New Planet May Be Able to Nurture Organisms

It might be a place that only a lichen or pond scum could love, but astronomers said Wednesday that they had found a very distant planet capable of harboring water on its surface, thus potentially making it a home for plant or animal life.

Nobody from Earth will be visiting anytime soon: The planet, which goes by the bumpy name of Gliese 581g, is orbiting a star about 20 light-years away in the constellation Libra.But if the finding is confirmed by other astronomers, the planet, which has three to four times the mass of Earth, would be the most Earthlike planet yet discovered, and the first to meet the criteria for being potentially habitable. Pressed during the news conference about the possibility of life on Gliese 581g, Dr. Vogt protested that he was an astronomer, not a biologist. Then he relented, saying that, speaking strictly personally, he believed that “the chances of life on this planet are almost 100 percent.”
Source: www.nytimes.com...

WOW. Coming right out and saying Life (in some form) is 100% there. He got b---s! Well it will be long after I'm dead.

I sure hope someone is working on making space travel faster and safer. Needs to be like Star Trek and/or Star Wars.

I get a kick out of the evaluations and/or estimates these scientist/sky watchers make. I figure half the time they are just hyping up something to keep the research money coming it. Like we're going to be able to say if the conclusions are correct before he passes on.

I could make some pretty awesome statements myselft-I guess if I was in the right position. Aw, never mind-you get the picture. I sure hope he is right.

Have any of these planets they are saying could harbor life even close to any planets that are believed to have aliens? Just curious.

reply to post by anon72


They'll find hundreds of these in the next century... now whether or not they'll find one that WE can inhabit... doubltful. This isn't the first time they've found one. You can google it yourself for past news articles.

In the slight chance that we do find one... It will probably be too far away for us to reach in a single human life spand unless we use some sort of cryogenic sleep method, which according to current research, is incapable of sustaining human life.

This article does however, remind us that the universe is vast, and that although, we probably aren't the most advanced life forms in the universe... we probably aren't the most primitive either

reply to post by Shikamaru


You indicated they will find hunderds of these planets and then say none of them will be inhabitable by us?

Do you think Earth is that unique that a prople life substaning Earth 2 could not be replicated?

reply to post by anon72


There have been other planets that the have speculated over the years, but this is interesting. Gilese has been known for years and planets found also, now they are coming out and pushing to the edge and in some instances going over that there is life. I see a program happening right now, I think they know that their is life on that planet and others planets and they are finally getting close to disclose about it.

reply to post by hoghead cheese


Now that sounds like a plausable scenario. Soften us up first.

That is why I asked if any of these planets are ones we know, or believe (due to info gathered from alien abductees and encounters) to have possible alien being/space travelers.

Before we get our hopes up....

Gilese 581-G has not been confirmed. The scientists who said its there, has not been able to get independent confirmation. The comments surrounding 581-G are intresting. A few years ago NASA sent a message in that direction. The following year, scientists announce the 581-G, which cannot be confirmed that it actually exists.

The "signal" of light that was received in that general direction, came from a completely different source than the 58- System.

As it stands right now, 581-G does not officially exist.
ATS Thread - 581-G