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Lady_Satine
Title: Head of Lexian R&D
Joined: Oct 15 2005
Location: Metro area, Georgia
Posts: 7287
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http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4321/first-habitable-exoplanet-confirmed
"A rocky world orbiting a nearby star was confirmed as the first planet outside our Solar System to meet key requirements for sustaining life.
Modelling of planet Gliese 581d shows it has the potential to be warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life, scientists have said. It orbits a red dwarf star called Gliese 581, located around 20 light years from Earth, which makes it one of our closest neighbours.
Gliese 581d orbits on the outer fringes of the star's 'Goldilocks zone', where it is not so hot that water boils away, nor so cold that water is perpetually frozen. Instead, the temperature is just right for water to exist in liquid form."
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 "Life is a waste of time. Time is a waste of life. Get wasted all the time, and you'll have the time of your life!" |
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GPFontaine
Joined: Dec 06 2007
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 11244
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Now all we need to do is learn how to travel faster than the speed of light.
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Kubo
Joined: Aug 24 2005
Location: Mount Holly, NJ
Posts: 1062
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I love this stuff. I really do. I think the universe is a vast and amazing thing and I'm always intrigued by the wacky stuff that exists in it. But there is one thing I'll never understand about the people that go looking for life on other planets/in other galaxies...
They're always looking for water. It seems like the first indicator that a planet might have life is the presence of water. Well... what if something living DOESN'T NEED WATER?!?! Maybe it's just my imagination, but I don't have too much trouble imagining some living thing being able to sustain itself on methane, or whatever other gas is toxic to humans.
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Thou, because I am wroth, be not dismayed, for I shall win the strife, whoever circle round within for the defence. This their insolence is not new, for of old they used it at a less secret gate, which still is found without a bolt. Above it thou didst see the dead inscription; and already on this side of it
descends the steep, passing without escort through the circles,
One such that by him the city shall be opened to us. |
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JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
Posts: 6544
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It's cool that maybe our grandkids kids may get to see this in their lifetime, but certainly not in ours.
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@om*d
Title: Dorakyura
Joined: Jul 10 2010
Location: Castlevania
Posts: 4226
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The only problem with Gliese 581d is that they say the atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide, so humans would not be able to breathe there.
| GPFontaine wrote: |
| Now all we need to do is learn how to travel faster than the speed of light. |
Maybe the laser that may or may not tear the fabric of space will help with discovering how to do that.
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sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
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Dibs on the whole planet.
Suck it.
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Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom. |
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username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
Posts: 16135
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this is pretty interesting. i wonder if other planets that have life see our planet and think the same thing
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| Klimbatize wrote: |
| I'll eat a turkey sandwich while blowing my load |
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sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
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| username wrote: |
| this is pretty interesting. i wonder if other planets that have life see our planet and think the same thing |
I'm sure they do. That's why we have to kill them first because they probably want to kill us.
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Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom. |
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Milhouse
Joined: Dec 19 2008
Location: Charlottesville, VA
Posts: 485
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We're gonna have to send nerds to talk to any life on that planet since mathematics is the only universal language. It was initially going to be Spanish, but the beings of the Omega Centauri Galaxy can't roll their R's.
...and while we're talking outer-space, what's the deal with people pronouncing Uranus as [urine-iss]? It's not much better. We know what you're up to, and it sounds so weird that it only makes us think of the cruder sounding pronunciation more.
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Ghandi
Title: Alexz Aficionado
Joined: May 21 2008
Posts: 2889
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I'll buy it! 
Then charge astronomical rates to live there. Speaking of, anyone going off-planet before Saturday?
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Doddsino
Joined: Oct 01 2009
Posts: 5316
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| lordsathien wrote: |
| warm and wet enough to nurture Earth-like life |
Oh yeeeah~
I like how we have this immediate interest to find planets that can sustain life. I don't understand this concept, do they really think we should already plan on colonizing other planets, simply for the hell of it? I guess you can rule on the whole "overpopulation" bullshit, but by the time they're even ready to colonize, we would already be overpopulated. You're probably looking at something that won't even get off the ground for another 100 years, hell we haven't even gone to Mars yet, despite scientists predicting we would be colonizing that by 2000 as well. It's all bullshit...they present a lot of cool ideas, but don't even bother to push them forward.
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JoshWoodzy
Joined: May 22 2008
Location: Goshen, VA
Posts: 6544
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I agree with you, but your delivery turns you into BuzzKill McTurdington.
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Doddsino
Joined: Oct 01 2009
Posts: 5316
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Yeah, maybe I am a buzzkill, but maybe these scientists should stop blowing smoke up everyone's ass. I can understand how funding can detract us from getting projects off the ground, but we've been sitting on this "go to other planets" egg forever. It's amazing how much we were able to get done in a mere decade from just going into space, to eventually walking on the moon, and since then, we haven't made "the next step", despite having 40 years of technological achievements at our grasp, we should be much further than we are. It seems like every few months we hear about another planet that is the right temperature, or has water, or is Earth-size, .but when it comes down to it, shit or get off the pot.
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sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
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I agree with Dodds. Scientists are always teasing us with great shit that they promise is coming but never does. Like cures for cancer, finding a gene that causes obesity, or alternative energy. It seems you always read about a new revolutionary break through but nothing ever changes. Then it's forgotten in a week and never brought up again. They just want to to constantly think all the answers to our problems are right around the corner.
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Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom. |
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Preng
Title: All right, that's cool!
Joined: Jan 11 2010
Location: Accounting Dept.
Posts: 1690
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Very cool news, but I can't help but chuckle at "Gliese 581d" as a name for mankind's newest hope.
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Izzy
Title: Mascot Gold
Joined: Jul 25 2009
Location: KC, KS
Posts: 266
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| @om*d wrote: |
The only problem with Gliese 581d is that they say the atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide, so humans would not be able to breathe there.
| GPFontaine wrote: |
| Now all we need to do is learn how to travel faster than the speed of light. |
Maybe the laser that may or may not tear the fabric of space will help with discovering how to do that. |
If the air is mostly CO2, would that make it sort of like Earth in her younger years? More plant life, smaller animals (if any)? Could it one day create a better mix in the atmosphere to spawn more advanced life?
Of course, all of this is assuming it would evolve like Earth which is doubtful.
It's fun to ponder this sort of stuff. Probably won't directly affect us before we die, but it could help us understand where we are, where we've been, and/or where we're going.
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The Opponent
Title: Forum Battle WINNER
Joined: Feb 24 2010
Location: The Danger Zone
Posts: 3495
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| sidewaydriver wrote: |
Dibs on the whole planet.
Suck it. |
I hope you're awesome at SimEarth, then.
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I'm not a bad enough dude, but I am an edgy little shit. I'll do what I can. |
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Atma
Title: Dragoon
Joined: Apr 29 2010
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 2450
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| The-Excel wrote: |
| I hope you're awesome at SimEarth, then. |
I've tried to get through that game.
I end up killing everything each time.
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aika
Title: Narcissist
Joined: Apr 25 2008
Location: On the table.
Posts: 2041
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I tried but I couldn't control the atmosphere and everything kept dying. :\ I think I need a guide for that game or something.
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天上天下唯我独尊 |
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sidewaydriver
2010 SLF Tag Champ
Title: ( ͡� 
Joined: May 11 2008
Posts: 6160
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| The-Excel wrote: |
| sidewaydriver wrote: |
Dibs on the whole planet.
Suck it. |
I hope you're awesome at SimEarth, then. |
Like Atma, I always killed everything in about 10 minutes. You don't want to be around that planet once I seize control.
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Shake it, Quake it, Space Kaboom. |
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@om*d
Title: Dorakyura
Joined: Jul 10 2010
Location: Castlevania
Posts: 4226
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The other thing about Gliese 581d is that it has a locked orbit so there would be a dark and a light side. And because of the high amounts of carbon dioxide, the cloud cover would be very thick and there would be a state of constant twilight, or so I have read.
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username
Title: owner of a lonely heart
Joined: Jul 06 2007
Location: phoenix, az usa
Posts: 16135
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| @om*d wrote: |
| The other thing about Gliese 581d is that it has a locked orbit so there would be a dark and a light side. And because of the high amounts of carbon dioxide, the cloud cover would be very thick and there would be a state of constant twilight, or so I have read. |
so, nothing but shiny emo vampires? WEAK
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| Klimbatize wrote: |
| I'll eat a turkey sandwich while blowing my load |
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The Last Starfighter
Joined: Jun 08 2010
Posts: 8
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| @om*d wrote: |
The only problem with Gliese 581d is that they say the atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide, so humans would not be able to breathe there.
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We should just send a space ship full of seeds their first. Crash into it and let the tree growing begin. By the time we're ready to drop in, there'll be trees all over, sucking up all the excess carbon dioxide and pumping out some nice oxygen for us to breathe. 
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Valdronius
Moderator
Title: SydLexia COO
Joined: Aug 22 2005
Location: The Great White North
Posts: 4465
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| @om*d wrote: |
| The other thing about Gliese 581d is that it has a locked orbit so there would be a dark and a light side. And because of the high amounts of carbon dioxide, the cloud cover would be very thick and there would be a state of constant twilight, or so I have read. |
Holy shit, we found K-Pax!
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| Klimbatize wrote: |
| A Hispanic dude living in Arizona knows a lot of Latinas? That's fucking odd. |
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Blackout
Title: Captain Oblivious
Joined: Sep 01 2007
Location: That Rainy State
Posts: 10376
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| The Last Starfighter wrote: |
| @om*d wrote: |
The only problem with Gliese 581d is that they say the atmosphere has too much carbon dioxide, so humans would not be able to breathe there.
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We should just send a space ship full of seeds their first. Crash into it and let the tree growing begin. By the time we're ready to drop in, there'll be trees all over, sucking up all the excess carbon dioxide and pumping out some nice oxygen for us to breathe. |
Hey that sounds like a good idea!
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