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Potentially habitable Earth-like planet discovered 31 light years away

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Zen

Zen

The Wise Ones
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Nov 1, 2017
9,657
Via CBS

What was once considered pure fantasy in movies like "Avatar," is now looking a little more plausible. Earlier this week, NASA announced the discovery of a possible Earth-like planet, located just 31 light years away - a hop, skip and a jump in cosmic terms - that may be able to support life.
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The planet named GJ 357 d, is six times larger than Earth. It orbits a dwarf star with two other previously unknown planets.

This potential "super Earth" isolated within the outer edge of its star's habitable zone, where it receives about the same amount of stellar energy as Mars does from the sun. If this planet has a dense atmosphere, it could trap enough heat to allow for liquid water on its surface.
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Send me to a nearby planet if old
 
skipgo

skipgo

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Dec 28, 2018
2,568
Oh no, rich people are gonna get away with murdering the planet aren't they
 

Deleted member 3082

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
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Unless I've missed a newer craft, the fastest spacecraft humans have made is the New Horizons probe, which travels at 36,373 MPH (Mach 47). It would take New Horizons 20,000 years to travel just one light year (5.88 trillion miles).

So pack a couple good movies and a good book or two.
 
Pluto

Pluto

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Oct 25, 2017
6,421
If we ever found a habitable planet we probably still couldn't live there, we'd all be killed by some germs our immune systems have never encountered before.
 
ps3ud0

ps3ud0

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,906
Just the thought of having another habitable planet 'nearby' makes the thought of where we are heading more palatable.

We as a species need significant change and I do think time is against us while the Earth remains our only refuge.

This isn't something for us to contemplate but knowing generations of humans aren't just doomed because of our action/inactions gives me some semblance of peace.

ps3ud0 8)
 
Maneil99

Maneil99

Banned
Nov 2, 2017
5,252
We aren't going to invent Lightspeed travel, terraforming, or any of the tech needed to inhabit a planet on a large scale.

I find the idea that we are going to still be prospering in 100 years to be naive.

Global warming and the bottom of the tech barrel for war will ensure massive chaos in the next 100 years.
 
perfectchaos007

perfectchaos007

It's Happening
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Oct 25, 2017
12,230
Texas
Maneil99 said:
We aren't going to invent Lightspeed travel, terraforming, or any of the tech needed to inhabit a planet on a large scale.

I find the idea that we are going to still be prospering in 100 years to be naive.

Global warming and the bottom of the tech barrel for war will ensure massive chaos in the next 100 years.
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Sometimes I wonder if the human lifespan was 200 years, would we take global warming more seriously? Because right now we know we're selfishly screwing over our kids and their future children way more than ourselves.
 

jkanownik

Member
Oct 27, 2017
147
skipgo said:
Oh no, rich people are gonna get away with murdering the planet aren't they
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We don't have solutions for safe long term space travel, long distance space travel or dealing with dust on the moon/Mars for more than a few days. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon.

https://spacenews.com/independent-report-concludes-2033-human-mars-mission-is-not-feasible/
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2018/03/02/lunar-dust/#.XUaK7ehKiUk
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/H...he_radiation_showstopper_for_Mars_exploration
https://earthsky.org/space/alpha-centauri-travel-time
 
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