QueenZone discussion #1111629

WASHINGTON (AP) -- European astronomers have found a trio of "super-Earths" closely circling a star that astronomers once figured had nothing orbiting it. The discovery demonstrates that planets keep popping up in unexpected places around the universe. The announcement is the first time three planets close to Earth's size were found orbiting a single star, said Swiss astronomer Didier Queloz. He was part of the Swiss-French team using the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in the desert in Chile. The mass of the smallest of the super-Earths is about four times the size of Earth. That may seem like a lot, but they are quite a bit closer in size and likely composition to Earth than the giants in Earth's solar system -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They are much too hot to support life, Queloz said. Scientists are more interested in the broader implications of the finding: The universe is teeming with far more planets than thought. Using a new tool to study more than 100 stars once thought to be devoid of planets, the Swiss-French team found that about one-third had planets that are only slightly bigger than Earth. That's how the star with three super-Earths, 42 light-years away, was spotted. The European team took a second look with a relatively new instrument that measures tiny changes in light wave lengths and is so sensitive that it is precisely positioned and locked in a special room below the observatory in Chile. The key is kept in Switzerland, scientists say. The discovery is "really making the case that we live in a crowded universe," said Carnegie Institution of Washington astronomer Alan Boss, who was not part of the discovery team. "Planets are out there. They're all over the place." That means it is easier to make the case for life elsewhere in the universe, both Boss and Queloz said.

Charlie Brown wrote: Brian has stated that he thinks that life is unlikely to exist on other planets. I wonder if he believes this so he doesn't have to think about the possbility that an alien civilations version of Queen is now fronted by the alien version of Paul Rodgers and their are aliens bitching and moaning about that fact.

Charlie Brown wrote: Brian has stated that he thinks that life is unlikely to exist on other planets.

Erin wrote:

Charlie Brown wrote: Brian has stated that he thinks that life is unlikely to exist on other planets. I wonder if he believes this so he doesn't have to think about the possbility that an alien civilations version of Queen is now fronted by the alien version of Paul Rodgers and their are aliens bitching and moaning about that fact.

R.I.P. alien FREDDIE!!! :-(

Holly2003 wrote:

Charlie Brown wrote: Brian has stated that he thinks that life is unlikely to exist on other planets.

All those monkeys NASA shot off into space must have reached Altair 4 by now. Scientifically speaking, I would think they have probably already made contact with the native aliens and established a rudimentary system of government --a Constitutional Monarchy perhaps. Mark my words, in the next few years we'll be getting trade demands from them about bananas and other such monkey stuff. Then Brian May will be looking pretty silly...