NASA discovers Earth-like planet

**YellowFever** · 07 Dec 11,, 22:47

Anal probes.

Don't forget about him begging every alien he meets for anal probes....

**tankie** · 07 Dec 11,, 23:53

Originally Posted by Parihaka

For some reason the thought of Tankie riding round an alien planet on his tricycle, whisky in hand and shouting "warrabout Roswell" to various plant life fills me with joy

ITS a 2 seater Iian

yella

V

**Chogy** · 08 Dec 11,, 15:07

I'm waiting for our technology to be able to spectroscopically examine these exoplanets' atmospheres. It won't be long, a few more years. When we find one with a large amount of oxygen - that'll be a strong sign of life. Free oxygen will not last long in an atmosphere unless it is being replenished by green plants... it gets soaked up (reacted with) minerals to form metallic oxides and the like.

So O2 = life.

**tankie** · 08 Dec 11,, 15:30

Originally Posted by Chogy

I'm waiting for our technology to be able to spectroscopically examine these exoplanets' atmospheres. It won't be long, a few more years. When we find one with a large amount of oxygen - that'll be a strong sign of life. Free oxygen will not last long in an atmosphere unless it is being replenished by green plants... it gets soaked up (reacted with) minerals to form metallic oxides and the like.

So O2 = life.

True , and we are hell bent on destroying this wonderful planet by destroying rain forests

**tankie** · 09 Dec 11,, 01:00

Shit, I would love to go and look thro the VLT in Chile or the 747 called SOFIA ,, awesome .

**Monash** · 09 Dec 11,, 11:55

If the planet in question really is about 2.5 the size of Earth (and this is only an initial estimate - 20 years of observations will refine it significantly) then it is definitely not prime real estate. If it is an Earth type (rocky) world then the gravitational field will be crushing. If it is less dense i.e. has a small metallic core surrounded by liquid/gaseous outer layers then there will be literally not "real estate" at all. It could of course be a water world with a planetary ocean but unless the fishing is very good

what’s the point?

Lets see what further/better observations produce. We are not yet at the point where Earth (or for that matter sapce based) observatories can spot Earth type plannetls in orbit around even close stars.

**tankie** · 09 Dec 11,, 23:10

SETI being brought back on line by the US Military ??????????

U.S. Military Funds SETI's Search for Aliens

The recent discovery of a potentially habitable blue planet, Kepler 22-b, orbiting a star similar to the sun, by NASA's Kepler Mission, has persuaded the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence to advance its activities to verify the probabilities of spotting alien life forms on its surface.

The planet, which lies in the "Goldilocks Zone" of its planetary system, has a surface temperature of about 22 C (72 F), which is comparable to that of Earth. According to NASA astronomers, the probability of spotting water on the newly discovered planet is high, which has sparked speculation regarding the existence of aliens and the possibility of humanity being able to migrate to the new planet.

NASA's promising discovery has prompted the U.S. Air Force Space Command to provide additional funds for observatory re-activation and operations at SETI, as part of a formal assessment of the instrument's utility for Space Situational Awareness.

"This is a superb opportunity for SETI observations," Jill Tarter, director of the Center for SETI Research at the SETI Institute, said Tuesday. "For the first time, we can point our telescopes at stars, and know that those stars actually host planetary systems - including at least one that begins to approximate an Earth analog in the habitable zone around its host star. That's the type of world that might be home to a civilization capable of building radio transmitters."

The Space Command is one of the few organizations responsible for obtaining and maintaining the awareness needed for successful and safe space operations.

However, SETI, which is on its way back from a period of hibernation that began last April, after the withdrawal of its former partner, the University of California, Berkeley, due to budgetary shortfalls, will not limit itself to examining Kepler 22-b.

Tarter said SETI's Allen Telescope Array will examine all planetary systems found by the Kepler mission: "In SETI, as with all research, preconceived notions such as habitable zones could be barriers to discovery. So, with sufficient future funding from our donors, it's our intention to examine all of the planetary systems found by Kepler."

**Chogy** · 10 Dec 11,, 14:52

The thing about SETI - for every planet with radio-emitting sentient creatures, there are probably 1,000 with pre-technological life. You can point SETI at Kepler 22a or whatever, not get a single thing, yet the planet might be like Jurassic park, teeming with life.

**tankie** · 10 Dec 11,, 15:42

Originally Posted by Chogy

The thing about SETI - for every planet with radio-emitting sentient creatures, there are probably 1,000 with pre-technological life. You can point SETI at Kepler 22a or whatever, not get a single thing, yet the planet might be like Jurassic park, teeming with life.

What you say is true and therefore SETI would not be a viable campaign in that Jurassic scenario ? , however what I find interesting is that its being brought back on line and looking at an area which in the past has thought to be "empty" !! and now SETI is being funded and operated by the US Military , maybe Im being cynical ,why look with SETI where Kepler has been pointing at and Kepler looked nowhere else ????? what do "they" know / why to focus where they did ?

But hey ho that's just me

The truth is out there Scully