New Planet Spotted, Could Be Habitable

Astronomers Spot Planet Which Could Have Earth-Like Climate, Water On Surface

(CBS/AP)  For the first time, astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."

It's Earth-like because its temperature is close to ours, between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes. It has gravity and the potential for water.

Its sun, called a red dwarf, is colder and not as bright as our sun. Still, this discovery gives kids a reason to imagine life in outer space, adds Hughes.

The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and in galactic terms is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away.

There's still a lot that is unknown about the new planet, which could be deemed inhospitable to life once more is known about it. And it's worth noting that scientists' requirements for habitability count Mars in that category: a size relatively similar to Earth's with temperatures that would permit liquid water. However, this is the first outside our solar system that meets those standards.

"It's a significant step on the way to finding possible life in the universe," said University of Geneva astronomer Michel Mayor, one of 11 European scientists on the team that found the planet. "It's a nice discovery. We still have a lot of questions."

The results of the discovery have not been published but have been submitted to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Alan Boss, who works at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, where a U.S. team of astronomers competed in the hunt for an Earth-like planet, called it "a major milestone in this business."

The planet was discovered by the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile, which has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths. Those wobbles can reveal the existence of other worlds.

What they revealed is a planet circling the red dwarf star Gliese 581. Red dwarfs are low-energy, tiny stars that give off dim red light and last longer than stars like our sun. Until a few years ago, astronomers didn't consider these stars as possible hosts of planets that might sustain life.

The discovery of the new planet, named 581 c, is sure to fuel studies of planets circling similar dim stars. About 80 percent of the stars near Earth are red dwarfs.

The new planet is about five times heavier than Earth. Its discoverers aren't certain if it is rocky like Earth or if it's a frozen ice ball with liquid water on the surface. If it is rocky like Earth, which is what the prevailing theory proposes, it has a diameter about 1½ times bigger than our planet. If it is an iceball, as Mayor suggests, it would be even bigger.

Based on theory, 581 c should have an atmosphere, but what's in that atmosphere is still a mystery and if it's too thick that could make the planet's surface temperature too hot, Mayor said.

The new planet seems just right — or at least that's what scientists think.

"This could be very important," said NASA astrobiology expert Chris McKay, who was not part of the discovery team. "It doesn't mean there is life, but it means it's an Earth-like planet in terms of potential habitability."

[grammawhamma]

NEWSBREAK....I heard they welcome illegal alliens on this new planet.

[alphaa10-2009]

Searching with such interest for planets as habitable as ours surely makes us think twice about trashing Earth-- the only home we are sure of having.

[incog-nito]

These scientists are grasping at straws. How would they know what constitutes "life" out there. What is too hot or too cold to humans could be just right for other life forms. And who is to say that life has to be water and carbon-based? The universe is a rather large place for such a narrow, human-centric view of what life is supposed to be.

[neoconrcrazy]

Sounds like a good place to send Bush/Cheney to.

[acauble1]

If the planet is too far away for any current human space flight travel.... this was a waste of scientific time!

If the planet is too far away for even a robotic satellite exploration/observation.... then this was a waste of scientific time!

My God! An Astronomer's career must be tremendously boring. Years go by, and maybe, just maybe there's that one big discovery in one's career lifetime. It may be the only thing more boring than fishing! Hours upon hours of sitting in a boat, day after day, waiting for that 'big catch'...

... and all you walk away with is a friggen minnow!

However, if fishing was more of a science, you could 'theorize' that there was that 4 foot long Marlin a few thousand yards away from your boat. But for various reasons, (or excuses), it was just humanly impossible to get to that Marlin before it 'got away'.

[big_john_1]

i dont know why the hell they waste public money on such a crapy researches.

the planet is located about 20 light years away from us.

instead of wasting public money on such useles things why not spend those monies to find a cure for HIV or cancer!



What we get from it when a bald head come to Tv and announce:

We found a planet 15 trillion miles away which MAY have water on it!

[charlesdjohn]

The acquisition of knowledge is never a waste of time!

[sailfish2u-2009]

Mankind will one day leave this planet. It may not be by choice. Our options will be directly dependent upon our attitude towards this inevitable future.

[acauble1]

The acquisition of knowledge is never a waste of time!
Posted by CharlesDJohn at 07:07 AM : Apr 25, 2007
.......

On the contrary...

... the acquisition of knowledge IS a waste of time if that knowledge cannot be used to benefit (at least) the person with that knowledge, or at best, all living creatures on THIS planet. (Or something in between those two extremes).

[charlesdjohn]

Sarcasm is the recourse of a weak mind.

[charlesdjohn]

Person A acquires certain knowledge based on empirical observation.

Person B reviews this information and based on their life experiences determines that it has no practical application and is therefore the fruit of waisted effort.

Person C reviews the same information and based on their life experiences is very happy to have acquired the knowledge and they use it to further their work.

[big_john_1]

@CharlesDJohn

stop playing with words.

tell us plz some of the benefits that we here on earth get from that planet which is located some 120 trillion miles away!!?

[mikealford3]

It is amazing to me that:

We can find a planet that may be inhabitable trillions of miles away in another solar system.

Yet, we cannot find a 6'-5" Arab man who needs kidney dialysis, in Afganhistan.

We cannot build a computer that will take votes in an election, count them and send them to a central location.

We cannot stop a relatively unsuffisticated militant group in Iraq from setting off car bombs.


Perhaps if we put as much attention on conserving the earth's resources we would not need to find another planet to mess up.

[charlesdjohn]

During college I often complained about the seemingly useless general education courses that were necessary to fulfill the requirements of my degree. Just think, I was working on a double major in Physics and Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. Why in the h*ll was I required to study English, Philosophy, Geography, Politics, Religion, Music, blah, blah, blah, rant, rant, rant!!!!!!!

Thankfully I can say that I am no longer as stupid, arrogant and self centered as I once was. I am not even suggesting that I no longer possess and of the above mentioned qualities. I am just grateful to have progressed beyond a greater portion of them.

[charlesdjohn]

Let's say you give a random person a brick. 99 percent of the people in the world would look at you like you had lost your mind.

However, give that same brick to a mason in New York City, who just happens to be working on a rather large Skyscraper and there is a possibility that he just may thank you because he was 1 brick short in completing his project.

Initially there were many people who thought this brick was useless never realized it's potential. Now that the brick has been place in the hands of the right person and used within the boundaries of it's existence it will, though society may not know it, serve society well.

[big_john_1]

@CharlesDJohn learning is a good thing.

but dont compare your college studies with a unknown planet about 120 trillions away from earth!

Instead of those crapy reasearchs if those scientists studied the earth and some solution for warming etc..


even there we see life on that planet! so what? you think we can reach that one in 100 or 200 years?!

even sending a simple message gonna take 20 years to reach their. and the same amount of time for recieving an answer!

Maybe you seen a lot of scfi movies.

Even we find life form on other planets they wont be like us!

they most probably will be in bacteria forms!

[rafterman1]

"... the acquisition of knowledge IS a waste of time if that knowledge cannot be used to benefit (at least) the person with that knowledge, or at best, all living creatures on THIS planet. (Or something in between those two extremes)."

Not all knowledge has to be usable the second it is discovered. Most of our technology is like a pyramid, based on one scientist building on another's work. All the discoveries at the base will eventually reach the top stone in the form of something useful. But you don't get to the top stone without a whole bunch of discoveries in the base of the pyramid. If we abandoned everything that didn't have an immediate use, we'd still be living in caves.

The Earth will die someday, whether from a manmade affliction or the sun dying out. We must get out of the solar system eventually if humans are to survive as a species. The end technology result will be some kind of warp drive or other wormhole technology, solar sails, whatever, that can get us to these planets we discover now. But discoveries like this planet are the start of the whole process, a process that could take thousands of years. The point is, you have to start somewhere.

[mikealford3]

This is just more NASA B.S. to get billions of dollars to do a useless study in order to justify their jobs. They are spending $7 billion over the next 10 years in an "attempt" to put a probe on Pluto. Now the scientists say that Pluto is not even a planet. Seven billion dollars will pay lots of saleries for the next 10 years. JOB SECURITY!!! Seven billion would also go along ways to feeding starving children, providing health care to millions of Americans, providing perscription drugs to the elderly or poor, or perhaps finding a cure for cancer or AIDS.

[charlesdjohn]

There may or may not be direct benefits to knowing that a certain planet exists 120 trillion light years away. If there are benefits they may not be realized in out lifetime. It may be hundreds or thousands of years before this information becomes useful.

However, generally speaking, the science required to gather such seemingly wasteful data will likely lead to better technology which in turn could lead to better medicine, better society!

[snowbrd7]

"Udry figures the red dwarf star would hang in the sky at a size 20 times larger than our moon."



Wow, I'll bet that's beautiful

[charlesdjohn]

A very good example would be the case of Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) which is a physical phenomenon based upon the quantum mechanical magnetic properties of an atom's nucleus.

All nuclei that contain odd numbers of protons or neutrons have an intrinsic magnetic moment and angular momentum. The most commonly measured nuclei are hydrogen-1 (the most receptive isotope at natural abundance) and carbon-13, although nuclei from isotopes of many other elements can also be observed.

NMR studies magnetic nuclei by aligning them with a very powerful external magnetic field and perturbing this alignment using an electromagnetic field. The resulting response to the external perturbing electromagnetic field is the phenomenon that is exploited in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging.

In this case the knowledge or development in one field of science found a practical application in another field of science.

[mikealford3]

CharlesDjohn,

I do not disagree, knowledge is a wonderful thing. However, you don't build a building by starting at the top. In order for the masons work to be secure, one must first secure the home ground beneth the bricks. We still have work to do here on earth.

[space_poet]

7 billion dollars? lol, you're kidding right? We spend that on military every 2 days. Do you want to kill all scientific research in every field while you're at it? The anti-science aura is amazing. You wouldn't even be able to comment on a computer on the world wide internet without science. You would still be living in a cave in old Europe, because someone said there was land across that vast ocean, but no one cared. We could never build ships that would cross the scary seas.

Go back to your cave and pull the covers over your eyes, cause there is a whole universe out here just waiting for someone else to discover, hopefully someone who won't destroy it.

Sorry to be so sarcastic.

To CharlesDJohn:

Thank you for your post. I, too, agree that knowledge (whether imminently recognizable as useful or not) is never a waste. We simply have no way of knowing where this information might lead someone in the future; the possibilities are limitless...and exciting.

[charlesdjohn]

That may have been a little deep.

Let's say I got a grant from the govt for millions of dollars to do research on how strong magnetic fields affect the spin of a hydrogen atoms nucleus.

I did research for years and got all the kinks worked out real good. I just couldn't figger out what ta do with it!

Then this feller from a medical research place finds my research and says HAY! people are made up of water! Mostly water! I just had a brain storm! Water has hydrogen atoms in it so people must have em too! I bet we could use this thing to look inside people and make a picture of their insides without ever cuttin em open. Ooops! I just figured out a problem. There are way too many hydrogen atoms in them people for me to calculate all the locations of all of them there atoms with my trusty calculator. I know, I will get on of them computer people to help. Then things are pretty dare fast addin machines....

[rohink-2009]

Now, if we could just figure out a way to ship all the wack-jobs there...........................

[charlesdjohn]

Let's say you have an adding machine! All this device can do is add two numbers! It can't subtract, it can't divide, it can't multiply!

All it can do is add!

It does, however, had one unique feature! I can perform 60 million additions in 1 second.

I wonder how such a device would be of any benefit to mankind or society!

[snowbrd7]

That may have been a little deep.
Posted by CharlesDJohn at 08:34 AM : Apr 25, 2007


Not at all. It was fascinating. Very nice to get a scientists knowledge in understandable terms.

[itwasntme000]

nasa and space study/travel is what our whole planet should be all about!!!!!!!
All of these petty differences between all the cultures around and the religions that seperate us and make enemies of each other need to go.

mikealford3, their would be no problem with money/survival anywhere if their wasnt this constant war preparedness and now the "war on terror". A war caused by religious differences, (well not to mention bush *** up but still the people their do not like us because of what their religion tells them)

[markster6]

CharlesDJohn

I also agree with you. I recall Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist, theorizing about the potential of matter/anti-matter (fusion) as a fuel to power spacecrafts to distances currently unimaginable. Research in this field is increasing with a consortium of countries building a fusion reactor in France. Essentially, the reactor will mimic the fusion reaction that occurs at the core of the sun. We are in the infancy stage of harnessing matter/anti-matter, and if it can be mastered, will be revolutionary.

[mdc76082]

mikealford3, do you work? Me, I'm $ secure & retired at 43. I'm actually working towards my 2nd retirement. My former & current companies spent millions or even billions in order for "the company" to survive. How much do you think your company spends /year on utilities, salaries, insurance, etc.??? I hate to say it, but your's is a most ignorant statement that has to have crutches in order to survive. This discovery is a "great" thing. If if it is still a dream with a hint of possibility, it is truly a great find in the world of exploration. One other thing mikealford3, how much do you give in donations to feed the children, or your favorite charities????? $1.00/month out of your measly salary would do wonders! Talk to you later.

[mikealford3]

Please understand, I support scientific research. I am a benefactor of science, I have brain cancer. Science has saved my life. I just think we need to concentrate our scientific research to reasonable things here on earth. $7 billions dollars may seem like a drop in the bucket. Remember hurricane Katrina? That hurricane started with a single drop of rain from a small cloud off the coast of Africa out in the ocean and look at the devastation that was the final result.

I just think it's foolish to investigate a potential planet that is 120 trillion miles away.

[charlesdjohn]

If you are sitting in front of your computer pondering my last statement then I can say that the answer to my statement is right before your eyes!

Computer!

Computer's can't subtract, multiply or divide but they can perform an unimaginable number of addition calculations in a single second.

Add to the raw computer a little arithmetic theory (yep it is possible to subtract, multiply and divide using only addition) a little cathode ray technology and a touch of software engineering and you will end up with a Computer with an operating system that will do amazing things.....

[pensacola8-2009]

20 light years away? So, what we detect today happened 20 years ago..hmmm. If it is inhabited, it may give clue to the direction to search for the "Living Chain" of planets thought to exist, which follow a prehistoric trajectory of life-giving meteors and comets that are believed to have carried the building blocks of life through the universe. Only life-suitable planets that captured them are believed to be inhabited.

[mikealford3]

mdc,
I just recently turned 37, I was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 and forced to retire. My tumor was the size of a baseball. Science saved my life, so I am not against scientific research. Before I retired I was an estimator/project manager for a site and heavy highway contractor. My means of support is the insurance that I have and the perscriptions drugs that I can afford. I am doing the best I can with what I have, what about you? The matter of spending and budgetting is close because I know people who are suffering with cancer and cannot afford treatment so they are loosing homes and lives because America would rather research a rock in the middle of space rather than research a cancerous tumor inside a human body.

[itwasntme000]

mikealford3

Do you really think we are not looking for a cure for cancer???
What about conspirasy theorys that the gov would try to keep peoples mouthes closed that know a cure for cancer, so the big pharmacy can make money off of the cancer treatments.

Or maybe you are just ignorant and don't realize that space and space exploration/travel IS OUR FUTURE weather you like it or not. People like you make me sick. sorry but it does.

[crater7]

581c;

HOW GREAT IS THAT?

Perfect timing. Just think of the possibilitys. Now Bush ( cowboy )can take his new Star Wars Missile plan and go to 581c, show them a little SHOCK & AWE, convience them to set up a DEMOCRACY, let them all vote, paint thier fingers ( paws,claws ETC. ) and tell them he will protect them from TERRIOST.
OF COURSE, FOR A SLIGHT FEE.

[heyitsme_76]

Okay.. Here's Bush's new strategy.. Invade this planet, coz they have WMD which could one day be used to destroy our planet Earth.. Also, as we speak, 'Attack-dog' Cheney is already in talks to make Haliburton the only 'no-bid' contract company to provide logistics and support for all travel from Earth to this new planet.. ;)

[mikealford3]

mdc,

Just think, I was able to take my chemotherapy in a pill form. Thankfull the company I worked for had great insurance or I might not have been able to live because of the cost. One single 4 mg pill is approximately $900.00. With 5 pills per dose, each dose costs $4,500.00. Imagine a young parent with a small child needing this treatment and not having insurance, what would they do? What would you do? You are fortunate to be finianial secure, not everybody is so fortunate. With jobs being sent overseas and to Mexico, lots of people in America have lost their jobs and their lives.

[navyretired2]

Wow I can't believe the amount of politics some people push on this blog...this has NOTHING to do with the Bush Admin or the conflict in Iraq people...let it go for 2 seconds.

For the guy that said this is another NASA scheme for more money...read again and pay attention to who actually made this discovery.

To all you guys jumpin' on Charles, get a life. He's dead on. All learning benefits the future. Who are you to say that what they discovered will have nothing to do with future explorations and understanding of the universe as a whole?

And to all you that think this science is a waste of time, do you expect every single person on this planet to do what YOU think is right for our collective "society?" If so, please move to Russia. Cracks me up to see people say that anything somebody else does is a waste of time because it doesn't fit their limited views of what "should" be.

I think this discovery is great in the sense it is a piece of the puzzle. These scientists are doing what they want and love to do in their chosen field of research..."living the dream" so to speak. Their work is awesome in my opinion.

[infidel_us]

It's called "Nirvana" and the left wing of the democrat party ought to take up residence as soon as possible. Within a year, it will be running as well as New Orleans........

Maybe the "chocolate planet"? Kind of has a ring to it.

[tomster1960]

I think for all the billions we are putting into this space research we are getting very little back that I can benefit from each day.Yes, I got tang, velcro, teflon and micro chips years ago. I would rather see the money spent on research we can benefit from here on earth now like cancer and other medical research. Not to mention alternative fuels. We don't have to go into space to come up with alternative fuels.

[infidel_us]

Their work is awesome in my opinion.
Posted by NavyRetired2 at 09:29 AM : Apr 25, 2007

Libs did it back in the 60's too. We were going to the moon and they were complaining that we weren't doing "enough for the poor." The only thing better than a bleeding heart lib is a dead bleeding heart lib.

[mikealford3]

itwasntme,

I am sorry that my sickness has affected you so much. I BELIEVE that there are scientist all over the world doing the best they can to find a cure for cancer and AIDS. I know the people are working hard.

My problem is, if there is a planet 20 light years away that can support human life, what good is it to know? If we had a ship that traveled at the speed of light, a 40 year old man would be 60 years old by the time he arrived there. That is if the ship can carry 20 years worth of food and water and could produce oxygen for 20 years. Star Trek is make believe. There are no transporter beams to just flash somebody there and back.

[mikealford3]

I wonder how many of you have watched the Planet Earth series on the Discovery Channel?

Does it at all seem odd that this program, in the year 2007, is showing animals and plants on this earth that have never been seen before.

Point is we have so much to learn here why search anywhere else?

[luvny-2009]

Libs did it back in the 60's too. We were going to the moon and they were complaining that we weren't doing "enough for the poor." The only thing better than a bleeding heart lib is a dead bleeding heart lib.


Posted by Infidel_US at 09:33 AM : Apr 25, 2007

That's real nice wishing a fellow american dead. How sick is that, even if you disagree with some one why would you say what you did.

[nothappyatall]

I agree with tomster1960, this planet is 20 light years away, it would take 20 years travelling at 186,000 miles per SECOND to even get there, it would take 20 years for even a signal to get there and 20 more for a return signal if there were beings there who heard and responded.

A ship travelling at 50,000 MPH would take hundreds of years to get there, so what good is all this expense?
Spend this on cancer, heart disease research- this is what kills people the most.

[jetlizhan]

mikealford3

i'm with you - i've not the slightest interest in even entertaining the idea of traveling to a planet such as "C". it really makes me sick to think of all the money that will be spent on this type of 'research' when right here on good ole earth we need so much done and could use this money HERE.

[honest_news]

Some clarification:

If the newly discovered world were to orbit its sun in such a way that one side is perpetually sunlit and the other side dark, as the article states, this would mean that the planet DOES rotate. It would have a synchronous rotation that matches its orbital rate, just like our moon -- so that it rotates one full turn for every complete orbit.

[extremophil]

Only 120 trillion miles? I'm all packed. Meet you guys at the magic rocket to dreamville.