June 26 - European astronomers have found a trio of "super-Earths" circling a star 42 light years away. This is the first time three planets close to Earth's size have been found orbiting a single star, although they appear to be too hot to support life.
Using a relatively new tool, the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) instrument at the European Southern Observatory in La Silla, Chile, the Swiss-French team examined over 100 stars previously thought to lack orbiting planets and found that around 30 percent had super-Earths. Past experiments had shown that only about 7 percent of stars had planets circling them. This new discovery strengthens the idea that planets are a common feature of star systems, raising the chances that scientists will one day find a truly Earth-like world.
The National Academies have done several reports that examine current and planned scientific efforts to explore the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. One such report, Life in the Universe: An Assessment of U.S. and International Programs in Astrobiology, assesses NASA's astrobiology program and makes recommendations to improve it.
Another report, The Astrophysical Context of Life, continues the assessment and examines how to better integrate various scientific research disciplines in order to focus NASA's astrobiology program. Also, The Limits of Organic Life of Planetary Systems considers the possibility of alternative or nonstandard chemistries for the existence of life in our solar system and beyond, and offers a guide to agencies and organizations that decide to fund such research.
Life in the Universe: An Assessment of U.S. and International Programs in Astrobiology The Astrophysical Context of Life The Limits of Organic Life of Planetary Systems Other Resources Geneva Extrasolar Planet Search Programmes
I am not asking if there is life on it. You can answer it but that is not what I am asking. I am asking wether or not it would be a new planet that we (the USA) has discovered?
Well, clearly there is a new planet there, but according to the Article, European astronomers discovered it in the observatory in Chile, which doesn't really involve the U.S. at all. It is important to note, however, that the HARPS is really just a fancy spectrograph and as such can really only identify certain elements and their location. It has, however, detected perturbations, or movements, of the companion stars that seem to oscillate with the same frequency as the orbital period of these planets. But with the closest Earth-like alien planet yet to be discovered still 42 light years away, I don't think we're ever going to develop the tools necessary to gather the information needed to determine the existence of life on these planets.
But with the closest Earth-like alien planet yet to be discovered still 42 light years away, I don't think we're ever going to develop the tools necessary to gather the information needed to determine the existence of life on these planets.
You're probably right...sadly.
European astronomers discovered it in the observatory in Chile, which doesn't really involve the U.S. at all.
Of course! Everybody knows that the EU rules in the scientific domain... ^^
Calm, I do believe in my opinion that EU rules but yet, in real life, United Kingdom is were all the action happen. All because Cambrigde and Stephen Hawkings, that is what makes it so popular in the scientific portion.
Well, I am talking about single countries. United Kingdom is the leading scientific research facility. I know EU contains UK but it single countries, then UK is the leader.
^^Of course there is!!!! At this point, going to Neptune is a bit out of the question, but it is still very important. Planet, isn't just a name. It defines to a a planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals. Definition taken from [url]http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS280US280&defl=en&q=definelanet&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title[/url]
Naming a planet is more defining that the celestial body actually does revolve around a star, in this case our sun.
