Solid Exoplanet Found

[Agent Intellect]

I found this interesting. All of the 300 exoplanets found have been gas giants (similar to Jupiter, Neptune etc) because of the way in which they have to detect them. The main way to detect a planet is by seeing how it's gravity affects the rotation of the star (they both orbit a mutual center of gravity) and look for the red/blue shift of the stars light as it wobbles. The way to take measurements of an exoplanet is to see it 'eclipse' the star - look for the tiny dark spot it makes over the star. Astronomical spectroscopy is how they are able to determine what elements are found in an intergalactic object or gas.

The problem with earth-like planets is that they are much too small to make a noticable wobble in the star, or dark spot when it eclipses it, but astronomers have theorized that there are probably many of them out there - but now they have been able to find one.

The real question that this raises, obviously, is about life out there. Are rocky exoplanets the only kind that could sustain life, or could gas giants also harbor living organisms? Could our universe be a giant, crowded zoo of life? Do extraterrestrials evolve via natural selection (a question I've always found interesting)?

Another article relating to it.

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Richard Dawkins wrote a recent article saying that any alien species in the universe probably also evolves from natural selection.

I would also agree. When you think about life, it's really just about... who can replicate more of themselves faster & better. The life that is bad at it, or not as good, are naturally going to dwindle unless they find a niche where they don't have as many competitors. (Soil bacteria and fungus is a good example. And it's where we get a LOT of our antibiotics and antifungals: they're at war with eachother!)

In the 3rd grade everyone in my class made a design for an alien. I designed an alien that looked suspiciously like a zepplin, and said that he lived on Jupiter. He had to have hydrogen in his pouch so he could float, and he had a long tail with a light on it to distract predators from his pouch. It also probably helped for stability.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

We have found several extrasolar planets orbiting Gliese 581; a red dwarf. Gliese 581 c & d are super-earths in the star's habitable zone, though c probably has a runaway greenhouse effect. It's quite possible they are terrestrial.

 

[NoID10ts]

I saw a thing about this new planet on the news. This is fascinating stuff to me. One of my dreams is that before I die, they will find life, even microbial life, on another planet or moon. If they found it elsewhere in our own solar system it would be breathtaking to me.

 

[Agent Intellect]

I saw a thing about this new planet on the news. This is fascinating stuff to me. One of my dreams is that before I die, they will find life, even microbial life, on another planet or moon. If they found it elsewhere in our own solar system it would be breathtaking to me.

I concur. I think finding life - no matter how simple - outside of our planet would be just as exciting, if not more exciting then discovering a grand unification theory. Of course, intelligent life would be a lot more exciting, but I think finding any kind of life out there is an effort worth the time and money spent on it.

Yeah, that's right, I support SETI. I even have that program that lets them use my computer to compute data.

 

[Felan]

I often imagine what it would be like if Earth were a moon of a gas giant rather than a planet. How would the presence of such a large planet in the sky have influenced the imagination and culture of our world. Plus you would likely have lots of other moons that would periodically be visible as well.

Given the importance the moon has played in human culture its hard for me to fathom this scenario. Would the laws of gravitation have been discovered much earlier in human society? How would mythology been shaped differently? In theory you could even have another habitable planet well within reach, perhaps with its own completely unique ecosystem.

 

[Cogwulf]

I often imagine what it would be like if Earth were a moon of a gas giant rather than a planet. How would the presence of such a large planet in the sky have influenced the imagination and culture of our world. Plus you would likely have lots of other moons that would periodically be visible as well.

Given the importance the moon has played in human culture its hard for me to fathom this scenario. Would the laws of gravitation have been discovered much earlier in human society? How would mythology been shaped differently? In theory you could even have another habitable planet well within reach, perhaps with its own completely unique ecosystem.

Genius!

I am going to endeavour to create a history of such a world, my mind is boggled by the sheer number of possibilities. Thank you for the idea.

 

[Felan]

Genius!

I am going to endeavour to create a history of such a world, my mind is boggled by the sheer number of possibilities. Thank you for the idea.

Awesome!! Look forward to reading what come up with if you care to share!