The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Space => Topic started by: kevindavis007 on February 23, 2017, 12:52:02 am
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Astronomers have found a nearby solar system with seven Earth-sized planets, three of which circle their parent star at the right distance for liquid surface water, raising the prospect of life, research published on Wednesday showed.
The star, known as TRAPPIST-1, is a small, dim celestial body in the constellation Aquarius. It is located about 40 light years away from Earth. Researchers said the proximity of the system, combined with the proportionally large size of its planets compared to the small star, make it a good target for follow-up studies.
They hope to scan the planets' atmospheres for possible chemical fingerprints of life.
"I think that we've made a crucial step towards finding if there is life out there," University of Cambridge astronomer Amaury Triaud told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday.
The discovery, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, builds on previous research showing three planets circling TRAPPIST-1. They are among more than 3,500 planets discovered beyond the solar system, or exoplanets.
Read More: http://www.isn-news.net/2017/02/astronomers-find-7-earth-size-planets.html
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Space Ping!
@Oceander
@Sanguine
@Cripplecreek
@Freya
@EC
@Joe Wooten
@r9etb
@Just_Victor
@montanajoe
@Ghost Bear
@Free Vulcan
@Idaho_Cowboy
@geronl
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@InHeavenThereIsNoBeer
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@bigheadfred
@Victoria33
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Space Ping!
I caught a little bit on the nightly news as I got home. Three planets in the Goldilocks Zone?
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I caught a little bit on the nightly news as I got home. Three planets in the Goldilocks Zone?
I think so.. I think it is only a matter of time we truly find a planet like ours.
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I think so.. I think it is only a matter of time we truly find a planet like ours.
Be nice to have the propulsion tech to go looking in person.
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Be nice to have the propulsion tech to go looking in person.
I agree.. Instead of focusing on this planet, NASA should focus more on developing propulsion to get us to a planets that is far away.
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The star, known as TRAPPIST-1, is a small, dim celestial body in the constellation Aquarius.
I wonder what they call the constellation our star is in.
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I wonder what they call the constellation our star is in.
Who knows... I think they will stay away from this planet.
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(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IwgufBa9UB4/WK4wrr-vaEI/AAAAAAAAcEg/L8fsnRfv-ygFxruuOCzyMAPOv0M1bUqRQCLcB/s320/trappist-1-exoplanet-system-1.jpg)
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s-t-r-e-t-c-h
A lot of wishful thinking. Take the thinnest science and stretch it beyond recognition. This happens a lot.
Reminds me of the archaeologists who find a toe bone or a spear tip and describe a whole intricate civilization based on them.
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(https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16649079_10154175335492204_8077480530911870521_n.jpg?oh=5403a447d9b4a46f00513f220bfffff6&oe=59476174)
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40 light years and 7 in the zone or close to it makes it potentially worth focusing on for a while. Not that we can travel there now, but it seems a better option than many findings so far.
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40 light years and 7 in the zone or close to it makes it potentially worth focusing on for a while. Not that we can travel there now, but it seems a better option than many findings so far.
7 lotto numbers is better than one, I guess
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40 light years and 7 in the zone or close to it makes it potentially worth focusing on for a while. Not that we can travel there now, but it seems a better option than many findings so far.
It is only a matter of when that we truly find a planet like ours.
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I'm packed when do we leave?
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Kepler Data on TRAPPIST-1 Coming Online (http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=37295)
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40 light years and 7 in the zone or close to it makes it potentially worth focusing on for a while. Not that we can travel there now, but it seems a better option than many findings so far.
:shrug:
It's cool. Depends on the goal, but it'd be easier/cheaper just to build a giant "ringworld" in space than settling these planets, no?
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:shrug:
It's cool. Depends on the goal, but it'd be easier/cheaper just to build a giant "ringworld" in space than settling these planets, no?
Probably no, actually.
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Probably no, actually.
Make the original ring out of aluminum foil. Then add stronger materials later. Epoxies or other composites. Throw a 3d builder machine out there and let it have at. Feed it material when you can.
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:shrug:
It's cool. Depends on the goal, but it'd be easier/cheaper just to build a giant "ringworld" in space than settling these planets, no?
Probably not. In addition to the issues of getting material in place, dealing with the mechanics of it - slight variations in orbit might result in so much gravitational stress it gets ripped to shreds - there is the issue of dealing with both Solar wind and cosmic rays. Ringworlds sound neat, but I think the realities of radiation exposure will keep them in the sci-fi books for a long, long time.
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TRAPPIST-1h: Drawing on K2 Data (http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=37315)
The data recently made available from Campaign 12 of K2 (the Kepler spacecraft’s two-reaction wheel mission) is already paying off in the form of information about the outermost planet in the TRAPPIST-1 system. Campaign 12 (described in Kepler Data on TRAPPIST-1 Coming Online (http://www.centauri-dreams.org/?p=37295)) began on December 15 of 2016 and ran until March 4 of this year, though the spacecraft was in safe mode for a time, producing a 5-day data loss.
An international team including lead author Rodrigo Luger (University of Washington) and TRAPPIST-1 planet discoverer Michaël Gillon (Université de Liège) used the K2 data to constrain the period of TRAPPIST-1h, the outermost planet in this seven-planet system, which had only been observed to transit once before now. The team was also looking for additional planets (none were found) and, of course, examining resonances with the inner worlds.
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Probably not. In addition to the issues of getting material in place, dealing with the mechanics of it - slight variations in orbit might result in so much gravitational stress it gets ripped to shreds - there is the issue of dealing with both Solar wind and cosmic rays. Ringworlds sound neat, but I think the realities of radiation exposure will keep them in the sci-fi books for a long, long time.
Mining and manufacturing in the asteroid belt seems a LOT more likely than FTL transportation.
Perhaps even more likely is mining out and spinning a bigger asteroid with sufficient metalic content for shielding.
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Mining and manufacturing in the asteroid belt seems a LOT more likely than FTL transportation.
Perhaps even more likely is mining out and spinning a bigger asteroid with sufficient metalic content for shielding.
Rendezvous with Rama (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_with_Rama)?
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Mining and manufacturing in the asteroid belt seems a LOT more likely than FTL transportation.
Perhaps even more likely is mining out and spinning a bigger asteroid with sufficient metalic content for shielding.
@Oceander
16 Psyche.
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@Oceander
16 Psyche.
With a diameter 5 times the length of Clark's Rama, could be interesting. Wiki says it's theorized to be the exposed metallic core of a proto-planet.
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With a diameter 5 times the length of Clark's Rama, could be interesting. Wiki says it's theorized to be the exposed metallic core of a proto-planet.
If you are going to mine an asteroid t may a well be that one.
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Perhaps even more likely is mining out and spinning a bigger asteroid with sufficient metalic content for shielding.
That could be ideal.. The Asteroids could be a good Colony Ships.
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That could be ideal.. The Asteroids could be a good Colony Ships.
A fleet of them would be the way to go. Smaller asteroids of 10 and 20 mile diameters may largely consist of loose rubble but they can be structurally strengthened and may be even easier to make habitable spaces inside them.
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That could be ideal.. The Asteroids could be a good Colony Ships.
A very interesting idea.
[Note, this post is pure conjecture, as I know nothing about the orbits of asteroids. My apologies to any astronomers injured by reading my post.]
They already have a whole bunch of mass that could be used as structure and (I assume) radiation shielding, and that mass already has momentum. That's a whole lot of mass/fuel we don't have to battle gravity for, or find in space.
I doubt they would be of much use for taking us where we want to go, but they could be wonderful tools for learning about long term, high population, space travel. Probably want to throw in a bunch of sensors to map part of the system for "free" at the same time.
If we got really lucky, maybe we could exploit their momentum and gravity to use them as tug boats for bulk shipping supplies to in system colonies.
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A fleet of them would be the way to go. Smaller asteroids of 10 and 20 mile diameters may largely consist of loose rubble but they can be structurally strengthened and may be even easier to make habitable spaces inside them.
Might have to restructure it a bit like anthill mining so when you spin it to induce some gravity effect it isn't all wavy gravy.
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Might have to restructure it a bit like anthill mining so when you spin it to induce some gravity effect it isn't all wavy gravy.
Build a skeletal structure in and around it for stability
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Build a skeletal structure in and around it for stability
Sounds like fun. Someone needs to tell Trump.