Nat. Geographic News: 32 New Planets Found Outside Our Solar System

[Corcaigh]

So this thread quickly morphed into a discussion about the ends of the universe. Far more interesting, IMO, is that right now in history we are proving what many long suspected, that the galaxy is teeming with planets. Some estimates put the number at around 400 billion planets in our own galaxy based on averages of planets per star, etc.

With 400 Billion planets in the galaxy, you can bet there are ones with conditions fantastic to imagine ... such as ones with liquid metal oceans, and where it rains molten iron, ones with multiple suns of different colors (causing some pretty freaky sunsets and sunrises).

What's most interesting to me is as our 'planet finding' technology gets advanced enough to detect smaller and smaller planets, whether we will come across stars where an old civilization has undertaken large scale engineering (such as a Dyson sphere) that we can see.

[sacase]

I personally believe that planets and life are much more common than we think. I don't know if we will ever be able to travel the stars effectively, but I wouldn't be suprised to see Generation ships.

I don't think we have put the effort in dsicovering the rest of the solar system like we should have. Space exploration has really driven technology forward, we need to get back to being serious about it. Let think dreamers dream and then let's build to accomplish that dream.

[Larry]

What's more, what about the 10s of thousands of GALAXIES out there that we'll likely never be able to even visit--unless the Starship Enterprise rolls out.

Mystery Space "Ribbon" Found at Solar System's Edge

But that's nothing compared to the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy.

[Peeping Wizard]

So if you are at the leading edge of the expanding universe, you look back toward the center of the universe and see the stars, galaxys etc. but if you turn around and look in the other direction what do you see?

They say it looks quite a bit like Madonna's crotch.

[techboy]

If anyone has seen the program Alien Earths, I think on Discovery or the Science channel, they already know all this. It is definitely worth a watch.

I'm pretty sure you're talking about Alien Planets, which was an episode of season 2 of The History Channel's The Universe.

Good episode, and they do talk about various planets with unusual or unexpected orbits.

[buenosdiaz]

...and USA is still #1

[twa]

somewhat related...National Geographic has plotted the route of every space mission carried out over the last 50 years onto a map:cool:

http://books.nationalgeographic.com/map/map-day/

[China]

NASA detects one more planet with life-supporting environment

Organic molecules essential for life have been detected in one more hot gas planet outside the solar system, within a year by NASA scientists.

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California detected water, methane and carbon dioxide — the basic chemistry for life — in the planet named HD 209458b, NASA said.

The data from Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope — NASA's two orbiting observatories — was used to detect the planet bigger than Jupiter.

"It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said Mark Swain, one of the researchers at NASA.

The finding follows the December 2008 discovery of carbon dioxide around another hot, Jupiter-size planet — HD 189733b — on which water vapor and methane were earlier detected.

Click on the link for the full article

[grhqofb5]

NASA detects one more planet with life-supporting environment

Organic molecules essential for life have been detected in one more hot gas planet outside the solar system, within a year by NASA scientists.

Click on the link for the full article

See this is what I don't understand. If it's a gas planet, what would the life forms stand on? Wouldn't they all just collapse towards the center of the planet and be crushed by the gravity. Doesn't take a scientist to realize this would be a bad place for aliens to live.

[SnyderShrugged]

See this is what I don't understand. If it's a gas planet, what would the life forms stand on? Wouldn't they all just collapse towards the center of the planet and be crushed by the gravity. Doesn't take a scientist to realize this would be a bad place for aliens to live.

not if the aliens are fart based organisms:D

[HailYeah]

NASA detects one more planet with life-supporting environment

Organic molecules essential for life have been detected in one more hot gas planet outside the solar system, within a year by NASA scientists.

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California detected water, methane and carbon dioxide — the basic chemistry for life — in the planet named HD 209458b, NASA said.

The data from Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope — NASA's two orbiting observatories — was used to detect the planet bigger than Jupiter.

"It's the second planet outside our solar system in which water, methane and carbon dioxide have been found, which are potentially important for biological processes in habitable planets," said Mark Swain, one of the researchers at NASA.

The finding follows the December 2008 discovery of carbon dioxide around another hot, Jupiter-size planet — HD 189733b — on which water vapor and methane were earlier detected.

Click on the link for the full article

With that new badboy they sent up in March, I expect these types of findings to start rolling in. We are really, really close to finding something earth-shaking.

http://kepler.nasa.gov/

[HailYeah]

See this is what I don't understand. If it's a gas planet, what would the life forms stand on? Wouldn't they all just collapse towards the center of the planet and be crushed by the gravity. Doesn't take a scientist to realize this would be a bad place for aliens to live.

You're assuming they would weigh as much as us. Imagine if they looked like balloons. But, yes, they ruled out life there immediately.

[grhqofb5]

not if the aliens are fart based organisms:D

But if they were fart based, they would have to be farted from a larger organism, which would surely fall towards the center of the planet and be crushed.

No chicken without the egg.

[grhqofb5]

You're assuming they would weigh as much as us. Imagine if they looked like balloons. But, yes, they ruled out life there immediately.

Ok, so you're saying I should be paid by NASA to infuse some logic into their budget?

[HailYeah]

Ok, so you're saying I should be paid by NASA to infuse some logic into their budget?

Its just a finding. It adds to the data on how many planets are close by that COULD sustain life. Without any data they're just stabbing in the dark. Sorry you had to hear about it.

[Corcaigh]

See this is what I don't understand. If it's a gas planet, what would the life forms stand on? Wouldn't they all just collapse towards the center of the planet and be crushed by the gravity. Doesn't take a scientist to realize this would be a bad place for aliens to live.

We have bacteria living in clouds at high altitude here. It's conceivable that something more complex like lighter than air jellyfish could evolve and float in the clouds, but developing a civilization without raw materials such as metals to construct stuff might be a challenge.

[grhqofb5]

We have bacteria living in clouds at high altitude here. It's conceivable that something more complex like lighter than air jellyfish could evolve and float in the clouds, but developing a civilization without raw materials such as metals to construct stuff might be a challenge.

Yes, that's probably true. So the gas planets are probably out as far as intelligent life goes.

[PeterMP]

I think looking at these in gas giants is the result of that's what can see, but if you see them in gas giants it is likely that they are pretty abundant in non-gas giant planets too (and the moons of gas giants).

Not that anybody really thinks a gas giant is a good possibility for life, especially intelligent life.

[grhqofb5]

Ok, so after reading this article it looks as if we're not actually able to view these planets, we're just hypothesising that they exist because certain stars tilt at certain times? Seems a bit out there to me.

[Corcaigh]

Seems a bit out there to me.

What is it about the concept and the math don't you understand?

[grhqofb5]

What is it about the concept and the math don't you understand?

Mostly Algebra.

I'm just disappointed that it doesn't look like we're going to actually view the planets, which would have been more exciting. I was looking forward to some pretty sweet pics.

[Corcaigh]

Mostly Algebra.

I'm just disappointed that it doesn't look like we're going to actually view the planets, which would have been more exciting. I was looking forward to some pretty sweet pics.

Another experiment has directly observed exoplanets and measured that their atmosphere contains the raw materials for life.

[mjah]

Ok, so after reading this article it looks as if we're not actually able to view these planets, we're just hypothesising that they exist because certain stars tilt at certain times?

Not tilt so much as slide back and forth, but basically yes. They're being influenced by something really big, planet-y, and very close to the star, which we can't directly observe.

If they aren't planets, then there are a lot of Death Stars out there.

[grhqofb5]

Another experiment has directly observed exoplanets and measured that their atmosphere contains the raw materials for life.

So, I guess the ultimate question for me is are we going to actually be able to view these planets any time in the near future, or is our knowledge just going to be based upon indirect evidence (which is sometimes good evidence). With our current technology, or with technology we reasonably believe will be developed in the near future, will we be able to see this?

[HailYeah]

Another experiment has directly observed exoplanets and measured that their atmosphere contains the raw materials for life.

The Kepler mission was just started in March and is searching one patch of 100,000 stars for exoplanets. We've only recently had instruments able to detect the nature of exoplanets' atmospheres. Its all really just begining, so one step at a time.

That being said, they are building a new telescope that will orbit 1,000,000 miles away from earth. They believe it will have the capability to directly observe exoplanets. Its scheduled to launch in 2014.

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/about.html