Earth like planet found in "Goldilocks" zone

[davepoth]

Kepler 22b is the name, and it's 600 light years away. The BBC are currently interviewing Colin Pillinger, who you may remember as the exuberantly sideburned West Country Astrophysicist.

[FourWheelDrift]

Orbit around it's star is equivalent to orbiting between Venus and Earth around our Sun, but still within the habitable zone.

Equilibrium temp of -11 celcius, if atmosphere similar to earth then surface temp will be 22 degrees celcius. Kepler 22b is the smallest radius planet found yet to orbit in the habitable zone of any star other than the sun.

Size - 2.38 Earth radii
Orbital period - 290 days
Stellar mass - 0.97 solar masses

Distance from Earth 587.1 light years.

Data from Exoplanet.





Let's go there now, escape the debt crisis

[MOTORVATOR]

Was just reading that myself http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-1604...

and got to thinking.

How long before we find one a bit closer than 600 light years and gain the knowledge for reasonably quick space travel and then do our very own genesis thing a la Star Trek?

1000 years of technology advancement will probably yield things that we can't even begin to comprehend at the moment.

Reason for life on earth solved but how did the first ones doing the seeding get there?

[Y282]

You lot been reading the screenplay for prometheus?

[FourWheelDrift]

I wonder if they are looking back at us and regarding this earth with envious eyes.................


Or just wanting to come here to escape their debt crisis.

[jbi]

It wont happen... we have been listening to the skies for many many years now and not a squeak... the near-earth universe is a dead duck in terms of advanced life capable of sending radio signals.

[SystemParanoia]

we just need to prefect nuclear fusion

using a fusion rocket accelerating at 1g

we can get there in 22 years ( shiptime ) 590 years to us tho!

[FourWheelDrift]

jbi said:

It wont happen... we have been listening to the skies for many many years now and not a squeak... the near-earth universe is a dead duck in terms of advanced life capable of sending radio signals.

That planet is 600 light years away, our first radio signals from the 19th century have only reached 110 light years into space. There's plenty of way to go yet before any intelligent life would ever hear us and it's the same for us to hear them (if they can transmit anything).

[SystemParanoia]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

[jbi]

FourWheelDrift said:

jbi said:

It wont happen... we have been listening to the skies for many many years now and not a squeak... the near-earth universe is a dead duck in terms of advanced life capable of sending radio signals.

That planet is 600 light years away, our first radio signals from the 19th century have only reached 110 light years into space. There's plenty of way to go yet before any intelligent life would ever hear us and it's the same for us to hear them (if they can transmit anything).

this is true... but surely we would have picked up "something" by now, if there was anything remotely near by

there are an estimated 14,600 stars within 100 light years of earth which could have received our transmissions, but there is no limit to the time in which alien broadcasts could have been made and should have been floating through the universe.

In the grand scheme of things yes, this is a very small window of time, but that same argument suggests we shouldn't expect to find anything, because our chances are so small.

[JensenA]

Were seeing it as it was 600 million light years away. It might have changed a bit by now, in fact it might not even be there.

[FourWheelDrift]

JensenA said:

Were seeing it as it was 600 million light years away. It might have changed a bit by now, in fact it might not even be there.

Very true, I wonder if we can see the Dinosaurs from here

[Puggit]

I know, let's build a colony ship and stick all the useless professions on board... Hairdressers, telephone sanitizers, EU politicians

[AndyACB]

It's 600 light years away, so chances are it's the same now as it was 600 years ago if you get what I mean.

Unless of course they've burnt all their natural resources and caused some sort of Armageddon

[hornet]

jbi said:

this is true... but surely we would have picked up "something" by now, if there was anything remotely near by

there are an estimated 14,600 stars within 100 light years of earth which could have received our transmissions, but there is no limit to the time in which alien broadcasts could have been made and should have been floating through the universe.

Not sure that's entirely correct. If you accept the age of the universe as 14 billion or so years, then look at stellar evolution, galaxy formation and whatnot, there's going to be a point before which planets couldn't have formed. It took Earth 4 billion years to produce us, so even though I have no doubt there's life out there, I really don't think the place is teeming with advanced civilisations. Weak anthropic principle I think?

Either that or they just don't fancy talking to us

[carmonk]

jbi said:

FourWheelDrift said:

jbi said:

It wont happen... we have been listening to the skies for many many years now and not a squeak... the near-earth universe is a dead duck in terms of advanced life capable of sending radio signals.

That planet is 600 light years away, our first radio signals from the 19th century have only reached 110 light years into space. There's plenty of way to go yet before any intelligent life would ever hear us and it's the same for us to hear them (if they can transmit anything).

this is true... but surely we would have picked up "something" by now, if there was anything remotely near by

there are an estimated 14,600 stars within 100 light years of earth which could have received our transmissions, but there is no limit to the time in which alien broadcasts could have been made and should have been floating through the universe.

In the grand scheme of things yes, this is a very small window of time, but that same argument suggests we shouldn't expect to find anything, because our chances are so small.

I think Active SETI is one of the most - if not the most ridiculous scientific space projects ever attempted. Who on earth thought it up? (Rhetorical question). Not only are the chances of success unbelievably small but we should be grateful of that. That someone thought it was a good idea to alert alien intelligences to Earth's presence beggars belief.

JensenA said:

Were seeing it as it was 600 million light years away. It might have changed a bit by now, in fact it might not even be there.

600 light years.

[Eric Mc]

FourWheelDrift said:

Very true, I wonder if we can see the Dinosaurs from here

We probably can't even see the planet from here - not directly.

[Puggit]

An intelligent life form in our neighbourhood of the Milky Way may have worked out how to avoid broadcasting its location.

[Mr Sparkle]

How far will at TV/Radio signal go? Will it just get weaker for ever or will it decay into noise? Could it be that our radio transitions are only meaningful for a few 10's of light years?

[ApexJimi]

Puggit said:

An intelligent life form in our neighbourhood of the Milky Way may have worked out how to avoid broadcasting its location.