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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Feb 22, 2017 20:40:43 GMT -5
www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-announcement-today-trappist-1-alien-life-solar-system-latest-live-exoplanet-a7593941.htmlListen, this is just exciting. I know we are nowhere near being able to get to these planets, but the sheer fact of their existence (in one system no less) is awesome, in the complete sense of that overused word. There is hope here. Even if we never get the technology to make interstellar travel at these distances feasible (which I'm not willing to concede, btw), life is more likely than ever to exist elsewhere in this universe, in this galaxy even, and that's just fucking beautiful. Kill my buzz if you must, but this is the best news I've heard in a long damn time.
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Post by sarapen on Feb 23, 2017 11:55:21 GMT -5
I've always wondered how proof of alien life would affect our appetite for science fiction. Would people care about Star Trek less if they were already living in it? Ultimately a question that cannot be answered until the event is upon us, but still something to ponder on.
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Post by Lt. Broccoli on Feb 23, 2017 20:03:10 GMT -5
It sounds like these are a bunch of rocks that are probably more like Mercury. They aren't "habitable" but "theoretically habitable assuming a bunch of other conditions that we can't determine". It's neat, but still...
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Post by Desert Dweller on Feb 23, 2017 21:43:34 GMT -5
Finding rocky planets in the habitable zone is really exciting! This greatly increases the odds of finding earth-like planets somewhere. Especially with the star being a red dwarf. I don't think scientists have even done much looking for planets around that type of star.
Very exciting!
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Post by Jon Pertwees Shameless Gurning on Feb 24, 2017 10:37:33 GMT -5
It sounds like these are a bunch of rocks that are probably more like Mercury. They aren't "habitable" but "theoretically habitable assuming a bunch of other conditions that we can't determine". It's neat, but still... No, my understanding is that they're all roughly Earth size, and three seem to be in the sweet spot for temperate climates and liquid water. They're close to the star because the star is much smaller than our Sun. It's a phenomenal discovery. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 24, 2017 11:37:51 GMT -5
With the possibility now emerging of finding so many habitable planets, and thus a greater chance of the existence of alien life on those planets, it is clear: we need to build a wall around Earth.
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heroboy
AV Clubber 
I must succeed!
Posts: 1,185 
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Post by heroboy on Feb 24, 2017 12:10:23 GMT -5
It sounds like these are a bunch of rocks that are probably more like Mercury. They aren't "habitable" but "theoretically habitable assuming a bunch of other conditions that we can't determine". It's neat, but still... No, my understanding is that they're all roughly Earth size, and three seem to be in the sweet spot for temperate climates and liquid water. They're close to the star because the star is much smaller than our Sun. It's a phenomenal discovery. Part of the problem is that they are all most likely tidally locked, which can lead to weird atmospheres completely different from what we are used to. The fact that there are 7 planets, with 3 in the optimum zone, though, really increases the chance that at least one of them may harbor life or may be conducive to colonization.
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Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Feb 24, 2017 13:30:02 GMT -5
With the possibility now emerging of finding so many habitable planets, and thus a greater chance of the existence of alien life on those planets, it is clear: we need to build a wall around Earth. We’ll build a Dyson sphere and make the TRAPPISTs pay for it! |
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Post by Ben Grimm on Feb 25, 2017 10:51:29 GMT -5
No, my understanding is that they're all roughly Earth size, and three seem to be in the sweet spot for temperate climates and liquid water. They're close to the star because the star is much smaller than our Sun. It's a phenomenal discovery. Part of the problem is that they are all most likely tidally locked, which can lead to weird atmospheres completely different from what we are used to. The fact that there are 7 planets, with 3 in the optimum zone, though, really increases the chance that at least one of them may harbor life or may be conducive to colonization.
I think just the first two are tidally locked. The rest don't appear to be, going by what I've read. |
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Feb 27, 2017 14:42:35 GMT -5
I've always wondered how proof of alien life would affect our appetite for science fiction. Would people care about Star Trek less if they were already living in it? Ultimately a question that cannot be answered until the event is upon us, but still something to ponder on. I think it would probably encourage science fiction even more. I'm mostly thinking how a lot of the 'golden age' of space fiction - especially in media - happened from the launching of Sputnik to a couple of years after the last man on the moon. How existing space franchises deal with this would probably vary, but it occurs to me Star Wars, decoupled as it is from any 'continuity' to our existence, could deal just fine (and if we ever made contact with real aliens, could fold them into their mythology of fake ones like nothing was wrong.) |
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