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NASA finds habitable planet – Kepler-186f – but don’t pack just yet
Posted on 4/17/14 at 8:59 pm
Posted on 4/17/14 at 8:59 pm
490 light years away, Kepler 186f orbits a class M dwarf star every 130 days. The planet is ~10% larger than earth, about the same difference between earth and Venus.
It orbits near the outside edge of the star's Goldilocks zone so it probably has liquid water on its surface. With the discovery, it seems clear that the number of habitable earth-size planets is in the billions since 70% of the Milky Way's stars are of the class M size.
490 light years is approximately 3,000 trillion miles and, with our current technology, we could arrive there in about 5,600,000 years.
When do you think we'll be able to travel between the stars? The galaxies?
It orbits near the outside edge of the star's Goldilocks zone so it probably has liquid water on its surface. With the discovery, it seems clear that the number of habitable earth-size planets is in the billions since 70% of the Milky Way's stars are of the class M size.
490 light years is approximately 3,000 trillion miles and, with our current technology, we could arrive there in about 5,600,000 years.
When do you think we'll be able to travel between the stars? The galaxies?
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Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:06 pm to Kentucker
quote:
When do you think we'll be able to travel between the stars? The galaxies?
I have a belief that if people are going to be able to travel that far it will be similar to Star Trek. Maybe we don't need to discover Warp Drive, but there will be something that happens in our development that will signal that we're ready to become a part of the collective universe.
The question is whether or not we want that to happen.
At this point it's all but guaranteed there are planets capable of sustaining life, and it's all but guaranteed there are other intelligent lifeforms out there, and it you work the numbers based on the potential without some bullshite thing that makes us believe we're the most intelligent beings in the universe, they're there.
It seems like there's the possibility that there's probably so many lifeforms that there are some that are worthy of being contacted and those that aren't. I'm guessing we aren't at this point.
Again, Star Trek. We need to figure out how to get the Vulcans down here or decide we don't want to be a part of it.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:07 pm to Kentucker
Whenever we learn to warp space around a machine
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:08 pm to Kentucker
quote:
When do you think we'll be able to travel between the stars? The galaxies?
When humans can live longer and survive extended hibernation.
So a couple ten thousand years ought to do the trick.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:09 pm to Kentucker
Quick, someone jump on a spin off thread. Which ranter would you nominate to be sent to Kepler 186f, either because you have extraordinary faith in their survival/colonization skills or because you'd just really like this planet better if they weren't on it.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:15 pm to Kentucker
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When do you think we'll be able to travel between the stars? The galaxies?
Not in our lifetime.
I can't decide if I'm happy about that or not.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:22 pm to Weagle25
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Not in our lifetime.
I can't decide if I'm happy about that or not.
You know, I just watched that video showing kids reacting to a Walkman. I already feel like I'm a fricking dinosaur, and I'm 30. I know how to use new technology, but I know there's a point in the not too distant future where I won't be as able to pick that shite up.
I'd hate to think I'd live in a world where we can actually travel to other places while I was raised in a world where the moon landing was considered a somewhat viable conspiracy.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:33 pm to Mizzeaux
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I know how to use new technology, but I know there's a point in the not too distant future where I won't be as able to pick that shite up.
Several years ago, I read an article that predicted that the illiteracy of the future wouldn't be those who literally could not read. Instead, those who are unable to quickly and instinctually grasp new technology and adapt to changing environments would be considered to be "illiterate".
For me personally, it's been tough to realize that I'm no longer an early adapter. In my teens and twenties I really kept up on everything and had awesome toys. Now, I have an adequate grasp of technology, but that seems to be slowly decreasing. When my parents have computer issues they still call me, but when I need help with some fancy schmancy gadget I text my adult stepdaughter. That realization makes me feel old.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:46 pm to Mizzeaux
quote:
I have a belief that if people are going to be able to travel that far it will be similar to Star Trek. Maybe we don't need to discover Warp Drive, but there will be something that happens in our development that will signal that we're ready to become a part of the collective universe.
I like your thought process, but I think technological advancements will allow us to travel vast distances in space long before we're ready to mix with other sentient beings. Take, for instance, quantum non locality or entanglement.
In this aspect of quantum physics, information seems to travel between two particles as though distance didn't matter, or possibly not even exist. We certainly don't understand this process as yet and it may be a key to our ability to instantly "travel" anywhere in the universe.
Will we ever be ready to mix with other intelligent species? No, I don't think so. It may be that we become the hostile aliens with which other species have to contend.
It would be best if we could have the time to evolve into A.I. or cyborgs before mixing with the universe but we'll go as soon as we can. I think our history on earth is evidence for this.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:50 pm to Kentucker
Given the number of estimated inhabitable planets, and the fact that we have never been contacted, maybe never.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 9:58 pm to Weagle25
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Not in our lifetime. I can't decide if I'm happy about that or not.
It could very well happen in our lifetime. Technological advancements are happening at a dizzying pace. We may discover extraterrestrial life by 2020.
I think we'll make contact with other civilizations by 2025. We are living in a great time of discovery. As a species, we have an insatiable need to know.
I wish we'd get our overuse of the environment and our population explosion under control. The threat to our natural curiosity and exploration might come from simply having too many people competing for resources.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:06 pm to MIZ_COU
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Given the number of estimated inhabitable planets, and the fact that we have never been contacted, maybe never.
There may be a reason why we haven't been contacted. Just 100 years ago we weren't broadcasting anything from earth. We were just beginning the Industrial Revolution and were intellectually primitive compared to our current abilities. We may not be appealing to anybody out there.
Another factor is distances in the galaxy and universe. Unless there is a way to travel/communicate at greater-than-light-speed velocities, then we and other sentient species may exist on isolated islands that are forever unreachable. With our current technology that certainly seems to be the case.
This post was edited on 4/17/14 at 10:08 pm
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:15 pm to Dawggy_Style
quote:
Several years ago, I read an article that predicted that the illiteracy of the future wouldn't be those who literally could not read. Instead, those who are unable to quickly and instinctually grasp new technology and adapt to changing environments would be considered to be "illiterate".
Yes, our requirements for information processing are advancing at almost exponential rates. It seems that there is a growing gap between each succeeding generation and their predecessors.
Consider that some states are completely dropping the teaching of cursive writing. Writing by hand is fading away. In 10-15 years, keyboards will probably be passé. Thought controlled messaging is already under development. We may become cyborgs much sooner than many predict.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:15 pm to Kentucker
quote:That's kinda what I meant
Another factor is distances in the galaxy and universe. Unless there is a way to travel/communicate at greater-than-light-speed velocities, then we and other sentient species may exist on isolated islands that are forever unreachable. With our current technology that certainly seems to be the case.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:18 pm to Kentucker
quote:
It could very well happen in our lifetime. Technological advancements are happening at a dizzying pace. We may discover extraterrestrial life by 2020.
It could but we still have a long way to go. Unless we make contact with something and they tell us how to do it, then I don't see it happening.
But I could easily be wrong.
This post was edited on 4/17/14 at 10:19 pm
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:20 pm to Dawggy_Style
Knowing the rant, someone would want to be the first to go they could proselytize the natives, cure them of their sinful ways, and teach them about intelligent design. Another would want to be the first to go so they could assure the natives that their god/gods were all imagined by their forefathers and show them proof of their evolution through local fossil records. A third would want to be first in order to say "hey, you evolved from a primitive being ages ago but your god/gods could still exist and this evolution could have been part of their plan."
Then that spin-off thread would result in 60 pages of mind-numbing bickering that proves we will never have the ability to reach any of the other solar systems because our species is inherently dysfunctional and we will likely kill each other off within the next century or two over some stupid shite like religion or the origins of life on earth.
Then that spin-off thread would result in 60 pages of mind-numbing bickering that proves we will never have the ability to reach any of the other solar systems because our species is inherently dysfunctional and we will likely kill each other off within the next century or two over some stupid shite like religion or the origins of life on earth.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:22 pm to MIZ_COU
I meant to include a positive end note. Our understanding of quantum mechanics is advancing at a startling rate since the Large Hadron Collider went online in 2010.
Quantum mechanics offers possible answers to some of our questions about how objects in the universe interact, most of which seem counter-intuitive to our conventional knowledge from Newton and Einstein. The field is also showing us an almost completely different universe than those two great men studied. So, the future looks bright because of this new knowledge.
Quantum mechanics offers possible answers to some of our questions about how objects in the universe interact, most of which seem counter-intuitive to our conventional knowledge from Newton and Einstein. The field is also showing us an almost completely different universe than those two great men studied. So, the future looks bright because of this new knowledge.
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:24 pm to crispyUGA
After that, I feel I understand the Rant so much better. Thanks.Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:26 pm to crispyUGA
Posted on 4/17/14 at 10:29 pm to Weagle25
quote:
It could but we still have a long way to go. Unless we make contact with something and they tell us how to do it, then I don't see it happening.
Interestingly, I think we can use science fiction as our layman's guide to what's possible for us. Not all Sci-Fi applies, of course, but series such as the original Star Trek and its spin offs have been good predictors of 20th and 21st century advancements.
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