Scientists find Earth-sized world in orbit friendly to life (Kepler-186f)
Source: Reuters
Kepler-186f, the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone?a range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the planet's surface, is seen in a NASA artist's concept released April 17, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/NASA/JPL-CALTECH/HANDOUT
(Reuters) - For the first time, scientists have found an Earth-sized world orbiting in a life-friendly zone around a distant star.
The discovery, announced on Thursday, is the closest scientists have come so far to finding a true Earth twin. The star, known as Kepler-186 and located about 500 light years away in the constellation Cygnus, is smaller and redder than the sun.
The star's outermost planet, designated Kepler-186f, receives about one-third the radiation from its parent star as Earth gets from the sun, meaning that high noon on this world would be roughly akin to Earth an hour before sunset, said astronomer Thomas Barclay, with NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
The planet is the right distance from its host star for water -- if any exists -- to be liquid on the surface, a condition that scientists suspect is necessary for life.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/17/us-space-earth-planet-idUSBREA3G1XI20140417
Stuart G
(38,359 posts)Have no fear,
They will stay away from here.
Earth is nuts, and stuck..
Aliens ...good luck..
They ain't coming here...
Have no fear
Even if they can go warp speed,
and we are in need.
And we offered them free beer.
They ain't coming here..
thank you...
Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)With a future look at what earth will be soon. Let me call CNN, I'll get back to ya.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)Now we have someplace re thugs can go live. We will call it....
longship
(40,416 posts)It is at the outer region of the habitable zone, so it's likely a bit cool there. But there might still be liquid water. It is about 1.1 times Earth radius.
Being an M-Dwarf (AKA Red Dwarf) it is a small star, half the radius of Sol. That means the star is cooler, but also is a lot more long-lived than Sol. It could easily be billions of years older than Sol because M-Dwarfs burn their fuel very slowly.
This makes this system very interesting, beyond the fact that it is a first discovered Earth-sized planet in a habitable zone beyond our system.
There's a reason why this announcement is being portrayed as a big deal. It is a big deal.
R&K
Stuart G
(38,359 posts)Jackpine Radical
(45,274 posts)that they are picking up pings from underwater on Kepler186 but they don't know if they are from Flight 370.
onehandle
(51,122 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)and leave the rest of us to enjoy what's left of this planet.
I'm sure there will be plenty to go around, once the hogs have left the planet...
heaven05
(18,124 posts)we won't be able to get there for quite a while. But there is always hope we'll find a light speed drive.
OnyxCollie
(9,958 posts)Exposethefrauds
(531 posts)The RWNJs are already planning to put all the Muslims, Liberals and Progressives on spaceships and send us all there.
What Delusional Moronic fucks they are!
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Cool that is was discovered sadly my first thought was, great another planet for us to fuck up!
Armadotrasgo
(28 posts)Tell us anything, is it not that any life on this cold planet is likely to be huge and warm-blooded?