Astronomers Discover a Planet Almost Identical to Earth

reply to post by NewAgeMan

We begin to appreciate at the very least the rather unique cosmological configuration (weighted in favor of life) that exists here on earth - and in spite of acknowledging the very real possibility of other earth-like worlds, nevertheless recognizing that it is almost certainly only and exclusively here on earth where a ten fingered bipedal self aware, sentient observer can look up at certain times (with eyes shielded of course) and see their giant, single moon perfectly eclipse their sun. What does it mean, that's the question that comes to my mind, that and the idea of superintelligent design.

Just wanted to respond to this because you are asking the same questions that I would ask - which any sane, seminally aware person SHOULD be wondering. WHY?

Besides all these persuasive physical conditions that beg the question - how and why - there are also fare more basic questions and realities, very interesting ones posed by Martin Heidegger, for example, in his "Being and Time", which force upon us to think and reflect.

I'm just going to concentrate on some basic existential factoids.. Why is everything always composed of a dichotomy? Just look at nature. Natures basic dynamics supports a dog-eat-dog system, what Darwin called "natural selection". Within this system, the weakest members of a species with the least useful or favourable characteristics are discarded in order to advance the stronger members of the species - all for the sake of survival. Ok. If you subscribe to this belief, lets look at man (without coating him with our bias towards nature, as rationalist are won't to do). Unlike nature, man stands out. He is a sore thumb; his physical creations - buildings, roads, sidewalks, beaches, etc stick out as much as him being the only creature which walks erect on two feet. Unlike nature, which inhumanely divests itself of any weakness, man has this unique capacity to sympathize with the weakest members of his species (and all of creation). It's the opposite flux. Nature works one way, while man in his very constitution, his walking erect, his capacity for compassion, his power to create, his ability to fly beyond the confines of his organic environment (earth) goes in the other direction.

This, coupled with the information you provided, begs not just the question of an intelligent designer, but more pertinently, a theological significance to man's place vis-a-vis creation. He seems to be the positive element superimposed on the negative backdrop. The earth which hangs in an infinite void. All things can be broken down to some dualism: a positive and negative. In the fabric of physical creatures, man assumes the positive, creative, caring, aspect. When he is unaware of his glorious role as caretaker of the garden, he degenerates into a creature far worse than any animal. His power is immense, which, as Peter Parkers uncle wisely advises, suggests great responsibility. And what does responsibility presuppose? It presuppose an AWARENESS of the conditions one must RESPOND to. If man chooses to ignore his specialness, his uniqueness amongst beings, then its a sure bet that he and the world will never retire from the daily tortures that we've become so inured to.

What you mentioned is important. It's further evidence against an atheism that wants to shove all thought of an "intelligent creator" aside in order to grant themselves full moral leeway to 'act-as-they-please". If man begins acknowledging creation in terms of theology, that sets an uncomfortable precedent for many people.

On a purely political note, if things are 'positive and negative', I don't see why skeptics and atheists wouldn't also conform to the basic scheme of things. However, they're denying themselves a beautiful thing: knowledge of God, and the true joy of wrestling for a belief and faith in Him.

You want details on this newly discovered "earth analog" planet? Then get them to fund, build, and launch the TPF as soon as possible. This will allow us to determine if there's an atmosphere, the composition of gases, temperatures, etc.... The technology is possible to do now, but, you know what will put that bird up? FUNDING.

Terrestrial Planet Finder

reply to post by dontreally

Well said. These observations form a question about the nature of man and the very reason and purpose of the creation which always begins with the end in mind ie: from a first/last cause. It's as if what we're experiencing was intended and has arisen and is occurring to this day not because of mere random coincidence, but with intent. So when we then look to this specialness, not only of man but of the circumstance that's given rise to man, in particular that which is encapsulated in the unique earth-moon-sun configuration, we are forced to ask the question, what does it mean and signify?

If I am correct, and you are correct, that it is meaningful, and poses a question to man, even a theological one in regards to origins and destinies, then I may also be right that an old Jewish friend of mine (who also happened to be a trained Magus) examined it, and saw in it, an idea, through a reflected intentionality, whereby in the earth-moon-sun relationship can be seen the manifestation of a SIGN not just in the stars, but plain as day, one of which rises during the day and the other at night but which is a perfect reflection of the greater light ie: as a communication from the designer regarding the true nature of man as child/son of God (reflected light, same circumference).

It's logical, rational, and forms the basis of a type of philosophical, metaphysical and theological argument, like a cornerstone or foundation stone of higher reason, something that is apriori inaccessible by the atheist, excluded out of hand as meaningless, purposeless and thus irrelevant, which in the face of the data isn't the least bit reasonable, at all, and which begins with an assumption, an unfounded assumption, born of nothing but utter contempt prior to investigative inquiry. It's so ridiculous in fact, the atheist presumption, by comparison (to the data at hand), that it is capable of forming the basis of a new type of theological humor of true understanding at the expense of all our prior ignorance.

To then add insult the injury, any proof of extraterrestrial life, at least according to our present conceptions and worldview will be used to still further NEGATE man's place in the creation, even though a more appropriate understanding and interpretation of the data ought to elevate us as an intrinsic part of the entire cosmological evolutionary framework which saw to it to include man ie: with man not excluded (batteries included).

We are part of a process that has clearly been driven by an intelligent design and intent right from the get go, not mere "things" floating around like particulate in an endless ocean of meaningless and purposeless absurdity. What is/was absurd however was the degree to which we failed to recognize, by reflection, our true nature as children of a loving God, who beginning with the end of mind was pleased to share his eternal kingdom of light and love with us his children.

How sad and pathetic it would be then to throw away an inheritance prepared for us from before the very foundation of the world for no other reason than to avoid at any and all cost, a theological implication.

It's hilarious when you really stop and think it through all the way..

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

~ John 5:19

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

~ John 10:18

Edit: See full moon lunar eclipse in my avatar, for clue, then watch "The Real Star of Bethlehem" video series and you'll understand the meaning of the title of my signature, and the "exoteric esoterica" of my avatar and background.

Man, they discover planets, "almost identical to Earth," every other month. Yes, we keep discovering these "Goldilocks" planets, don't we? Maybe these Goldilocks planets are looking at US pondering the same thing: whether sentient life exists (here)?

"It's a big deal -- It's definitely a good candidate for life," said astrophysicist Mario Livio about KOI 172.02. "Maybe there's no land life, but perhaps very clever dolphins."

So, by only slightly reading into his comment, is this new Super-Earth covered in liquid water? What might this comment be alluding to that wasn't directly disclosed in the article???

"dontreally" and "NewAgeMan", I have to say that you're commentary is HUGELY appreciated by me. What a conversation. To you both, I tip my hat and look forward to more from each of you.

reply to post by Xterrain

Thank you and you're most welcome!

These are definitely things that make ya hmmmmm.... and then, after further, deep consideration and contemplation, but not divorced from reason and logic - OMG!

What floors me is that any individual, without access to our present day information and data, simply by observation of the world, could arrive at the same conclusion.

It's as if we've lost something, some sacred science, or monistic idealism (consciousness, not matter is primary) which is now staring us directly in the face, in plain sight, but that we can no longer see past the blinders of our newtonian, cartesian dualism and a purely materialist monism (matter alone is primary) or what I would call "thingness" of the world around us, including ourselves. It's quite ridiculous, this predicament, but if I'm right, it contains embedded within itself a type of double bind, which on unraveling is sure to cause us to burst out laughing at a type of shared cosmic joke at the expense of all our prior human ignorance, where in the end and in the final analysis, it will be only the fool and the idiot (who says in his innermost heart of hearts "there is no God") who'll be afraid to laugh and join the party, his own hardened heart (to God, even one of his own understanding) the very demarcation point, of his own exclusion (to weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!)

Anyway, there's definitely a new paradigm just waiting in the wrings to be re-appropriated whereby perhaps it can be said that while everything's brand new there's nothing new under the sun.

Regards,

NAM

"The kingdom of heaven is like a storekeeper, who brings forth from his storehouse (of treasure) both something old, and something new."
~ JC

Interesting find. I've not had a good look at any articles about it before I reply. I read the OP.

I wonder if we could survive in its atmosphere like we do on earth.
Is it inhabited?

Will earthlings ' invade' it in the future and we could escape to it should our planet suffer a catastrophic event like being hit by an asteroid? These are selfish thoughts on my part because I would not want aliens to come and do this to ours. It could have resources we need for our survival. Selfish thoughts.

I suppose there could be an intelligent advanced race from there who do this to us then. If we are similar. If our DNA got scattered about like some think it did, and it landed on that one as well, is it possible other humans could be there? Running out of resources.

Anyways this is good to know other life may be out there. It makes sense we would discover this sooner or later.

One of these days they will 'discover' something they have all ready discovered a long time ago: a brown dwarf in our solar system with in its orbit a planet where our creators came from. They are just preparing us now for the big news.

Originally posted by zandra
One of these days they will 'discover' something they have all ready discovered a long time ago: a brown dwarf in our solar system with in its orbit a planet where our creators came from. They are just preparing us now for the big news.

2012 is gone it's BS give it a rest Nibiru never existed except in the minds of the easily lead

And don't bother: we will NEVER reach another habitable planet. Simply too far away. Surviving in a spacecraft reaching the speed of light is a ridiculous thought. It was the great dream of our ancesters and it will stay a dream forever.

dream on: it s you who is the easy lead

reply to post by zandra


My last words: amen. And be sure I respect your thoughts
Niburu or whatever you call it, could have NEVER crossed the solar system. Life on earth would be gone a long time ago if it did. But off cours 'they' made a point of that stupid issue. So easy to make believers ridiculous afterwards.
The brown dwarf stays at (guess) 700 AU. May be just in the reach of our future spacecrafts.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Astronomers Discover a Planet Almost Identical to Earth

Just over a week after astronomers boldly announced that they would discover an Earth twin elsewhere in the universe within the year, NASA's Kepler telescop spotted a pretty good candidate. Unglamorously named KOI 172.02 -- KOI stands for Kepler Object of Interest -- this planet is the most Earth-like planet astronomers have discovered yet.

The differences are slight. It's roughly 50 percent larger than Earth and orbits a star that closely resembles our own sun at a distance that would make the surface of the planet habitable. (The size makes it a "super Earth" rather than an "Earth twin.") With an 242-day long year, it's slightly closer to its star than the Earth is to the Sun but otherwise enjoys all of the same ideal conditions as we do, as far as astronomers can tell. "This was very exciting because it's our fist habitable-zone super Earth around a sun-type star," said Natalia Batalha, a Kepler co-investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in California. "It's orbiting a star that's very much like our sun. Previously the ones we saw were orbiting other types of stars."

OK

Here we go....

This is becoming so routine it's getting scary. In my lifetime first they discover that other stars have planets, then they discover just how many planets are out there then they say there could be "Earth like" planets out there then just a few weeks ago they state there could be millions of possible "Earth Like" planets and now this.

As I stated last week when I posted another related topic thread something seems to be up...

Thoughts?

The universe is teaming with planets. Our galaxy is teaming with planets. Our solar system has planets.

What you want to look for are star systems similar to the sun in make-up and composition.

For example, many of the detectable exo-planetary systems to date have been with larger planets orbiting the inner solar system and with elliptical orbits.

What you want to find is a planetary system with the large planets on the outer solar system and with circular orbits. Why? Well you need a stable circular orbit like the earth's to keep at the correct exact distance for the star in order not to be too hot or too cold. Also if there were ecclipcial orbits the gravity from one planet would cause havoc on the other as they passed each other.

Also consider too by situating the larger planets, such as Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter on in the outer solar system, they are far enough away from the earth not to affect its orbit by their gravity, while at the same time, they act as a type of solar vaccum, attracting many larger objects that make it into the solar system, thus acting as a buffer, or defense shield against the violent universe around us.

Also consider the type of star we revolve around, a yellow star. Most yellow stars which are comparatively small to others, are binary stars. Ours seems to be unique in our position in the galaxy in the respect that it is solitary without a companion star orbiting it.

Also consider the composition of the star itself, it is made up of heavier elements, such as oxygen and nitrogen which make life possible. These elements can only be formed within the nucuelous of Red Giants at the time of their destruction. So our solar system is the result of a dead star that existed long before it came about.

Take all of these things into consideration.

I speculate, I cannot know, because the Bible does not say. But I suppose that after humankind is restored to perfection that Jehovah God knows where other suitable places for life are, and he will once again continue to create life on other worlds, or even have life transferred from this one, who knows. But perhaps billions of years into the future the galaxy, and eventually the universe will be teeming with organic life.

But for now it is reasonable to conclude we are the only ones in existence in the vast void of space.

Nasa still has credibility??

facinating, i thought those losers went on to find real jobs

Lol..Never believe what NASA says.. They've discovered these planets decades ago.

reply to post by SubAce


"But for now it is reasonable to conclude we are the only ones in existence in the vast void of space."

Don't quite think that this is reasonable these days, ask anyone in the field of science or astronomy. It's like saying there is no one else living say in England but me!

I for one look forward to them finding more of these planets and eventually an admission of life on them.

Originally posted by havok
My thoughts? I am taking this into a new direction.

After many more "discoveries" and articles from these scientists...
A perceived threat will come from the skies in the form of "extra-terrestrials".
Just like the plan I read about years ago...

It will be the largest threat to ever hit modern civilization.
Global chaos will ensue.
But will it be real?

What will happen, you ask?
Everything from nationwide riots, to modern warfare.
The television will be it's greatest ally.
Striking fear into households daily.
Fear drives this nation to consume.
It will also drive it to accept whats coming.

More control.


(You wanted my thoughts. That's exactly what came to mind)

I'm thinking the exact same thing! When this happens I will calmly tell everyone I know not to worry and that it's a hoax lol.

I still don't see how this is so important. Of course there are earth-like planets out there.
It's not possible, but how many generations would it take to even get there? Government don't care, private companies don't want. Unless we know how to bend time and space, this will be only a dream.
I think this was one of the most interesting discoveries yet - ‘Cosmic Supermom’ Galaxy Is Having Over Two Star Babies a Day.
LINK

i'm not sure why but for some reason this gives me an uneasy feeling. i didn't see mention to how close this system is to us, has anyone read about it? an announcement like this is pretty big so how long did they actually know about it until they where "allowed" to tell us? anyway.. this is both amazing and a tad freaky, for me.

maybe, depending how far away this planet is, nasa and the private sector will up their game as far as propulsion goes.