From [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away.
Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. The dust belt, which scientists suspect is clumping together to form planets, is located in the middle of the star system's terrestrial [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water. Scientists estimate there is enough material in the belt to form a Mars-sized world or larger.
At approximately 10 million years old, the star is just the right age for forming rocky planets, the researchers say. Their finding will be detailed in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal.
"The timing for this system to be building an Earth is very good," said study team member Carey Lisse of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Baltimore, Md.
If the star system were too young, the planet-forming disk would be full of gas, and it would be making gas-giant planets like Jupiter instead. If it were too old, Spitzer would have spotted rocky planets that had long ago formed.
The star system also has the right mix of dusty materials in its disk to form an Earth-like planet, Lisse said.
Using Spitzer's infrared spectrometer instrument, the team determined that the material around HD 113766 is more processed than the [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] stuff that makes up infant solar systems and comets, which are considered cosmic "refrigerators" because they contain pristine ingredients from the solar system's formative period. But it is also not as processed as the stuff found in mature planets and asteroids.
"The material mix in this belt is most reminiscent of the stuff found in lava flows on Earth," Lisse said. "I thought of Mauna Kea [in Hawaii] material when I first saw the dust composition in this system – it contains raw rock and it's abundant in iron sulfides, which are similar to fool's gold."
Earlier this year, scientists announced they had found evidence for one, and [Only registered and activated users can see links. ], already formed Earth-like planets around Gliese 581, a dim red star located only 20.5 light-years away. The possible planets, called Gliese 581c and Gliese 581d, are located at about the right distance from their star to support liquid water and life as we know it, but many more observations are needed to confirm this.
To date, planet hunters have discovered more than 250 extrasolar planets, or "[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]." Most of the distant worlds, however, are giant gas planets several times the size of Jupiter.
While life is known to exist only on our planet, the range of exoplanet types found so far has astronomers increasingly confident that many worlds in our galaxy could be habitable. Finding Earth-like worlds in habitable zones is a first step toward the technically challenging task of discovering biology outside our solar system.
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Do you remember my earlier post about a "Second Earth"? (Gleise 581C)
Turns out, new simulations show the planet has a greenhouse effect that causes it to be well over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, however, these simulations are only somewhat accurate.
But, it's neighbor, Gleise 581D is just right if Gleise 581C has a greenhouse effect. Check out [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] for more info.
Why do they always have to be so far away. "424 light-years away" that's 424 times the distance that light travels in a year. That means even at the fastest speed we can travel that's gonna be a couple of lifetimes.
Why do they always have to be so far away. "424 light-years away" that's 424 times the distance that light travels in a year. That means even at the fastest speed we can travel that's gonna be a couple of lifetimes.
Well....thats why sci-fic movie have hyperdrive to kick into, right?
We just need to someone discover/invent how to kick our cars into hyperdrive and maybe we can reach there in 10min or so. The time if hyperdrive will exist is probrably my grandson's grandson's greatgrandson' grandsons,or so.
Well....thats why sci-fic movie have hyperdrive to kick into, right?
We just need to someone discover/invent how to kick our cars into hyperdrive and maybe we can reach there in 10min or so. The time if hyperdrive will exist is probrably my grandson's grandson's greatgrandson' grandsons,or so.
i don't think it would be the most safest thing to have hyperdrive in cars...
Why do they always have to be so far away. "424 light-years away" that's 424 times the distance that light travels in a year. That means even at the fastest speed we can travel that's gonna be a couple of lifetimes.
i think it would be a little more than a "couple" more like a couple of thousand lol
but i agree scientists always find the ones that we wont be able to contact in our lifetimes...
did you know that scientists know more about the whole universe than just the sea bed of our own planet or even our own body...
they should look a little closer to home...which reminds me...
a probe that went to mars may have found real life on mars in giant craters (like km's deep and only microbes, you know germs) and i choose my words carefully...when i say "may" i mean scientists r just tryin to make ppl think they havent wasted millions of $/£ of tax payers money
and they are gonna like drop 100's of sphere probes with millions of sensors to jumps down the craters
Why do they always have to be so far away. "424 light-years away" that's 424 times the distance that light travels in a year. That means even at the fastest speed we can travel that's gonna be a couple of lifetimes.
The thing is, since the picture that we're looking at is approximately 424 light-years away, we're actually looking at wat it would look like billions appon billions of years ago. The "Second Earth" is probably already formed by now. Just a little fact i wanted to explain XD
The thing is, since the picture that we're looking at is approximately 424 light-years away, we're actually looking at wat it would look like billions appon billions of years ago. The "Second Earth" is probably already formed by now. Just a little fact i wanted to explain XD
actually your wrong, because the picture that we are looking at is not actually a picture in the normal sense of the word. its a compilation of scans from radio telescopes, deep space probes and other tech. the 'picture' is of its current state.
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Why can't they find anything closer, lol. But that sure is an interesting find. But I guess we really can't overcome the speed of light..
Er...I did say this:
Quote:
Do you remember my earlier post about a "Second Earth"? (Gleise 581C)
Turns out, new simulations show the planet has a greenhouse effect that causes it to be well over 200 degrees Fahrenheit, however, these simulations are only somewhat accurate.
But, it's neighbor, Gleise 581D is just right if Gleise 581C has a greenhouse effect. Check out [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] for more info.
Re: "Second Earth" In The Making
XD
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