earth like planet

http://www.newser.com/story/166474/kepler-finds-most-earth-like-planet-yet.html

The picture of this planet does look like our earth, and it may have life. Would you go if it were habitable?

 

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No one will go because it is too far away, and there is no ability to travel such distances. Perhaps in a millenia, on a one-way near-light-speed trip, our future civilization might send 'colonizers', but that would be a horrendous fate.

 

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That's an artist's conception. They don't actually have a picture of it.

 

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To answer your query I'd love to go. Theoretically the relativistic rocket could make the journey in <14 years measured by a clock in the ships local proper frame. 1200 hundred years would pass measured by a clock in the Earth local proper frame. Round trip would have the ship returning to the Earth 2400 years after it left on the journey. The technical and logistical aspects of the relativistic trip are huge but it's my opinion the trip will be possible at some point in the Earths future. Thanks for linking the Kepler Spacecraft and science team discovery.
The Relativistic Rocket
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SR/rocket.html

 

So what types of analysis can the Kepler Spacecraft do. Do you think it might be able to provide some information by something that could be construed to be ' a picture'.

 

It analyzes the brightness of stars and notices when a planet passes in front of the star (it dims slightly.)

No, pretty much all they can tell is the size and the period of the planet. Period tells you orbit, which (roughly) tells you temperature.

 

Discovery of transit is the method of detection. The Mission is a bit more informative than what you think it is.
Kepler Mission.
http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/QuickGuide/

 

"Discovery of transit" is a fancy way of saying "the star gets dimmer when a planet goes in front of it."

 

Meanwhile, back on Earth, 500 years of technological progress has seen the successful development of the first warp capable starship...

 

Well that is embarrassing :shy:
Thanks for the correction.

 

What you said makes no sense to me. Kepler, was launched on 7 March 2009. Are you saying it is still light years away from the planet, and it is not possible to reach the planet in 4 years or less? I am hugely disappointed. Showing an artist version of the planet really gave me the wrong impression of the what has happened.

 

Not at all. You asked if anybody would go. I said yes and what I wrote after was a way to do it. A rocket trip to the exoplanet the Kepler Spacecraft discovered. A ship at constant acceleration of 1g for half the journey and constant 1g deceleration for the second half could arrive in < 14 years measured on a clock in the ships local proper frame. 1200 years measured on a clock in the local proper frame of the earth. You probably don't know what that means but it has to do with relativity theory.

 

Sounds easy but what sort of motor will give you that sort of acceleration for that length of time?

 

That's one of the reasons it's not easy. Think about all the technical and logistic issues. Just think about how you would support life over a 14 year relativistic journey. At the other site we had a thread about such a journey. One idea for the 'motor' could be a 'sub light warp'. Getting off topic.

 

The picture of a planet and my ignorance, resulted in me thinking the planet can be reached in 4 years. I thought Kelper had taken the picture in a pass by. So saying it would take longer than 4 years made no sense to me.

As for how we get there and what would get us there, go ahead and talk about it. The subject was opened with the question of it anyone would travel there. At present that is only something we can imagine, it is not hard science. Einstein thought imagine was very important and I believe him. That is what opens us to new discoveries, and along the way, curious but poorly informed people like me, can learn something.

 

It's theoretically possible. It's 1200 ly from Earth. It would be a good idea to pick a much shorter journey. If you could solve all the technical and logistical problems so that we build a ship that could support and protect the lives of the ship populace during the relativistic journey it becomes feasible. Big solutions required. The sublight warp metric defining the spacetime surrounding the ship [if we could build and fuel it] allows for manipulating that spacetime to provide shielding for the ship. Shielding from blueshifted particle matter and particulate matter the ship could safely pass through with the shielding. Think about what would be required to safely support the lives of the Exoplanetnauts? Mind blowing. Probably start with the concept of the ship as a biosphere and go from there. Think how big this ship would have to be and the intricacies associated with it's design. The 1g constant acceleration or deceleration coupled with the design provides Earth normal gravity while the 1g is maintained. The idea that the human race could muster the 'group will' to start such a task is a stretch. Just to let you know I think the artist conception associated with the empirical measurements collected by the Kepler Spacecraft is a valuable tool for presenting the discovery to us 'curious folk'. Thanks for the link and the conversation.

 

The sub light warp is a warpdrive metric that doesn't require 'negative energy' to create the warp spacetime. That's why I picked it for this example. Not developing the sub light warp because you think the negative energy for the FTL warp will be available in 500 years is a choice. I'd consider the development of sublight warp capability part of the path to a FTL warp. The real difference being the FTL metric requires 'exotic matter' to establish the warp spacetime. This is all pretty esoteric. If we developed the FTL warp we could visit colonies on exoplanets. Maybe to celebrate Kepler Spacecraft Thanksgiving dinner with distant relatives. Really distant. The probability the human race won't survive seems a much more reasonable prediction based on what's happened so far. In my opinion.

 

Please forgive my naive opinion but I honestly think both sublight warp drives and superluminal warp drives are crank nonsense no matter if the nonsense comes from cranks, amateurs or professional physicists. I am sorry, but "warp drives" is only more scifi fantasies for the kiddies, and for the adult trekkie fan types who need to get a life, in my naive opinion.

 

You telling me to get a life? You telling me what I should be interested in? Stuff it troll.

 

Are you saying you are an adult trekkie fan type? Sorry if I offended. My apologies, sir. But considering some of the posts I have read of yours about others, I took it you were not so sensitive to some stranger's opinions about what "warp drive" fantasizers might be better employed doing with their time. Peace.