I think this may answer some questions about possible life. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/07/03/science.jupiter.reut/index.html
I think this is what you are talking about: http://space.com/scienceastronomy/jupiterlike_planet_030703.html
That's not that impressive. Remember that Jupiter was just a failed twin star. It is in fact conceivable that perhaps most if not all single star systems have such an organization. That we found it is not surprising. Remember that we can only detect the gravitational effect that planets have on the sun. A planet like Jupiter is bound to have a larger effect.
There are more impressive solar systems that have been found.. There are about 3 or 4 systems that have a Big than Jupiter planet on the "perfect orbit" distance that is believed to permit liquid water on the surface.. So its not those BigAss planets that are going to have life... but the Moons! The moons can be smaller or bigger than earth and there is a high probability they will be filled with liquid seas... (water is quite common on many planets) At least I belive there are high chances that planets with bacteriological life exist on those moons around the exoplanets we have found... Finding a similiar system to our own, and so soon in our exoplanet research history means that Equivalent solar systems must be quite "common" in our galaxy... (lets not imagine the other galaxies Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! )
My resident psychic says, we will soon find an Earthlike planet about 110 light years away and eventually make friends with them in about 80 years.
Aren't all of our telescopes too small to detect/see planets our size? I've heard about bigger ones being designed but I'm not sure that they've been constructed yet.
There are new space based telescopes being designed to locate and photograph earth sized planets. But they will not be opperational until around 2009 or so. They will be placed in orbit by jupeter I think. It they work they would be interesting pictures. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yes you are correct, the telescope is called the James Webb telescope and is currently in development. I believe it is going to orbit at the L2 (Lagrange point). That is a point where the net gravitational field is zero between the sun and the earth. In any two-body system, I think there is 5 such points?? (I think) Some are stable, some are unstable. The new infared telescope that is scheduled to launch soon is also going to one of the Lagrange points, either L1 or L2. I'm not sure how far that is away, but is it considerably further than the moon's orbit, perhaps a million or two million km away. Neat stuff on the way, this telescope will really open the doors.
That's a good point, even within our own solar system, I think alot of scientists want to check out Titan around Saturn for that exact reason, although it wouldnt be liquid water there. The Cassini probe should be reaching Saturn I think early next year, and part of its mission is to study Titan.
I bet they will find pics of planets that are like earth however burn them and keep taking pictures of planets that can't sustain life,,, and one day thye will find a pic of a planet with ships surronding them and cover that pic up to.
With the building and launching of space based telescopes now in the planning, even more should be found in the future. Resolution seems to be our biggest problem, along with star glare, to prevent us from seeing other solar systems.
So your psychic chum also knows we're going to invent faster than light travel in the next 80 years then? Or a time machine in the next 110 years? 'Cos with the speed of light being the fastest way to get information somewhere, our 'hello message' is going to take 110 years to reach them, and same again for the reply. So that's 220 years. So how do we handshake in just 80?
So how do you know which particles are entangled before you've even spoken to them? Duh! Entanglement requires initiation.
