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HD 40307g
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Samuel Send message Joined: 13 Nov 07 Posts: 40 Credit: 554,815 RAC: 0 |
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Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1383 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
The newly discovered planet is a good candidate for examination by radio telescopes. If a technical civilization should reside there, its being very near, on the galactic scale of things, should render even modest radio signals detectable. The mass of the planet, 7 to 8 times that of Earth shouldn't be as daunting as it sounds. Its diameter is inferred to be about twice that of Earth, assuming it is a solid planet, rather than a gaseous one. (A super-Earth, rather than a mini-Neptune). This would render the surface gravity only 1 & 3/4 to 2 times that of Earth. This sounds much better for large, motile life forms, albeit sturdily built ones. |
Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
Finding out that another planet supports "intelligent" life and at that distance would be the greatest tease I could imagine, especially if they are at the same stage of development as us. Can you imagine sending a hello greeting and waiting almost 100 years for a reply? I'm assuming they wouldn't fire an answer back immediately. But it might inspire us to accelerate our space efforts toward interstellar flight. I can imagine military types insisting that we need to get there before they can get here. Bob DeWoody My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events. |
Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1383 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
As it turns out, the star HD 40307, around which the newly discovered planet swings, is thought to be only about 1.2 billion years old. Probably too young for one of its planets to have evolved intelligent life. Supposing conditions are, or could be made suitable for intelligent life, it might have been colonized by a civilization able to travel the stars. If this occurred, they are well ahead of us in technical development. If they still use radio waves, they have probably been doing so for a long time, and are probably aware of our existence, given the negligible distance that separates us, galactically speaking. We might pick up their space radar, or perhaps a microwave-based weather control system. |
Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
I still hold firm to the belief that any space faring beings that are aware of our existence and our overall behavior will avoid us like the plague and do their best to keep us from discovering them. Bob DeWoody My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1383 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
Given the age of the universe, and the more than ample time for much more advanced civilizations to have developed in this galaxy, and to have filled it, it seems odd that Earth has not been colonized or invaded or plundered long before now, if that was the way things are done in this part of space. Perhaps this planet is a biophysical and cultural preserve, and a well protected one, at that. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1383 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
Unlikely, since all life on this planet seems to have a common genetic heritage, including dolphins and humans. One would naturally expect to see divergent genetics in a intrusive species from another planet. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Allie in Vancouver Send message Joined: 16 Mar 07 Posts: 3949 Credit: 1,604,668 RAC: 0 |
Given the age of the universe, and the more than ample time for much more advanced civilizations to have developed in this galaxy, and to have filled it, it seems odd that Earth has not been colonized or invaded or plundered long before now, if that was the way things are done in this part of space. Perhaps this planet is a biophysical and cultural preserve, and a well protected one, at that. Four words: Battlestar Galactica final episode. :P Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. Albert Einstein |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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Bob DeWoody Send message Joined: 9 May 10 Posts: 3387 Credit: 4,182,900 RAC: 10 |
If all life is based on DNA, carbon and water it is remotely possible that the DNA from some alien life forms would be virtually identical to ours. I read somewhere a long time ago that humans are dependent on a few elements that are rare here on earth and that may be evidence that we were placed here and are not native to this planet. My favorite theory regarding that is the possibility that the human population of earth is built up from a penal colony of space faring rejects so obviously we would have been placed on a remote planet and that all communication with us is forbidden. Bob DeWoody My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events. |
Michael Watson Send message Joined: 7 Feb 08 Posts: 1383 Credit: 2,098,506 RAC: 5 |
The 'stardust' that goes into our makeup is the basic chemical elements made and dispersed by the stars. And, yes, all material life forms are presumably made of these elements. I agree that the chance of extraterrestrial genetic material being indistinguishable from our own is remote. Our DNA is too complex, too subject to a particular history and set of local conditions which cause unique modifications. In addition, we seem to fit in very well with other life on this planet. We are very genetically similar to a great many life forms on this planet; within a percent or two of the great apes. |
Nick Send message Joined: 11 Oct 11 Posts: 4344 Credit: 3,313,107 RAC: 0 |
You could be right, Bob but they also could consider us vulnerable, weak and easily conquerable (and we are...). Earth might be really interesting to them as it is a fertile planet with a lot of resources and not yet destroyed by us, human beings. If aliens do exist then this proves one thing, "There are other life forming planets out in the universe capable of giving the aliens all the extra resources that they might need". No need to invade Earth for anything for it's bound to be available somewhere else in the universe. The Kite Fliers -------------------- Kite fliers: An imaginary club of solo members, those who don't yet belong to a formal team so "fly their own kites" - as the saying goes. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
You could be right, Bob but they also could consider us vulnerable, weak and easily conquerable (and we are...). Earth might be really interesting to them as it is a fertile planet with a lot of resources and not yet destroyed by us, human beings. It could be that planets like earth are scarce in the universe...Earth has all the right components to produce life and it all falls right in place here. rOZZ Music Pictures |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
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William Rothamel Send message Joined: 25 Oct 06 Posts: 3756 Credit: 1,999,735 RAC: 4 |
Figure out the odds of a planet having intelligent life by writing down all of the building blocks and then assessing what the probability that a given planet has each of these and all of these. For instance: if you come up with, say, fifteen must haves; and the chance of a given planet having each of these in the proper parameter range: then take .2 to the 15th power and multiply that by 200 billion to come up with maybe six such planets in our Galaxy. There might be billions in the universe but only a handful in our galaxy if my musings are anywhere near right. If there are only a handful then we will never find them and they will never find us as they are likely to be tens of thousands of light-years away. |
Julie Send message Joined: 28 Oct 09 Posts: 34053 Credit: 18,883,157 RAC: 18 |
Right, makes me think of the Drake Equation. http://www.lifeinuniverse.org/Drakeequation-07-02.html rOZZ Music Pictures |
Larry Monske Send message Joined: 17 Sep 05 Posts: 281 Credit: 554,328 RAC: 0 |
The planet in question is 7 times the mass of earth more the size of neptune the gravity a 150 pound person would weigh 1050 pounds. All the exoplanets are at impossible distances. Anything over a couple lightyears is impossible at our level of technology. |
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