Astronomers write a recipe for other Earths

Twenty years after the first confirmed discovery of an exoplanet -- a planet orbiting a major star, but not our own -- these celestial bodies have really hit their stride. Last year broke records, with astronomers discovering over 800 alien planets in 2014 alone. But now that finding a new exoplanet has become old hat, astronomers are focusing on getting to know these alien worlds intimately, and learning how they form.

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If you take into account that time and space are infinite then extraterrestrial life must exist. As space can never end, we must assume we know nothing about what exist outside of our observations. The problem is that the distances involved will always be a barrier to discovering or exploring alien life. Tony

If you take into account that time and space are infinite then extraterrestrial life must exist. As space can never end, we must assume we know nothing about what exist outside of our observations. The problem is that the distances involved will always be a barrier to discovering or exploring alien life. Tony

Unfortunately, we are a very conceited species, on the whole. So if we can't see something then it does not exist as far as we are concerned. Whether true or not.

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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.

Welcome Tony to the SETI Forum!

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Welcome Tony to the SETI Forum!

+1:)

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Eight new planets have been discovered in the 'Goldilocks' zone of their stars, orbiting at a distance where oceans and life could exist.


NASA’s Kepler Marks 1,000th Exoplanet Discovery, Uncovers More Small Worlds in Habitable Zones






How many stars like our sun host planets like our Earth? NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope continuously monitored more than 150,000 stars beyond our solar system, and to date has offered scientists an assortment of more than 4,000 candidate planets for further study -- the 1,000th of which was recently verified.

Using Kepler data, scientists reached this millenary milestone after validating that eight more candidates spotted by the planet-hunting telescope are, in fact, planets. The Kepler team also has added another 554 candidates to the roll of potential planets, six of which are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of stars similar to our sun.

http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/january/nasa-s-kepler-marks-1000th-exoplanet-discovery-uncovers-more-small-worlds-in/index.html#.VKxiHHsk5-w

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Have astronomers devised a way to detect planets with orbital periods of a year or more? All of the methods I have read about so far only work when the planet's "year" is from a few days to a couple of months. Telescopes would have to stay trained on a single star for a very long time to catch a blip once every twenty years or so.

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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.

Have astronomers devised a way to detect planets with orbital periods of a year or more? All of the methods I have read about so far only work when the planet's "year" is from a few days to a couple of months. Telescopes would have to stay trained on a single star for a very long time to catch a blip once every twenty years or so.

Nope, here is the link:
http://exoplanets.org/table?datasets=explorer
there are some planets with orbit of 1500+days...
;)

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non-profit org. Play4Life in Zagreb, Croatia, EU

Well 1,500 days is longer than I would have guessed. Thats over four years.

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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.

The European Southern Observatory has opened its New Generation Transit Survey at Cerro Paranal in Chile. It is an array of 20 cm mirror telescopes dedicated to the search of exoplanets.
Tullio

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The European Southern Observatory has opened its New Generation Transit Survey at Cerro Paranal in Chile. It is an array of 20 cm mirror telescopes dedicated to the search of exoplanets.
Tullio

Thanks Tullio.

We need something to see exoplanets up close.
Artists renditions can go so far.

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Massive boost in the hunt for alien life: Billions of exoplanets are more Earth-like than first thought, claims study

In their hunt for alien life, astronomers have so far focused on looking for Earth-like planets around smaller, cooler suns.

But these exoplanets - despite having a chance of holding water - are believed to be locked in a rotation around their sun which causes only one side of their surface face the star.

Now astronomers claim that such exoplanets actually rotate around their stars, and spin at such a speed that they exhibit a day-night cycle similar to Earth – increasing the chance of finding alien life.

Just a study.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2912628/A-boost-hunt-alien-life-Billions-exoplanets-Earth-like-thought-claims-study.html

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The European Southern Observatory has opened its New Generation Transit Survey at Cerro Paranal in Chile. It is an array of 20 cm mirror telescopes dedicated to the search of exoplanets.
Tullio

Thanks Tullio.

We need something to see exoplanets up close.
Artists renditions can go so far.

+1

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Astronomers Discover First Multiple-Planet System From K2

Astronomers using data from the NASA Kepler spacecraft's reborn K2 mission may have made its first discovery of a star with three exoplanets—planets that orbit stars other than our sun. A paper reporting this discovery has been submitted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

Ranging in size from fifty percent larger to a little more than twice the size of Earth, the possible planets orbit a star about half the size and mass of our sun. The outermost planet orbits on the warm edge of the habitable zone, the distance from a star where liquid water might exist on the surface of an orbiting planet.

http://www.nasa.gov/content/astronomers-discover-first-multiple-planet-system-from-k2/

Thoughts??

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Lynn:

From Berkley:


Nearly Earth-size planets found orbiting nearby
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, despite being hobbled by the loss of critical guidance systems, has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth, located only 150 light years away. The outermost planet orbits in the “Goldilocks” zone, a region where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water and perhaps life to exist. A paper describing the find by astronomers at UC Berkeley, the University of Arizona, University of Hawaii, Manoa, and other institutions has been submitted to Astrophysical Journal and is freely available on the arXiv website.

Perhaps we are finding now a more --Earth-like planet to investigate. What do we hear when we listen in this region??

Lynn:

From Berkley:


Nearly Earth-size planets found orbiting nearby
NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, despite being hobbled by the loss of critical guidance systems, has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth, located only 150 light years away. The outermost planet orbits in the “Goldilocks” zone, a region where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water and perhaps life to exist. A paper describing the find by astronomers at UC Berkeley, the University of Arizona, University of Hawaii, Manoa, and other institutions has been submitted to Astrophysical Journal and is freely available on the arXiv website.

Perhaps we are finding now a more --Earth-like planet to investigate. What do we hear when we listen in this region??

Thanks William.

They can listen in the region of space, but so far no signal.

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Saturn on steroids! Planet with 30 huge rings discovered 420 light years away - and each one is tens of MILLIONS of miles wide

From edge-to-edge, Saturn's ring system would be too big to fit in the distance between Earth and the moon.

But now a new ring system has been found that dwarfs Saturn's enormous structure – and it's the first of its kind to be seen outside our solar system.

Astronomers discovered more than 30 rings eclipsing the very young sun-like star J1407, each of them tens of millions of miles in diameter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2927291/Saturn-steroids-Planet-30-huge-rings-discovered-420-light-years-away-one-tens-MILLIONS-miles-wide.html

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Far out.

Found! 5 Ancient Alien Planets Nearly As Old As the Universe


Five rocky alien worlds that are 80 percent as old as the universe itself have been discovered, suggesting that Earth-size planets have been a feature of the Milky Way galaxy almost since its beginning.

The newfound exoplanets circle Kepler-444, an 11.2-billion-year-old star about 25 percent smaller than the sun that lies 117 light-years from Earth. All of the worlds are Venus-size or smaller and are therefore rocky, though scientists know nothing else about their composition.

http://www.space.com/28386-ancient-alien-planets-discovery-kepler-444.html

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Far out.

Found! 5 Ancient Alien Planets Nearly As Old As the Universe


Five rocky alien worlds that are 80 percent as old as the universe itself have been discovered, suggesting that Earth-size planets have been a feature of the Milky Way galaxy almost since its beginning.

The newfound exoplanets circle Kepler-444, an 11.2-billion-year-old star about 25 percent smaller than the sun that lies 117 light-years from Earth. All of the worlds are Venus-size or smaller and are therefore rocky, though scientists know nothing else about their composition.

http://www.space.com/28386-ancient-alien-planets-discovery-kepler-444.html

Like the FIND!
Don't like the NEWS GUYS/GALS!

Even if that star is 11.2-billion-year-old, that doesn't mean that planets are as old as the star! And we do know how planets are formed! ;)

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non-profit org. Play4Life in Zagreb, Croatia, EU

I'm afraid a lot of what is being reported as facts about exo-planets is more like educated guesswork.

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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.