Scientists have recently discovered a planet orbiting around the red dwarf star Gliese 581 that appears to be within the zone deemed "habitable." Even better is the fact that it is within our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Could this be the "new Earth" we've been looking for or is it just another thing for mankind to dream about?
Researchers from UC Santa Cruz used the Keck Observatory in Hawaii to find the planet, known as Gliese 581g, and published their findings in the Astrophysical Journal (A link to which can be found on this page). The planet has about 3 times the mass that Earth does, and is within a range of the star that it can have water in liquid form and a gravitational field that could sustain an atmosphere. The only downside is the fact that it doesn't rotate. One side is always facing the star and the other is in perpetual darkness. The best bet for sustaining human life would be around the planet on the border between light and dark. This may seem like it isn't enough room for a substantial colony, but the size of the planet makes it less of a problem. So it's perfect and we can fly over there now and start our expedition, right? Wrong.
Did I mention the fact that Gliese 581g is 20 light years away from our current solar system? Because it is, and that's one hell of a flight, even if it were possible to travel close to the speed of light using current technology. This also means that the planet we see is from 20 years ago, meaning the possibility exists that it isn't even there any more.
Professor Steven Vogt talks about the fact that while this may not be a planet we can currently travel to, there must be other planets like it strewn throughout our galaxy: "The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common." This is an exciting idea, considering the fact that mankind has been looking for planets with life that are inhabitable since we discovered we aren't the center of the universe.
Overall, I think the exploration of these types planets can be of benefit to mankind, but it's still to early to give up completely and move on to a different planet. People tend to become overly excited when they hear about a possibility of us venturing off into space to live on a new planet where there is intelligent life. Even though that would be cool, I'm still willing to accept the idea that I will never live to see the day we do such a thing. Maybe humanity will never even last that long, but at least we still have our imaginations and egos to make us strive for eternal life. Maybe we should try finding intelligent life on Earth before we go looking for it in other places.
Dillow, Clay. "Freshly Discovered Earth-Like Planet Orbiting Nearby Star Could Be the First Truly Habitable Exoplanet | Popular Science." Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. .
"Professor Steven S. Vogt." University of California Observatories. 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. .
too far, man
ReplyDeleteWell this is embarrassing. I wasn't in class so I didn't know we talked about this. My B, dawgs.
ReplyDeleteThe discovery of new planet is an exciting thing but i think that all these planets don't fulfill conditions for human living. Let protect what we have instead of being excited for something which is far from an ideal livable planet.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%. I think people tend to get overexcited about these kinds of discoveries.
ReplyDeleteI heard that the proper technology would allow the astronauts to travel to the planet in only 6.5 light years by traveling close as possible to light speed.
ReplyDeletelight years are a term of distance!
ReplyDelete