So, they have found a new planet, so what, there are some rather large numbers involved which make visiting it unlikely. For starters it's so far away they can't see it and take a pic and yet for some reason they think there is water on it. Apparently it is 120,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles away (might be kilometres) give or take a few zeros and at current spaceship speeds, which are quite fast, it would take 5 billion years to get there.


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1262484,00.html

once upon a time the moon was considered impossible to reach :cool:
It is quite exciting tho, water, right temp etc .... there could easily be life :o

Oh great, they have found my home planet.....

Property values are gonna go right down now :D

I think if I were there and looking in this direction, I'd start running now. :)

It is really encouraging though.

With the correct instrumentation it's possible to detect the chemical products of life in the atmosphere - changes in proportions of Oxygen, CO2, seasonal variations, etc.

Of course - it could be very old, and we might be too late to find anything. :(

For starters it's so far away they can't see it and take a pic and yet for some reason they think there is water on it.They can see it, well enough to carry out spectroscopy (which works with a single point of light) but not well enough to take interesting pictures of it.

A few years ago they used to detect the wobble caused by a planet's gravitational pull on its parent star, which is black magic compared to what they do these days.

So, they have found a new planet, so what, there are some rather large numbers involved which make visiting it unlikely. For starters it's so far away they can't see it and take a pic and yet for some reason they think there is water on it. Apparently it is 120,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles away (might be kilometres) give or take a few zeros and at current spaceship speeds, which are quite fast, it would take 5 billion years to get there.


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1262484,00.html

I think Sky are using a -very- slow spacecraft... to take 5 billion years to travel 20.5 light years, you only need to travel at about four and a half km/hour on average!!

I think Sky are using a -very- slow spacecraft... to take 5 billion years to travel 20.5 light years, you only need to travel at about four and a half km/hour on average!!
Ok maybe they meant walking, unfortunately there aren't enough noughts on my calculator to work it out.

It all depends on your spacecraft, mine does 0 to lightspeed in 60 seconds .... but the fuel bills a killer.

seriously, if there is other life forms out there, this planet looks like the ideal one .... i wonder if they've spotted elvis there yet?

they said on the news, the gravity is x 8 of the earth due to the size of this planet, if anybodys BOTHERED hehe

they said on the news, the gravity is x 8 of the earth due to the size of this planet, if anybodys BOTHERED hehe

Yup, I'm bothered.

:)

I think if I were there and looking in this direction, I'd start running now. :)

It is really encouraging though.

With the correct instrumentation it's possible to detect the chemical products of life in the atmosphere - changes in proportions of Oxygen, CO2, seasonal variations, etc.

Of course - it could be very old, and we might be too late to find anything. :(It could be older or newer but if they are so far advanced or past that they would have visited us surely and if time travel is ever invented we would already have been visited by people from the future (that's a tricky one)

Scientists discover new planet capable of sustaining life and Jabberwockey cant be found. I reckon he's a spy sent to keep an eye on us. NOw weve found his planet he has had to return home to put the final plans together for the imminent invasion.

Possibly.

I wonder if they have a Tesco on their planet :)

they said on the news, the gravity is x 8 of the earth due to the size of this planet, if anybodys BOTHERED hehe

If life has evolved on this planet then, it will all be in the sea.
With that gravity tides will be very low, and therefore land life cannot form.

Ergo no intelligent life forms, and no industry.

It sounds like a home from home for anyone from post Thatcherite Yorkshire. :hihi:

120,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles away (might be kilometres)

it may be essential to work out whether its miles or kilometres to this planet. If only for ordering the sandwiches for the trip!

If life has evolved on this planet then, it will all be in the sea.
With that gravity tides will be very low, and therefore land life cannot form.

Ergo no intelligent life forms, and no industry.

It sounds like a home from home for anyone from post Thatcherite Yorkshire. :hihi:

also NO MOON so there wont be any tides

I wonder if they have a Tesco on their planet :)

They're probably filing a planning application as we speak.

It could be older or newer but if they are so far advanced or past that they would have visited us surely

Maybe they are not interested in us. After all if you see an ant colony do you try to contact their leader or think its an ant colony and walk on. If they are thousands of years more advanced in technoloigy/science etc I doubt they would think we have anything useful to say!

Maybe they are not interested in us. After all if you see an ant colony do you try to contact their leader or think its an ant colony and walk on. If they are thousands of years more advanced in technoloigy/science etc I doubt they would think we have anything useful to say!Exactly and they may know that getting in contact is impossible so they haven't done which is why it seems so pointless that scientists are getting all excited.

Could make a useful penal colony :)

they said on the news, the gravity is x 8 of the earth due to the size of this planet, if anybodys BOTHERED hehe

I read it was 1.5 times the gravity of earth.

I notice the Bookies have slashed the odds from 1000/1 to 100/1. Wimps.

If I understand correctly, the data that has been recieved will be over 20 years old anyway?

McDonalds may be there already and we wouldn't know.