it does not guarantee life on other planets. It does however make it highly likely since we now know that planets similar to Earth are not the exception but the rule in the Universe.

Not sure if someone has posted this but there's a good discussion of this (with a bunch of details from the press conference I added while it was live) over on this ATS news thread: NASA to Make BIG Announcement Live on Thursday - Another Earth?!

Some questions you might have may have been answered there.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 07:47 PM
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a reply to: neoholographic
Well you need to remember "planets like earth" can mean a lot of things and definitely doesn't mean life is on them.

And I don't think this is new. I've had this in my favorites since 2012:
www.skymania.com - Billions of Earth-like worlds in Milky Way...

Here's one from January 2013:
news.discovery.com - Kepler Scientist: 'Galaxy is Rich in Earth-Like Planets'...

edit on 23-7-2015 by jonnywhite because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 08:03 PM
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a reply to: jonnywhite

Sure it does. Unless you have some evidence that says life on earth has some special ingredient that can't occur anywhere else in the universe.

Saying there's billions of earth like worlds in the galaxy is different than saying this:

HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT


HUGE NEWS!



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 08:06 PM
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originally posted by: ketsuko
You do realize that Venus and Mars are "like Earth?"

You make a good point because earth-like doesn't mean life, however:
en.wikipedia.org - Earth Similarity Index...

ESI for Venus is 0.44. Mars is 0.7. Several exoplanets have higher scores.

Note Titan's ESI is 0.242. In that sense, it's very misleading. However, for that we have the Planetary Habitability Index:
www.bbc.com - Most liveable alien worlds ranked...

Titan's PHI is 0.64. Mars is 0.59. Venus is 0.37.

Note the above link is circa 2011. And PHI looks more at the traits of the surface and atmosphere--which might be currently unknown for some of the exoplanets. It might be a while before we have a comprehensive list? And formerly low ESI scorers might gain attention. So some of the exoplanets on these lists might be more famous in the future.

And OP I agree it's great news. But your title is dumb. And you didn't even offer a link. Here's one--it's 9 hours old:
www.nature.com - NASA spies Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star...
edit on 23-7-2015 by jonnywhite because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 09:22 PM
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a reply to: jonnywhite

It's obvious that you have no clue and that's why you have to start with these ad hominem attacks You said:

And OP I agree it's great news. But your title is dumb. And you didn't even offer a link.

The title of the thread is correct and also there's been plenty of people debating the issue without a link so you look like the dumb one. You can't respond with anything intelligent and you keep linking to post that has nothing to do with the discovery today. These are the key points:

HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT

So when you're ready to actually debate the issue then let's here why earth has this special ingredient for life that can't be duplicated anywhere in the universe.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 09:38 PM
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Personally I am waiting for the James Webb Telescope to get up there and start doing its work. I think we will be in for some huge discoveries once that is operational.


Baby Steps Disclosure folks but better than no disclosure at all. And to think people laughed at me in school for arguing that there were other planets in the Universe. I don't think they are laughing now.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 09:52 PM
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a reply to: elevenaugust


I am home.




posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 10:02 PM
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originally posted by: jonnywhite

originally posted by: ketsuko
You do realize that Venus and Mars are "like Earth?"

You make a good point because earth-like doesn't mean life, however:
en.wikipedia.org - Earth Similarity Index...

ESI for Venus is 0.44. Mars is 0.7. Several exoplanets have higher scores.

Note Titan's ESI is 0.242. In that sense, it's very misleading. However, for that we have the Planetary Habitability Index:
www.bbc.com - Most liveable alien worlds ranked...

Titan's PHI is 0.64. Mars is 0.59. Venus is 0.37.

Note the above link is circa 2011. And PHI looks more at the traits of the surface and atmosphere--which might be currently unknown for some of the exoplanets. It might be a while before we have a comprehensive list? And formerly low ESI scorers might gain attention. So some of the exoplanets on these lists might be more famous in the future.

And OP I agree it's great news. But your title is dumb. And you didn't even offer a link. Here's one--it's 9 hours old:
www.nature.com - NASA spies Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting Sun-like star...


I admire your enthusiasm but you have to understand that we know only the most basic things about this planet. We have no idea what kind of atmosphere it has, and that will have a lot to do with what kind of life if any exists there.

The equilibrium temperature of a planetary body is generally lower than its actual surface temperature, which depends on any atmospheric greenhouse effect. For example, a planet with a similar greenhouse of Earth would have a surface temperature 33 K (57 degrees F) over its equilibrium temperature. This calculation assumes an emissivity of 1.0 and that the planet is efficiently distributing heat around its surface (i.e. planet is not tidally locked).

This planet is exciting because we know it is not tidally locked as it orbits a star similar to our Sun in a similar position to where our Earth orbits (which is why it's year is similar). And because we know both it's radius (size) and mass (weight) we can determine that its density is similar to that of Earth (rocky not a ice world, water world or gaseous planet) We know roughly it should be a warm, temperate planet if it had an Earthlike atmosphere but we do not know anything about its atmosphere.

It does however look promising in that it shows our planet is probably not unique but we've not found anything resembling another lush green, blue world yet.

This one and others like it might be just that but to find out we'll need better instruments on larger telescopes. So write your politicians and tell them to increase funding for astrophysics and exoplanet research.

Re: High ESI scores. For planets and moons in our solar system the ESI has more weight because we have detailed information on each of them. In the context of exoplanets where so little is known about these planets initially, these scores are constantly evolving as we gain new information about them. A planet like this could plummet down the ESI score sheet if it were found to have a thick CO2 atmosphere like Venus as it sits on the fine line between conservative habitable zone and optimistic habitable zone and a thick CO2 envelope would lead to a runaway greenhouse effect.



Likewise, Kepler 186f even though it is in a position in it's habitable zone comparable to Mars if was found to have a thick atmosphere like Earth (reasonable speculation since it's size is similar to that of Earth) then it would perhaps be warmer and wetter than Mars, so more like the Earth than Mars and it's ESI would increase as a result.

edit on 23-7-2015 by JadeStar because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 10:23 PM
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originally posted by: neoholographic
HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT

No matter how many times you repeat that, it still doesn't make it anywhere near as big of a deal as you seem to think it is. Most astronomers (and educated people) have suspected that Earth-like worlds are rather common for many, many years. This discovery is nice in that it supports those assumptions, but that's about the end of it.

Just because a planet is in a "habitable zone", is rocky (like the Earth), and orbits a similar star to ours, does not, in any way, mean that it has life on it. It's within the realm of possibility, sure, but jumping to that conclusion without having definitive evidence only makes you look foolish.
edit on 7/23/2015 by AdmireTheDistance because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 10:27 PM
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originally posted by: AdmireTheDistance

originally posted by: neoholographic
HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT

No matter how many times you repeat that, it still doesn't make it anywhere near as big of a deal as you seem to think it does. Most astronomers (and educated people) have suspected that Earth-like worlds are rather common for many, many years. This discovery is nice in that it supports those assumptions, but that's about the end of it.

Just because a planet is in a "habitable zone", is rocky (like the Earth), and orbits a similar star to ours, does not, in any way, mean that it has life on it.


^^ THIS.

The "Scientists find Life on Another Planet" is a headline for another day but discoveries like this one bring that day closer.



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 10:55 PM
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originally posted by: neoholographic
HAS BEEN IN IT'S HABITABLE ZONE FOR 6 BILLION YEARS
EARTH SIZE PLANET
AROUND G2 STAR LIKE THE SUN
385 DAYS PER YEAR ORBIT

Now that I think about it, we already know of at least one other planet that roughly fits your "key points"...

It's an Earth-like planet that has been in it's habitable zone for over 4 billion years, it's about 97℅ of the physical size of Earth (with about 80℅ as much mass), it orbits a star just like the sun, and has an orbital period about two-thirds that of the Earth's.

...For some reason, though, nobody seems to be proclaiming that there's life on Venus....Funny, that...
edit on 7/23/2015 by AdmireTheDistance because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 24 2015 @ 12:01 AM
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A great announcement true. Certainly an object in the night sky for SETI to study. I was rather pleased when I saw the press releases, because now we're getting the idea that terrestrial planets are common (mind you, terrestrial means "rocky" rather that "gassy"—no, not that kinda gassy, the Jupiter and Saturn kinda gassy). It was a pleasant feeling overall.

Nevertheless, OP, you're starting to get repetitive. Chill the way down.



posted on Jul, 24 2015 @ 12:50 AM
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a reply to: JadeStar
Thanks for the words.

No tidal lock in the new? I missed that. Interesting.

I did not know our estimates of ESI for these exoplanets is as yet so unreliable. But I does make sense, since if we do not know much about their atmosphere yet, that'll having a corresponding bearing on the surface temperature. Take some wind out of my sails.

I also brought up the Planetary Habitability Index because ESI doesn't account for some things, like tidal lock or abundant amounts of water (or liquid solvents) or a suitable magnetic field or organics and so on. I used Titan as an example because there're many comparisons being made between it and the early earth. Yet its ESI is very low, giving a wrong impression about its striking similarities to Earth.

For those reading this, ESI only looks at these factors to determine the Earth Similarity Index:
a) Mass/radius of planet
b) Escape velocity
c) Surface temperature

The index is very sensitive to the surface temperature. These things are determined by looking at different contributing things. Like JadeStar mentions, atmosphere can affect the surface temperature. Distance from its star and the type of star can affect it too. Even the size of the planet is a factor. Larger planets tend to have bigger greenhouse effects. Note that this is probably only a factor if it has an atmosphere.
edit on 24-7-2015 by jonnywhite because: (no reason given)




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