Astronomers discover first potentially life-sustaining planet

[nadinbrzezinski]

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) – A team of planet hunting scientists on Wednesday announced the discovery of a planet with three times the mass of Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby star.
The research was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and conducted by investigators from the University of California (UC) Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution of Washington.


The discovery was a result of eleven years of observations of the red dwarf star Gliese 581 using the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, one of the world's largest optical telescopes. The planet is located in an area where liquid water could exist on its surface.

http://wireupdate.com/wires/10736/astronomers-discover-first-potentially-life-sustaining-planet/

Several points on this.

When I wrote Future Nexus THIS was one of the systems I placed a life sustaining planet at. Hell, not at three gravities but two gravities... that was kind of like... go ahead on WHAT world? WOW! What can I say? Now three gravities would not be able to sustain HUMAN life, so the colony is not going to happen, assuming we could cross the distance, but still COOL.

Second: Folks we are very close to actual news that we are not the only planet on this universe with like actual life. In fact, this will be one of the first to have the tender loving attention of the long range sensors that will go into orbit soon. The kind that will be able to look at the ATMOSPHERE and tell us if this place has an actual Oxygen atmosphere... if it has Oxygen, chances are there IS life. And believe it or not we have done a 180 from the oh 1960s when we believed life would be extremely rare, or for that matter... so rare we would be unique.

Third: Now those announcements from oh places like the Vatican that tell us that it would not contradict the ideas in the bible... mark my words, this announcement, there is life AWAY from this system, will change the culture and challenge religions. It is coming, well in my life time. And you know what? 'Bout bloody time we grow up.

Now back to day to day politics...

That said that little announcement by the UN 'boout an Ambassador... it is curious.