DailyDirt: Exoplanets Everywhere!

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Thu, Dec 20th 2012 5:00pm — Michael Ho

There are about 700 confirmed exoplanets that astronomers have indirectly observed. The Kepler Space Telescope has gathered a vast amount of data, and it suggests that there are probably planets orbiting nearly every star. Now that we know about all these planets, it's fun to speculate about how much life could exist on them. So here are just a few links for those of you who want to know where our alien neighbors might be.

In just our galaxy, there could be 10 billion other planets that are similar to our own Earth. Gas giant exoplanets the size of Jupiter are easier to find, but they might not be as common as small rocky planets like ours. [url]
The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog has a list of 7 planets that might support life, and this list has only just started to be compiled. A lot of these exoplanets are "super-Earth" sized, and it's tough to know much about their atmospheres with current telescopes. [url]
Tau Ceti is a star system just 12 light years away that seems to have similar characteristics to our solar system. Astronomers are guessing that there may be 5 rocky planets in orbit around Tau Ceti, and that star is about twice as old as our Sun, so there would have been plenty of time for life to arise (but also to perish). [url]
ATLAST is a space-based telescope specifically designed to look for signs of life on other planets, but it's only in the concept stage -- with vague plans to launch sometime before 2032. Directly observing exoplanets and their atmospheres could tell us more about how unique our Earth is and how lonely we might be in the universe. [url]

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Filed Under: astronomy, atlast, et, exobiology, exoplanet, kepler space telescope, space, super-earth, tau ceti

8 Comments

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Wally (profile), 20 Dec 2012 @ 6:26pm

"Tau Ceti is a star system just 12 light years away that seems to have similar characteristics to our solar system. Astronomers are guessing that there may be 5 rocky planets in orbit around Tau Ceti, and that star is about twice as old as our Sun, so there would have been plenty of time for life to arise (but also to perish)."

Well, currently the P'for have control over the Tau Ceti system...lets hope certain laws of computing and Einstein's theory of relativity hold true. If we do make it there, let us hope the ships AI functions don't go rampant in the process.
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- Wally (profile), 20 Dec 2012 @ 6:53pm
  
  Re:
  On a more serious note, I'm glad to see we have something to take a closer look at in the universe. Michael Ho, this article was quite interesting. My father is an astronomer by hobby (owns a 21 inch telescope) and since his retirement has been stargazing as much as he can.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Dec 2012 @ 6:50pm

"If we do make it there"

Don't count on it ... it's doubtful we will survive here. Seems we are too busy wasting resources fighting over trivial BS.
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- Wally (profile), 20 Dec 2012 @ 6:59pm
  
  Re:
  Not going to argue, just wanted to point out my reference to you. Anyone who has played Marathon II: Durandal on PC or Mac, or it's HD counterpart Marathon:Durandal on XboxLive Arcade, will know what I mean.
  
  Though you may be correct, we might not get there, but BOB's will. A vicious cybernetic hive mind race of aliens might not like the idea and attack our ship.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 21 Dec 2012 @ 4:28pm
    
    Re: Re:
    "Though you may be correct,"
    
    I wasn't till congress saw news clips of comet Shoemaker�Levy hitting Jupiter in 1994 that NASA received minimal funding to log earth crossing objects, prior to that they were laughed out of congressional hearings for even suggesting that the earth might be impacted by a foreign object. This is the level of scientific understanding possessed by our "leaders". And you think they will comprehend anything you are talking about?
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The Real Michael, 21 Dec 2012 @ 5:18am

I love outer space. The one thing I don't like is how they make artistic renditions of planets, pretending they know what they're made up of, their atmosphere, etc. when they cannot actually see them. If these people want credibility, they need to stop presenting this fantasy as if it were fact. It will be quite awhile before we're able to obtain a visual on an exoplanet.
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Anonymous Coward, 21 Dec 2012 @ 7:12am

And the difference between an exoplanet and just a regular ol' planet is...?
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- Michael Ho (profile), 21 Dec 2012 @ 3:34pm
  
  Re:
  an exoplanet is a planet outside of our solar system, short for extrasolar planet....
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