Scientists find water-rich "super" Earth planet

[Karalysia]

(CNN) -- Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.

While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity's search for life on other planets.

"The big excitement is that we have found a watery world orbiting a very nearby and very small star," said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery, which appeared this week in the journal Nature.
The planet, named GJ 1214b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our sun. That's significant, Charbonneau said, because for many years, astronomers assumed that planets only would be found orbiting stars that are similar in size to the sun.

Because of that assumption, researchers didn't spend much time looking for planets circling small stars, he said. The discovery of this "watery world" helps debunk the notion that Earth-like planets could form only in conditions similar to those in our solar system.

"Nature is just far more inventive in making planets than we were imagining," he said.
In a way, the newly discovered planet was sitting right in front of astronomers' faces, just waiting for them to look. Instead of using high-powered telescopes attached to satellites, they spotted the planet using an amateur-sized, 16-inch telescope on the ground.

There were no technological reasons the discovery couldn't have happened long ago, Charbonneau said.

The planet is also rather near to our solar system -- only about 40 light-years away.
Planet GJ 1214b is classified as a "super-Earth" because it is between one and 10 times as large as Earth. Scientists have known about the existence of super-Earths for only a couple of years. Most planets discovered by astronomers have been gassy giants that are much more similar to Jupiter than to Earth.

Charbonneau said it's unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn't discount the idea entirely.
"This planet probably does have liquid water," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/16/super.earth.discovery/index.html

Now if only we could find an oil rich planet.

 

[holy king]

nature makes planets?

 

[civ_king]

nature makes planets?

they basically say natural because the planet formed by natural means what a cosmic concept

 

[Winner]

The planet is also rather near to our solar system -- only about 40 light-years away.

Alpha Centauri is near. Barnard's Star is near. Epsilon Eridani is near. 40 ly means we will never get there with any technology we can think of today in just one lifetime.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Scientists find water-rich "super" Earth planet

While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth

...what?

 

[TheLastOne36]

Good news, now we need to develope the technology to get there.

 

[Winner]

Good news, now we need to develope the technology to get there.

That's so not happening in our lifetimes...

 

[emzie]

Alpha Centauri is near. Barnard's Star is near. Epsilon Eridani is near. 40 ly means we will never get there with any technology we can think of today in just one lifetime.

Both stars might as well be 40 or 40,000 light years away. If we can develop the technology to get to AC, we can get to the system outlined in the OP.

That's so not happening in our lifetimes...

No, it's not going to. Well, maybe El_M's. Depends on how long we live

 

[illram]

Is the reporter making a leap here? The scientist quoted said it "probably" has water... have they made any findings indicating that? (Whatever those may be; assuming it involves something about looking at the wavelengths of reflected light or some other sciencey thingamabob.)

That would be pretty amazing if it was indeed full of liquid water.

 

[MobBoss]

We should name this planet "Pandora".

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Vault hunting eh?

 

[emzie]

Is the reporter making a leap here? The scientist quoted said it "probably" has water... have they made any findings indicating that? (Whatever those may be; assuming it involves something about looking at the wavelengths of reflected light or some other sciencey thingamabob.)

That would be pretty amazing if it was indeed full of liquid water.

The planet really isn't visible to use spectroscopy. We roughly know the mass of the star and we can see the gravitational effects the planet has on the star. This planet's orbit just happens to cause a transit (it passes in front of the star from our vantage point) so they were able to get a rough idea of its size. Density is able to be formulated since we have an idea of size and mass (gravitational influence on the star). That density works out to a lot of water and a bit of rock.

 

[illram]

The planet really isn't visible to use spectroscopy. We roughly know the mass of the star and we can see the gravitational effects the planet has on the star. This planet's orbit just happens to cause a transit (it passes in front of the star from our vantage point) so they were able to get a rough idea of its size. Density is able to be formulated since we have an idea of size and mass (gravitational influence on the star). That density works out to a lot of water and a bit of rock.

Interesting! I wish the reporter had explained that... Is water the only thing that could do such a thing?

 

[emzie]

Interesting! I wish the reporter had explained that... Is water the only thing that could do such a thing?

No. It's just most likely. All the scientists can see is the density of the planet as a whole and then work out what common (astronomical) substances would create that density.

 

[MobBoss]

Vault hunting eh?

Actually, Yes! But isnt that also the name of the planet in Avatar?

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Eh, that was on my mind, not the Avatar planet.

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

The planet really isn't visible to use spectroscopy. We roughly know the mass of the star and we can see the gravitational effects the planet has on the star. This planet's orbit just happens to cause a transit (it passes in front of the star from our vantage point) so they were able to get a rough idea of its size. Density is able to be formulated since we have an idea of size and mass (gravitational influence on the star). That density works out to a lot of water and a bit of rock.

That seems rather fishy to me. Surely the mass and volume of water on even a water rich planet is very small compared to the mass and volume of the entire planet?

 

[Winner]

Both stars might as well be 40 or 40,000 light years away. If we can develop the technology to get to AC, we can get to the system outlined in the OP.

Nah, the difference is pretty big - with a spaceship traveling at 0.1c (which is realistic with technology we can at least theoretically predict), you can get to AC in 40 years - yes, within a lifetime.

For a star system 40 light years away, the travel time would be 400 years. I don't find the difference irrelevant Anything beyond ~10 light years from Sun is too far away, which leaves us pretty much with the AC binary system. Let's pray to the gods there are some habitable planet, it would be such a waste if there weren't any.

No, it's not going to. Well, maybe El_M's. Depends on how long we live

Immortality is so not going to happen within our lifetimes

We should name this planet "Pandora".

Isn't Pandora from the movie a moon?

 

[TheLastOne36]

Immortality is so not going to happen within our lifetimes

We can hope our lives would be substancially longer though.

I'd very much like to see space travel in my lifetime, even if it is in the end of my years.

 

[El_Machinae]

The trick is to be pro-active. Take steps to help space travel arrive sooner or take steps to make sure that you'll live longer.

No, it's not going to. Well, maybe El_M's. Depends on how long we live

You know, it's not just going to be me who is potentially immortal. If I make it, chances are that you'll make it too!