Scientists discover three 'potentially habitable' planets

[inanna]

Source: Agence France-Presse

May 2, 2016

Paris (AFP) - An international team of scientists said Monday they had discovered a trio of Earth-like planets that are the best bet so far for finding life outside our solar system.

The three orbit an ultracool dwarf star a mere 39 light years away, and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and Venus, they reported in a study, published in Nature.

"This is the first opportunity to find chemical traces of life outside our solar system," said lead author Michael Gillon, an astrophysicist at the University of Liege in Belgium.

All three planets had the "winning combination" of being similar in size to Earth, "potentially habitable" and close enough so their atmospheres can be analysed with current technology, he told AFP.


Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-discover-three-potentially-habitable-planets-154158187.html

[thereismore]

1. They are out there. I'd like to keep this one for a little longer. nt

[Orrex]

2. Very, very cool

k/r!

[Paper Roses]

3. All things considered..If there are habitable planets out there:

I hope the people are a heck of a lot smarter than we are!

[livetohike]

4. +1000 !

[ffr]

6. I was gonna say something along the lines that,

why don't we put more focus on trying to work in harmony with our ecosystem here before we arrogantly go off to some other world and ruin it too.



It's obvious we don't have a formula we can live by where humans fit into Earth's mix of life. In the coming decades Earth's limited systems will make sure we are painfully aware of the consequences of living outside a self-sustaining environment.

[glinda]

9. +1

[underpants]

5. I was hoping they'd be like Uranus

Love me some Uranus

[ffr]

7. Really?

Isn't that a methane gas giant? Blech!

[underpants]

8. Yes

Uranus is a source of gas

[olddad56]

10. and Earth isn't one of them. It is in the potentially uninhabitable category.

[HuckleB]

11. K & R!