Humanity will survive!

POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANET FOUND

WASHINGTON - For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."

The planet is just the right size, might have water in liquid form, and is relatively nearby at 120 trillion miles away. But the star it closely orbits, known as a "red dwarf," is much smaller, dimmer and cooler than our sun.

The planet is circling the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. Red dwarfs are low-energy, tiny stars that give off dim red light and last longer than stars like our sun. The planet is closer and orbits its star every 13 days. Until a few years ago, astronomers didn't consider these stars as possible hosts of planets that might sustain life. The discovery is sure to fuel studies of planets circling similar dim stars. About 80 percent of the stars near Earth are red dwarfs.

Astronomers believe the average temperature to be somewhere between 32 and 104 degrees.

The new planet's star system is a mere 20.5 light-years away, making Gliese 581 one of the 100 closest stars to Earth. Eventually astronomers will rack up discoveries of dozens, maybe even hundreds of planets considered habitable.

Based on theory, the planet known as 581 c should have an atmosphere and astronomers caution it's too early to tell whether there is water.

It's likely, but still not known, that the planet doesn't rotate, so one side would always be sunlit and the other dark.

Much of the effort to find Earth-like planets has focused on stars like our sun. Now we have the possibility to find many more.

The proceeding is the bulk of the article. We now go into my area of philosophy.

First I would like to comment on the educated man’s view that, “the planet doesn't rotate, so one side would always be sunlit and the other dark.”

If the planet does not rotate there would be no portions always in the dark because it revolves around its sun. The lack of rotation merely means it would not have days and nights as we do. However since it is so close to its sun the years would be 13 days. Time as we know it would be quite different.

What does this discovery mean to US?
Nothing! It is all too new for us to do anything about in our lifetimes.

But for humanity it is a giant leap that makes the step on the moon look like an old man slithering.

Humanity now has a possible destination and many more to come. The finders of this planet call it a big step in the search for "life in the universe." It is even more important to sustaining life when Earth no longer exists. In order for humanity to survive we need to find other livable areas otherwise all we have done, our technology, our works, our arts, our histories, will mean nothing. It will all be gone.

Without intelligent life the universe is stupid!

We now have a place to go but the going will not be easy. The planet is 20.5 light-years away. That means if we were to travel at the speed of light it would take us 20.5 years to get there.

Travel at light speed is beyond our comprehension.

For us the planet is out of reach. But it gives future generations something to shoot for. Maybe someday volunteers will venture there in a huge self-contained vehicle on a one way trip to establish a colony. Humanity will survive!

By George