Smallest exoplanet found yet: diameter twice that of Earth.

[dennilfloss]

http://www.astrobio.net/news/m...thread&order=0&thold=0
http://www.space.com/scienceas...mallest-exoplanet.html

The search continues.

 

[Locut0s]

I await the day when we can image such planets in some detail. It's some ways off but it's not sci-fi. There are telescopes on the drawing boards that could get an image of such planets!

 

[Baked]

All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

 

[dawp]

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

Confirming life on another planet intelligent or not would be one of the biggest discoveries in human history and a moment I would remember for the rest of my life and one I would tell my children, if I have any. It wouldn't matter if we could never get there. The light from that planet and the information it caries is travelling at the speed of light and that's what matters.

 

[Locut0s]

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

If we figure out the Bussard Ramjet , sure (or some other type of torchship, IDK if the output of a fusion drive would get us to reasonable relativistic speeds).

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

Any trip to another star would have to be a one way trip on a colony ship, preferably with a few thousand people on ice so we can keep the energy requirements down.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

Even at .25C (really f-in fast) the relativistic change is a mere 1.03:1 so if the destination is 10ly away, it would take them 40 yrs from our perspective but 39 from theirs (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong it's been a long time since I took relativity).

 

[dawp]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

You have to remember the closest star system is a little over 4 light years away and at reletivistic speeds a trip will most likely take around 10 or so years our time. and once the technology gets devoloped, we will be sending more than just 1 ship.

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

The technological requirements to make such a trip are far higher than the technological requirements to repair aging. Such a scenario just doesn't make sense. When such a trip happens, we will have ample time to wait for the return, and it won't be that long of a wait considering the return will just be a radio signal.

Originally posted by: So
Any trip to another star would have to be a one way trip on a colony ship, preferably with a few thousand people on ice so we can keep the energy requirements down.

Any such trip is unlikely to be made by biological creatures of any kind. Actually, I suspect the idea would seem humorous 100 years from now.

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

the planet orbits its host star (GJ 436) in just 5.2 Earth days, and is thought to complete a revolution about its axis in 4.2 Earth days.

Why bother- it's going to be super close to the star, and at that orbit speed any life on it would be hanging on for dear life

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: Locut0s

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

We will age here back on earth though. So if we sent off some astronauts and they manage to get to the other planet in their lifetimes it wouldn't necessarily be in our lifetimes or even our children's lifetimes.

The technological requirements to make such a trip are far higher than the technological requirements to repair aging. Such a scenario just doesn't make sense. When such a trip happens, we will have ample time to wait for the return, and it won't be that long of a wait considering the return will just be a radio signal.

Originally posted by: So
Any trip to another star would have to be a one way trip on a colony ship, preferably with a few thousand people on ice so we can keep the energy requirements down.

Any such trip is unlikely to be made by biological creatures of any kind. Actually, I suspect the idea would seem humorous 100 years from now.

uh...no.

The earth is in danger of complete destruction at any time without warning from many possible causes... colonising another world is probably a goal of utmost importance if we are to survive certain extinction.

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: sao123
The earth is in danger of complete destruction at any time without warning from many possible causes... colonising another world is probably a goal of utmost importance if we are to survive certain extinction.

That other world is Mars and even the moon, not a rock 30 light years away.

 

[Saint Michael]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: sao123
The earth is in danger of complete destruction at any time without warning from many possible causes... colonising another world is probably a goal of utmost importance if we are to survive certain extinction.

That other world is Mars and even the moon, not a rock 30 light years away.

Anything that would instantly obliterate the Earth would almost definitely take care of the Moon and Mars...

 

[Kaolccips]

Originally posted by: dawp

Originally posted by: Baked
All these discoveries don't mean shit if we can't get over the speed of light hump.

as long as we can get close to lightspeed, it won't matter as time will pass slowly for those on board. you wont age much on the trip. I would say we will be going to the closer stars before too long,in about 100 years, and at 30 lightyears away, this one will be prime.

Correct. But what about everyone else not on the ship?

I understand it doesn't matter if we are just sending people off to colonize or something.

oh and I'm not sure about this, so don't quote me.. But I'm pretty sure if you can get very very close to light speed, if not at it, then time will pretty much be at a stand-still for the people on board. If not a standstill than WAY slower than everyone not on board.

Someone look this up, I'm too lazy.

 

[RESmonkey]

Stupid creationistic bastards will find a way to counter space travel just so we can't prove their stupid religion wrong.

^Yeah, I'm taking this thread off on a tangent.

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: Saint Michael

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: sao123
The earth is in danger of complete destruction at any time without warning from many possible causes... colonising another world is probably a goal of utmost importance if we are to survive certain extinction.

That other world is Mars and even the moon, not a rock 30 light years away.

Anything that would instantly obliterate the Earth would almost definitely take care of the Moon and Mars...

What devilish force can be out there that would 'instantly' obliterate the earth? There are massive rocks out there that could destroy most biological life on earth, and even they would just barely scratch the surface of the planet.

There is perhaps some chance that anything at all can happen, but some reason has to be injected into the whole algorithm. Sure, eventually we will reach planets 30 light years away and beyond, but not as biological humans and not before we get around the solar system first.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'm wondering how much a man would weigh on a planet twice the size of Earth? Even if it had a breathable atmosphere could we adapt to live there?

 

[Saint Michael]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: Saint Michael

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

Originally posted by: sao123
The earth is in danger of complete destruction at any time without warning from many possible causes... colonising another world is probably a goal of utmost importance if we are to survive certain extinction.

That other world is Mars and even the moon, not a rock 30 light years away.

Anything that would instantly obliterate the Earth would almost definitely take care of the Moon and Mars...

What devilish force can be out there that would 'instantly' obliterate the earth? There are massive rocks out there that could destroy most biological life on earth, and even they would just barely scratch the surface of the planet.

There is perhaps some chance that anything at all can happen, but some reason has to be injected into the whole algorithm. Sure, eventually we will reach planets 30 light years away and beyond, but not as biological humans and not before we get around the solar system first.

I sort of assumed that because you quoted a guy talking about the earth being completely destroyed that that was what your post was in reference to.