Planet in the Goldilock Zone

[OhWiseOne]

Are we getting closer to finding that "other" earth? The one announced today was pretty cool but not quite there.
How long will it be before we confirm that other earth like planet?

Planet in sweet spot of Goldilocks zone for life - Yahoo! News

 

[Hoss]

Are we getting closer to finding that "other" earth? The one announced today was pretty cool but not quite there.
How long will it be before we confirm that other earth like planet?

Planet in sweet spot of Goldilocks zone for life - Yahoo! News

According to the article we can be there in just 22 million years.

 

[nudeyorker]

22 million years? This is going to be one tough trip to pack for with weight fluctuations and changes in trends with fashion and whatnot. It would help if they could discover a shopping planet and a hair salon planet about half way. :wink:

 

[HiddenLacey]

NASA made the announcement on Monday. I think it's pretty neat, I just wish our space program could really get us there to explore during my lifetime.

 

[OhWiseOne]

22 million years? This is going to be one tough trip to pack for with weight fluctuations and changes in trends with fashion and whatnot. It would help if they could discover a shopping planet and a hair salon planet about half way. :wink:

I'm sorry but based on your strick requirements you must be remove from the list of potential candidates. Again I apologize..:frown1:

 

[nudeyorker]

I'm sorry but based on your strick requirements you must be remove from the list of potential candidates. Again I apologize..:frown1:

That's fine...Once in the late 80's I needed to get back to NY in a hurry and I took the Concorde... that was enough space travel for me frankly.

 

[bobbyboyle]

How long will it be before we confirm that other earth like planet?

Within the next decade, almost certainly. As the technology used improves and new observatories are built we will push the limits of detection down and down.

If anyone is interested in reading more, here's a paper written in 2000 that is very informative. On page 9 there's a diagram showing how each method of detection has a lower planetary mass limit (as of 2000 and 2020 accordiong to the author's prediction).

[astro-ph/0005602] Extra-Solar Planets