Earth-Like, Water-Rich Planet Discovered
Dec. 16th, 2009 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomSCIENCE!
ETA: I have no idea what happened to the original Yahoo News link. Got it fixed, and found another take at Wired.
ETA: I have no idea what happened to the original Yahoo News link. Got it fixed, and found another take at Wired.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:43 am (UTC)The friend group you are trying to access does not exist.
Science isn't my friend. :(
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 01:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:57 am (UTC)http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/super-earth/
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:08 am (UTC)Woot, either way.
I wouldn't necessarily put it past life to be present on this planet. Sure the ocean is hot at the surface, but there are life forms right here on Earth that live in the "shadow" of volcanic tubes far below the surface of the ocean, at a depth and temperature that's nice and cozy for them.
It might also be reasonable to assume that if the oceans are deep, somewhere beneath the surface there's a temperature zone we might consider habitable. I'm not expecting giant squids or anything, but . . .
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:32 pm (UTC)...No one expects the Spanish Insquidsition? (Couldn't resist...)
Water holds heat very well. Yes, here on Earth you don't have to go very deep into the ocean to reach near-freezing temperatures, but if this planet is indeed so much hotter and closer to its sun than our world is, it may be a watery version of Venus. The temperature is well above the boiling point of water (at least as we know it at sea-level here on Earth), so that would make the chemistry of life much more difficult. There may very well be a habitable zone in the depths, and it may be possible that extremeophile life could exist there, but it's also possible that conditions are *juuuust* a bit too hot even for extremeophilic life.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 01:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 04:05 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:50 pm (UTC)"But I want us to go there NOW!!" (in whiny child voice)
"Look, kid, it'd take us thousands of years."
"...Oh... right." :(
And I doubt any administration in the near future will approve development and launching of probes to go deliberately to other star systems, and I confess that I don't know how long a space probe with nuclear power like Voyager 2 would be able to function, even in "sleep mode"--would the power plant last long enough??
But still... lovely dream to go see these places in person. Although, I keep having to shove away images from "Planet 51"...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 04:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 04:31 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 05:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 05:27 pm (UTC)"Atlantis!"
"Atlantis!"
"It's only a model."
"Ssssssh!"
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-19 11:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:53 pm (UTC)"It's not a seahorse! 'e's got two coconut halves 'e's clapping togevah!"
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 06:41 am (UTC)Suck it long and suck it hard.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 07:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 11:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:37 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 02:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 12:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 01:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-17 03:48 pm (UTC)BRILLIANT!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-12-18 12:50 am (UTC)