My two cents on the Goldilocks planet
By gewcew23
@gewcew23 (8007)
United States
September 30, 2010 1:44pm CST
I you haven't heard about this planet that astronomers not astrologers are labeling the Goldilocks planet please before we go any farther read about it, here's a link
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100930/ap_on_sc/us_sci_new_earths
Okay your back good. Isn't that fascinating? A planet that has a good possibility of supporting life. The planet it self is interesting, it handle rotates, it's star will out last our own, it rotates it's sun every 37 day, but it is still not as fascinating as our own. We have this irresistible urge to explore and to find new discoveries yet at the same time we over look our own planet to explore. Don't get me wrong we should want to find out what's out there but we should also want to find out what is here. Let us not get such a big head that we think we have figured out our own planet and our own solar system.
2 people like this
6 responses
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
30 Sep 10
It has always frustrated me that scientists confine their searches to planets that can host life like our own. They don't seem to consider that there can be other intelligent life forms out there that look nothing like us and have different physical needs in gravity, atmosphere and hydration.
It's fascinating that they found that planet but they may be overlooking life right here in our solar system. And we haven't even scratched the surface of the mysteries of our own planet, let alone our own brains.
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
30 Sep 10
I agree to an extent about the search. But then you have to look at it through a scientist's point of view examining what they have to examine. Life we know fits a profile.
Every single lifeform we've ever encountered requires certain things to "live." Most lifeforms need the sun. All need water. This is what we know to be ingredients of life, and narrowing the search to hospitable environments is the most logical approach.
Through an evolutionary standpoint, an environment from which life could flourish would be the "Goldilocks" environment - not too hot (thick, gassy atmosphere; too close to the star; etc), not too cold (molten core active; not too far away from the star; stable atmospheric pressure; etc), but just right (tectonics; stable weather; friendly rotation; etc).
If some type of life could exist bereft of gravity, then I'm not sure I can wrap my ahead what it would be. Consciousness maybe? Also, without an atmosphere, we're looking for life to thrive in open space, basically. So this would be more along the lines of robotics or something from a parallel universe that doesn't fit our universe's laws, or just something so advanced beyond what we consider life that, truly, it should be contacting us instead of the other way around.
But I'm all for checking out what our solar system has to offer before we go 20 light years away and try to imagine what a black shadow over a distant star is like. 
Pluto gets no respect anymore. 
Pluto gets no respect anymore. 1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
30 Sep 10
Matersfish I was thinking more of life that breathes a different atmosphere and has adjusted to different gravitational fields. Who says there's not life on Jupiter? It would breathe ammonia or perhaps live beneath the surface, maybe direct sunlight as we have would damage it. Or Venus, the water planet, might have aquatic life that never surfaces.
And Pluto could have life forms that thrive on darkness, cold conditions and very thin atmosphere--it would get some respect then! 
I'm sure there are other forms of life out there. We're just not looking and maybe it's better that we don't--if I found a violent, warring, greedy civilization as ours appears at first glance to be, I think I would quarantine it!
I'm sure there are other forms of life out there. We're just not looking and maybe it's better that we don't--if I found a violent, warring, greedy civilization as ours appears at first glance to be, I think I would quarantine it! @matersfish (6306)
• United States
30 Sep 10
To infinity....and beyond, I guess.
When you're a kid dreaming of the stars and intrigued by the made-in-Hollywood aliens, you're probably gung-ho and then some when you grow up and get into the field of a physics niche or astronomy. All these guys and gals smart enough to excel in quantum mechanics and theoretical physics don't want to bother the moon anymore. They're ready to find life! And they've got the starter kit to do it.
They've theorized about the universe so long when, all along, most knew that Earth wasn't the only planet in our galaxy with conditions right for some type of life.
I think they're looking for these "Goldilocks" planets because they want to find life that can answer back - a civilization, or at least the remnants of one, and not simply bacteria.
The universe isn't a top priority in science outside of that niche. Hell, they don't even canvas enough of the sky to catch even a significant percentage of NEO that might wipe us out. It's more of a dreamer's field.
But there are a lot of dreamers, and most would love to know if there's life on an Earth-like planet out there.
20 light years away...
It's quite possible that any intelligent life there could know we're here. Of course, it's hard to say just how much energy our broadcasts have lost. But they're over 70 light years away, plenty far enough out there for this planet to intercept if they're listening. And it is possible that this planet has its own transmissions sent our way, or even that intelligent life has replied directly, and we still just don't know how to listen.
Or maybe we can find out the planet is far enough away that we can send our criminals and politicians there (is there a difference?) and never have to hear from them again.
@gewcew23 (8007)
• United States
1 Oct 10
As to your transmission of messages between our planet and any other planet that might be listening, what if there is intelligent life on another planet but they are less advanced than us? How would they even be able to receive our message? If they are sending messages to us what if they are more advance than us and their message is sent in away that we have no way to receive the message?
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
1 Oct 10
Then that's what it is... they'd just be less advanced and the communication would work in one way.
And as far as receiving someone else's message - it's in space if it's sent. It can't be taken back. Energy, data - it's out there whether intelligent life wants it to be or not. As humans, we just have to decipher it from the rest of the cosmic noise and recognize that it's an intelligent signal.
The idea would be for the whole "take me to your leader" thing, but it would more than likely be something we'd have to bust open mathematically and realize we're being contacted. To that end, even though "numbers" are universal, they could have a message hidden in stardust that we're generations away from grasping for all we really know.
But, like I mention in the comment I added to dragon's post, the onus would be on them to contact us. They'd probably do what we did and send something out that's decipherable (hopefully) by life along the lines of our own intelligence.
Unless they wanted to eat our babies like dingos. Then it's hard to say what they'd do. 
Hopefully they wouldn't figure out a warp drive and hopefully they wouldn't figure out just how "accepting" a lot of humans are out of empathy. We'd be plucked.
Hopefully they wouldn't figure out a warp drive and hopefully they wouldn't figure out just how "accepting" a lot of humans are out of empathy. We'd be plucked.
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
30 Sep 10
37 day orbit round it's sun?Wow, that's one fast moving planet. I couldn't live there, 7 daysa of summer is just way too short. Being tidal locked would make for some wild weather too (I love wild weather though). Still, it is a tantlizing possibility. We will have to wait and see what it has for an atmosphere, whether or not it has a magnetic field to shield it from solar winds wich would have stripped it's atmosphere and if it still has an atmosphere, what it said atmosphere is made of. The sad part of all this is we will never see it up close and personal though.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
1 Oct 10
Pretty awesome, especially if it actually turns out that we're right, and that there's something there....
@ANIME123 (2466)
• United States
30 Sep 10
That would actually be amazing if the planet will be able to support life, but I still prefer the planet earth because I grew up on this planet. That is major news I guess it was only a matter of time until they found a planet that may be perfect for supporting life. I am sure that this is just making all the astronomers and astrologers very happy.
@clam_eater (18)
• Philippines
1 Oct 10
Its quite cool for me to find another planet that could host life like Earth. As soon as I read the article about it I already got excited about it! I hope space travel to that planet becomes a reality soon.
