BBC Focus Magazine

[M Paul Lloyd]

Kepler 22-b:
Closer examination of the evidence seems to suggest that we still cannot actually say for certain that it is a true 'Twin Earth' and it doesn't appear to have a Moon like ours either but its the closest so far.

Astronomers have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like planet in the "habitable zone" around a star not unlike our own.
The planet, Kepler 22-b, lies about 600 light-years away and is about 2.4 times the size of Earth, and has a temperature of about 22C.
It is the closest confirmed planet yet to one like ours - an "Earth 2.0".
However, the team does not yet know if Kepler 22-b is made mostly of rock, gas or liquid.

Read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16040655

[Isee]

It really wound me up on the radio this morning and even the BBC's own title says "twin earth"....
So it orbits a similar star to our own, and it is 22 degrees, other than that, we don't even know if it's a rock yet and it's 2.4 times larger than earth...
It' slike saying that I am Stallone's twin because we are both cr*p actors...

The ironic thing is, in the next 50 years we wil have found millions of extrasolar planets and thousands like our own and look back at these "Earth 2.0" claims and say "wow, those journos from 50 years ago should have been sent to colonise those "twin" planets for such bad reporting"

[Liam Sheppard]

It upsets me that we may indeed verify such things in my life time. But we will never be able to actually travel to them.

The gravity on this 'twin' planet is probably double that of earth if it is a rocky planet...

Is there water? an atmospher of oxygen or CO2?

[Shadowwolf]

But we will never be able to actually travel to them.

Well, not yet and quite possibly not whilst we are still around but some promising avenues may yet open up and with them the galaxy or at least nearby systems.

That or we get pretty good at intra-system travel and eventually stumble upon an incredibly ancient gateway into a vast network of intra-galactic travel. Of course then we will inevitably become embroiled in galactic politics and the fate of all life will hang in the balance at regular points.

[Liam Sheppard]

the borgs sub space corridors

[Lateralman]

Never travel to them! Speak for yourselves.

Just as soon as I have my flux capacitor sorted, I am nipping off there for the Christmas hols.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Er..... thats time travel Lateral?

[ChrisH]

If you do manage to travel there, be careful not to get pulled over for not displaying a Space Tax disc.

[MikeG]

Maybe its time the serious scientific community began to take a closer look at the science of cryonics. Its currently the only possibility of sending a living astronaut to such far-off systems.

[Shadowwolf]

Maybe its time the serious scientific community began to take a closer look at the science of cryonics. Its currently the only possibility of sending a living astronaut to such far-off systems.

Be a hard sell, good chance of dying en-route without ever knowing, you essentially give up your entire life for the prospect of going afar without guarantees. The system would also have to be quite simple and easily re-activated because there is nothing at the other end to slowly go through a long process.

Then there is the risk of being bypassed, you awake groggy and unsteady after perhaps centuries travel, post auto-doc abuse you get some coffee-like substance, don a robe and shuffle sleepy-eyed out the door of the cryo chamber and up through the cramped ship to the bridge, collapse into the chair and hit the button to retract the blast shield. Your breath catches as you await your first glimpse of a cosmic vista no human eyes have ever seen, to join Neil Armstrong in the annals of space history. Your view is not so spectacular, the binary system somewhat obscured by the Terran Federation badged starship that appears to be towing yours and the big station off to starboard.

[M Paul Lloyd]

I'm inclined to think that genetic modification of the human species is going to be the best long term solution here.
It is no doubt considered unethical now but who knows what the future might bring.
So try to imagine a race of human that measures its lifespan in centuries rather than decades, a species that is stronger, more disease resistant and able to withstand greater extremes of heat or cold, radiation and toxic substances than we can and which can also hibernate for years at a time with minimal artificial intervention.

Or we wait around for warp drive.

[Shadowwolf]

Methinks the warp drive would come sooner than developing that list.

[MikeG]

Great description Shadowwolf. Has the makings of a Hollywood script there. But in this case, our intrepid hero (to quote Calvin), comes out even further ahead of the game. He made history when he left Earth originally, makes history again when he arrives (somewhat belatedly), and to top it off, he has traveled into the future, and is ready to witness and enjoy all the new wonders around him.

[MikeG]

At the rate genetics is evolving MPL, I'm inclined to believe that I may still be alive to witness the day when we identify that snippet of code on the DNA strand that determines how long we live. Its been said that the reason this exists was an evolutionary response to limiting cancerous growth. But since we now stand on the cusp of seeing a cancer vaccine, this will be irrelevant.

Once this is achieved, the stars will beckon to mankind. Our only problem will be finding a way to keep our sanity, if we are traveling for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

[nemisis39]

Never travel to them! Speak for yourselves.

Just as soon as I have my flux capacitor sorted, I am nipping off there for the Christmas hols.

I take it that you would be useing it to travel a few centuries forward to catch the interplantery express virginsugar shuttle to new earth 2 via the macdontuckysubhut parkway. Failing that you could always use a hoverboard

[MikeG]

Some great illustrations of planets discovered so far.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... -renderer/

[MikeG]

For anybody interested, this is a link for rendering scientifically accurate illustrations of exo planets. The software will be released to the general public early next year.

http://phl.upr.edu/press-releases/serne ... exoplanets

Btw, does anybody know what exactly that small messaging type icon under the posters names is, that states"pm"?

[Shadowwolf]

...and to top it off, he has traveled into the future, and is ready to witness and enjoy all the new wonders around him.

Good point, but what if..., the view is not so spectacular, the binary system somewhat obscured by the very gothic looking behemoth that appears to be towing your ship into a hangar bay, a curious double headed eagle looms large on the hull.

Btw, does anybody know what exactly that small messaging type icon under the posters names is, that states"pm"?

Just that, a messaging icon for sending specific members private messages not visible to other standard users.

[Isee]

Just to ressurect an old topic.

Yet another hint we are very unlikely to be alone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17532470
"super earths in the billions" as per the article
and the fact that we ahve already spread microbes to other planets means we can send some very tough microbes in a probe into wichever planet we see liquid water on and presto! life (eventually)

I am betting we are not the first to evolve into sentience in the long history of the universe and are likely just another link in this chain.

[Shadowwolf]

...the fact that we ahve already spread microbes to other planets means we can send some very tough microbes in a probe into wichever planet we see liquid water on and presto! life (eventually)

An idea, but a likely inadvisable plan there Isee as such a probe could be extremely detrimental to any existing life, maybe even overpowering it. We'd have to be certain that there was nothing there before, or we have reasons overriding the fact there was some rudimentary life, such as terraforming. Little point in hoofing bacteria laden probes into planets just to spread Terran based life forms for that reason alone.

Or the inhabitants don't take kindly to biological warfare and we find ourselves firing the first shot in an interstellar war.