Odds of Life on Nearby Planet '100 Percent,' Astronomer Says
By Jeanna Bryner
Published September 29, 2010
| Space.com
An Earth-size planet has been spotted orbiting a nearby star at a distance that would makes it not too hot and not too cold -- comfortable enough for life to exist, researchers announced Wednesday.
If confirmed, the exoplanet, named Gliese 581g, would be the first Earth-like world found residing in a star's habitable zone -- a region where a planet's temperature could sustain liquid water on its surface.[Illustration of planet Gliese 581g.]
And the planet's discoverers are optimistic about the prospects for finding life there.
Just think, the next generations after us could actually have a visit from E.T.!!!!!! Amazing to me how much advancement there has been just in my lifetime.
How many light years away? It just seems strange to me that you could tell all this by a telescope so freakin' far away. And how can they test the atmosphere?
I do like the Goldilocks reference to "good" planets, not too warm, and not too cold.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
