Astronomers find trio of 'super-Earths'

[Dope Nose]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/06/17/super.earths.ap/index.html

Newly found planets make case for 'crowded universe'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- European astronomers have found a trio of "super-Earths" closely circling a star that astronomers once figured had nothing orbiting it.

The discovery demonstrates that planets keep popping up in unexpected places around the universe.

The announcement is the first time three planets close to Earth's size were found orbiting a single star, said Swiss astronomer Didier Queloz.

He was part of the Swiss-French team using the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in the desert in Chile.

The mass of the smallest of the super-Earths is about four times the size of Earth.

That may seem like a lot, but they are quite a bit closer in size and likely composition to Earth than the giants in Earth's solar system -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

They are much too hot to support life, Queloz said.

Scientists are more interested in the broader implications of the finding: The universe is teeming with far more planets than thought.

Using a new tool to study more than 100 stars once thought to be devoid of planets, the Swiss-French team found that about one-third had planets that are only slightly bigger than Earth.

That's how the star with three super-Earths, 42 light-years away, was spotted.

The European team took a second look with a relatively new instrument that measures tiny changes in light wave lengths and is so sensitive that it is precisely positioned and locked in a special room below the observatory in Chile. The key is kept in Switzerland, scientists say.

The discovery is "really making the case that we live in a crowded universe," said Carnegie Institution of Washington astronomer Alan Boss, who was not part of the discovery team. "Planets are out there. They're all over the place."

That means it is easier to make the case for life elsewhere in the universe, both Boss and Queloz said.

 

[The Geek Vault]

maybe it is the home of SUPER HUMANS!

 

[SFII]

you mean Krypton.

 

[The Battousai]

maybe it is the home of SUPER HUMANS!

 

[Arcturus]

Awesome news, thanks for posting it up, Dope Nose.

 

[chaseter]

Boring news...they found more planets that are too hot to support life...who cares???

 

[Leto Atrides]

Boring news...they found more planets that are too hot to support life...who cares???

Any planets they find are usually gas giants or little Pluto-like moon sized things. Finding Earth-scale ones is significant.

 

[chaseter]

Any planets they find are usually gas giants or little Pluto-like moon sized things. Finding Earth-scale ones is significant.

They are 4 times the size of Earth and are inhospitable for life...this affects us how?

 

[Leto Atrides]

you mean Krypton.

Wasn't that even the old story for Superman's powers, that Krypton was bigger and had stronger gravity than Earth?

 

[Arcturus]

Well if you don't care, Chaster, then why are you making such a fuss about it?

 

[Leto Atrides]

Edit: ^^^ Yes, exactly.

They are 4 times the size of Earth and are inhospitable for life...this affects us how?

It affects our knowledge of astronomy, they used to think that our solar system was fairly unique in the kind of planets we have. Hell, it wasn't that long ago that they couldn't find any planets that weren't gigantic. Just because you don't care doesn't mean it's not important.

 

[The Guard]

I like how they say "crowded universe" and it's 42 light years away.

 

[chaseter]

Well if you don't care, Chaster, then why are you making such a fuss about it?

We
a)already have an mega-astronomy thread
b)why publish an article about it or make a thread if it will not solve any of Earth's current problems, possibly pose a threat, or possibly contain life. I like their conclusion that these 4 planets being found prove that the Universe is crowded...no ****

 

[chaseter]

Edit: ^^^ Yes, exactly.



It affects our knowledge of astronomy, they used to think that our solar system was fairly unique in the kind of planets we have. Hell, it wasn't that long ago that they couldn't find any planets that weren't gigantic. Just because you don't care doesn't mean it's not important.

We haven't even explored all of our own planet and they think finding a planet 4 times the size of the Earth that is too hot for life is increadible...............................................................................................................

 

[Arcturus]

We
a)already have an mega-astronomy thread
b)why publish an article about it or make a thread if it will not solve any of Earth's current problems, possibly pose a threat, or possibly contain life. I like their conclusion that these 4 planets being found prove that the Universe is crowded...no ****

A) Does it matter? How many threads do we have on repeating subjects on this forum? I mean sure, we have about a million "lounge threads".

B) Why not publish an article an article which contributes to the search for exo-planets?

 

[Leto Atrides]

We
a)already have an mega-astronomy thread
b)why publish an article about it or make a thread if it will not solve any of Earth's current problems, possibly pose a threat, or possibly contain life. I like their conclusion that these 4 planets being found prove that the Universe is crowded...no ****

Are you really that much of a utilitarian? And by crowded they mean it has more than they thought, it's a figure of speech.

But seriously now. Do you actually think no research or inquiry should be done unless it has direct applications to a current problem?

 

[Arcturus]

Well, for the sake of the topic at hand; which should be merged anyways.

I think it's just another step for us. And by that I mean;

Mankind thought the earth was flat. We had thought that the earth was the center of the universe. We thought the sun was the center of the universe. We thought the milky way galaxy was the center of the universe. We thought exoplanets would be rare.

We were all wrong on the points. History teaches us that our general view of universe around us changes with time. Okay, so we find exoplanets that don't harbor life, it's not that big of a deal, but it's always interesting. Because, maybe one day, we'll come across a planet that does. The jury is still out on that.

 

[chaseter]

But seriously now. Do you actually think no research or inquiry should be done unless it has direct applications to a current problem?

To be honest...yes. I understand and respect being inquisitive through science but I don't understand why we are trying to master the universe without first mastering our own planet. They can spend all the money in the world to find gas giants and super novas but in the end what good has it done to advance our race?

edit: The title also fooled me as I thought we had found 3 planets that possibly contained life so I got excited so that is part of the fuel for my ranting.

 

[Cunning Stunts]

I like how they say "crowded universe" and it's 42 light years away.

Considering the size of the universe... Yeah, it's crowded.

 

[Warhammer]

maybe it is the home of SUPER HUMANS!

It's very rare when people actually use "I See What You Did There" pics right, but it happened here, and it was hilarious.

 

[The Battousai]

 

[Raiden]

To be honest...yes. I understand and respect being inquisitive through science but I don't understand why we are trying to master the universe without first mastering our own planet. They can spend all the money in the world to find gas giants and super novas but in the end what good has it done to advance our race?

edit: The title also fooled me as I thought we had found 3 planets that possibly contained life so I got excited so that is part of the fuel for my ranting.

By understand more about our universe, it will also shed some light on our own little solar system, and this helps advances our knowledge of astronomy.

Edit: typo.

 

[The Battousai]

By understand more about our universe, it will also shed some light on our own little solar system, and this helps advances our knowledge of astronomy.

Fixed*

 

[chaseter]

By understand more about our universe, it will also shed some light on our own little solar system, and this helps advances our knowledge of astrology.

So that we can know what Capricorns will do this yeart: I enjoy science finding new and interesting stuff but I can't believe that they are spending billions upon billions of dollars and research time to find planets that life cannot exist on rather than using those funds to find a cure for cancer or AIDS or even explore the rest of our own planet...do you understand my side? I know one day we will explore space and I know that some people love astrology but I can't rationalize us using tons of money to find something that we can't yet reach or explore just so it can be named and jotted down on a solar map. I guess it has something to do with land grabbing or resource grabbing much like Spain and China did all those years ago. We just want to get there and use it up.

 

[The Battousai]

From what I've heard, cancer research gets a good amount of funding due to the many charities and such collecting money for cancer, so I wouldn't be complaining about that. We can't actually "cure" cancer being a virus and all, but we sure as hell can improve our methods of tracking and removing them before they become fatal. It's an important subject, but it's not like it's being shoved in the corner.

The point of research of that which lies beyond our planet is simple. It's the search for the unknown - that sense of exploration that's almost gone on our own planet (if you don't count the oceans, that is, but there are people working on that, too).