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Cosmos may be 'teeming with alien worlds'

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"Estimates of the number of alien planet in the universe have soared once again with the discovery of the smallest world orbiting another star.

The tiniest known planet orbiting an undersized star is reported today by an international team, raising estimates of the overall numbers - and thus the overall possibility that one could host life - and bringing astronomers closer to the goal of finding Earth's sister worlds.
Artist's impression of the newly discovered planet MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb orbiting a brown dwarf 'star'

The newly found object, which could have a warm ocean under a freezing atmosphere, is reported by an international team of astronomers led by Prof David Bennett of the University of Notre Dame.

The so called extra-solar planet is about three times the mass of our own Earth and is orbiting a star with a mass so low that its core is at the borderline of being massive enough to maintain the nuclear reactions that enable it to shine.

The American Astronomical Society will be told today that the planet, referred to as MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb, establishes a new record for the lowest mass planet to orbit a normal star. The star, MOA-2007-BLG-192L, is at a distance of 3000 light years and the lightest to have a companion.

The mass of the host is about six per cent of the mass of our own Sun. Such a star is called a brown dwarf, because this is on the borderline of having the mass needed to sustain nuclear reactions.

'Even the lowest mass stars can host planets' says Prof Bennett. No planets have previously been found to orbit stars with masses less than about 20 per cent of that of the Sun. "
lemonsun12

56 responses // Cosmos may be 'teeming with alien worlds'

  • concidering the low number of elements and the high number of stars with planets statistics demand there is life elsewhere... trouble is we are dealing with alot of time

    If it turns out there was or will be life on mars it will not the distance that seperates us as much as the time it takes to evolve then die out.

    It is hard to think of time being larger than space but it is for sure more of a barrier.
    1779fleet
  • Maybe we will be contacted by an alien race that has the secret to our energy crisis...or maybe they'll just kill us all because they need oil, too.
    smallwood
  • 'The so called extra-solar planet is about three times the mass of our own Earth' yet it is 'establishes a new record for the lowest mass planet to orbit a normal star.'

    Is this a contradiction?
    4free
    4 responses to this
  • OF COURSE the universe is teeming with life. Why would life concentrate itself on Earth, one tiny planet in one tiny solar system? Think about the absolute creativity of evolution - Life is constantly coming up with new inventive ways of happening... all the various species on our planet got here by finding niches and worming its way to the top. Life is a natural occurrence, just as planets themselves are.
    recommended by  jubal
    stephenthomson
  • Wow, wouldn't it be great to encounter a MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb-ian?

    Come on scientists, how about inspiring us with a cool planet name like Ectoentenatabula?
    BurningBush
  • Well if there wasn't... it would be an awful waste of space.
    ivxx
  • People always want evidence that something exists or something happened. People want links to stories and links to quotes. Prove your side is what people demand. Unless it's about life on another planet. Then without a single ounce of proof they are adamant that there is life on another plant solely based on volume.

    Isn't that just teeming with logic?
    J_Jammer
  • i agree with everyone who thinks "of course there is life on other planets!"
    i agree. however scientists generally assumed that this life would exist on planets that encircle stars that are of similar size of our sun or bigger. this discovery has opened up the possibilities that much much smaller starts could harbor planets of great size. this means that it might be easier to find life and there might be more of it than we thought.
    if space is infinite then there are infinite amounts of life on other planets, however it is just a matter of how close it is to earth, how easy it is to find, etc. findings like this (which is huge) help us as we explore the universe and tell us what to look for.
    lemonsun12
    1 response to this
  • Aliens?
    What's this talk about aliens....
    PlanetBJR
  • There are too many cosmic constants in the universe that conspire to make life possible for there to be only one planet with life.

    Here's Carl Sagan on the Drake Equation:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ztl8CG3Sys
    BurningBush
    1 response to this
  • I can only hope that I live long enough to experience the day we make contact. Discoveries such as this only make me believe it will happen sooner than later.

    How long will it be before we actually find life? 10-20yrs?
    tpalmer
  • Cool...... Another planet for me to take over.
    Fuzzy_Chaos
  • That's actually a no brainer... and a huge DUH !
    Enjoy_Cannabis
  • putting "infinity" aside, since that concept is hard to work with... I think the probability of finding life and civilizations resembling ours is remote. Because we seem to be an anomaly, when you compare us to the rest of life on earth. So I think that the first planet we find with life on it is bound to have some bacteria and such, maybe even plants and animals, but probably not humans. ???
    stephenthomson
    5 responses to this
  • http://www.shocknetradio.com
    And no doubt Vice-President Dick Cheney has promised all of those worlds to Halliburton.
    DJMatt2
  • watch this comment being used here, here and here
    What is remote is the probability of finding life on another planet in our life time, given the fact that we can barely leave the astroid belt and have yet to achieve anything close to "light speed" travel. The only way we will "find" life in the universe is if they in actuality find us. And, given the way humans act towards other humans, why would an alien species want to socialise and "exchange knowledge" with primitive acting beings.
    UWAZell
  • watch this comment being used here
    Aliens contacting humans would be like humans contacting cockroaches, it's probably not going to happen. Is there other life in the universe? Almost certainly, but more than likely it is not within our reach. But, I would never say never.
    covelogibbs
  • Obviously there is life beyond our planet, it would be ignorant to think otherwise. But honestly, I don't get how this is news.. it won't affect any of us or our lives. If other beings really want to make contact, I'm sure they will.
    cerealforeal
  • it's a matter of sheer probability...the universe is so large and is so old...there's bound to be some other life forms out there...maybe something like humans...maybe my future wife...
    sustainablejohn
  • In the space-time continuum consider not whether there is other life, but whether they live in another dimension. or other dimensions...If we also consider them to be non-hostile, then as UWAZell has stated, maybe they choose not to associate with us, at least not till we learn some manners and some respect for our superiors...also consider that they may be sworn not to interfer in our way of life and development, so that we can evolve into the same non-hostile advanced beings that they are...for now, 'to ere is human and to forgive devine' holds true...

    It takes a lot of faith in the esoteric to experience their existence, but it's not impossible...some call them God... I call them friend...they don't wish to be feared... nor do they wish to be used as the spokes people or the justifiers for those religious zealots who will, through the evidence of ancient words on aged stained pages, propagate their own hidden agendas for their own personal gain...if not kept in check...

    However, don't be looking for any materialistic apparitions or little green people, that's a myth. They look like us...they appear as energy mass...like I said, another dimension...not the world of money and greed...what buys all of the material wealth, can't buy them...they are the voices of logic and reason and they are into peace and love...

    Jesus calls this concept demension 'the kingdom of heaven'...
    PlatoTacius
  • Yes. They are out there. Yes. They know all about us.
    Yes. They are avoiding us like the Plague.
    huntre
    1 response to this
  • No doubt that any life out there that has the technology and intelligence to be aware of us probably considers earth to be the "ghetto" part of the universe and most of its inhabitants fundamentally insane and want absolutely nothing to do with us.

    I wouldn't. :P
    persona
  • i like to think there's other things out there, but I'm skeptical we'll ever make contact in our lifetime//before we destroy the earth.
    mattbrawn
  • http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/Root_folder/et.jpg
    huntre's right, this little guy came like 15 years ago and couldn't wait to leave.

    He'll have told all the other aliens not to bother...
    subsequent
  • Finding alien life, no matter the kind, advanced or rudimentary, would be be the single greatest discovery of the human race.
    And if it were to be intelligent life, then it would be the greatest source of introspection for the human race. All concepts of poetry, philosophy, religion, etc.. will fade away, and seek re-definition!
    rkod
  • Everything in the Universe is the same.........different packages.......different form.........it is all interconnected........colonization of planets has been going on for a extremely long time..........it is no different than an Earth person moving from Florida to New York.....except easier.........every molten core planet with a magnetic pole system has a void between the planes that allows easy access from the planet......we shoot rockets from Cape Canaveral......the worst position on this planet........certain planets have small windows of opportunity for sustainable life.....sometimes only a few million years.........Earth was settled the last of many times by life forces from many different positions in the Universe....These settlers were your ancestors.......want to see an alien...go look in the mirror......they settled in places similar to their last situation.......Time is only a problem......when you waste it.....if you want to move three feet.....it can be quick.......or you can travel completely around the planet to reach the same place.....which are we doing?........I find it so hard to see the arrogance of the vast majority of Earth people......the Human Race is the longest marathon imaginable......reach back and help those that are lagging behind.............Golden Ruler.......Johnnie Hargrave........
    Relevations
  • the mathmatical probability of alien life is simple
    x is the known universe, say 20 million stars & 1 planet
    w life,then you have the entire universe is y 100 trillion stars
    and viola , lots of probablilty for life,
    bronzeart
  • The appearance of such 'other life forms' will be most difficult to accept by those who already conclude that the possibility doesn't exist. However, most people seem to believe that the possibility does exist...that's a good start...now add a little faith, hope, and love, so we can have Peace...and welcome our ancesters back home...
    PlatoTacius
  • I don't believe there is life outside of us. We are the only ones and the other planets are what keeps our planet going. Think about. All of the planets have one of our planets' weather.

    Volcanoes, Wind storms, ice, and acid rain. Their atmosphere is full of danger. Most of the planets protects us from asteroids and comets. If they were not there, we would have been destroyed long ago. Mercury protects us by catching the suns' rays and Jupiter and Saturn is holding all of the material and rocks from other planets that exploded.

    I feel we should leave better enough alone. Sci-fi is fiction. Its what a person think and put it into a movie.
    cheche_201
  • cheche, you need to get out of the house more...and maybe a class in archiology would help you to understand that knowledge is a powerful tool, i.e. the number 7 has always been associated with the planet earth. Why? Because earth is the seventh planet of this solar system, if you're traveling from outer space toward our sun. There are ancient documents that describe just this same experience...How would they know about the outer planets so many years ago, unless they had made the journey..? How could they possibly have written about the exact conditions of these planets, that we only recently rediscovered, if they hadn't done their own research..?

    Don't get confused between science fiction and science fact...
    PlatoTacius
  • I'll basically emulate and reitterate most of the comments made about not wanting to interact with primitive beings such as ourselves. We shouldn't be looking for other forms of life if we cannot first live with ourselves in peace.

    Perhaps after an apocalyptic cataclysm(Mutually Assured Destruction or otherwise), they may survey the damage and record it for historical records.
    lifestudentno83
  • Man..oh Man.....I love reading this stuff.........my mind goes up and down like the elevator in the Empire State building.......it is not too hard to spot the ones with intelligent aliens not too far behind them...........this is a little crude and yall will know who it was intended for.....take that back.........the ones probably wont know......some of yall remind me of a flea......floating down the Mississippi river....on his back.....with an erection....screaming......raise the draw bridge!!!!!.......Golden Ruler.....being pushed......Will...........
    Virtual_Will_Rogers
  • I am so ready for them to find us..I mean, if their species is older than ours than they must be more advanced right? Maybe they can teach us a few things..We need it. Great post.
    pilgrimperks
  • i need some proof that an alien actually exists.
    passjay
  • To the rest of the Universe and myself passjay........you are the proof....only those that search........find.........Will............
    Virtual_Will_Rogers
  • One more thing......mankind is not advanced in any stretch or form.........yall have been able to drive around the block.....with advancements gained through others peril....in a brief amount of time yall have deposited enough garbage in space that it requires a team of people to monitor it 24 hours a day.....Most people don't come a callin if they think their vehicle will be destroyed.....Get your act together and you will find some new fantastic friends....they will take and tell you how to harness lightning and other wonders..........Earth has been far past this point several times with the same disastrous result that is waiting for you right now............. Golden Ruler....Will.............Will...Not...Will....Not.........................
    Virtual_Will_Rogers
  • The title of this story is obvious, the content is a complete contradiction of itself.
    wannabedoc
  • wow, what an honor to be part of this thread.

    would only like to add that it is odd that if there is intelligent life, some would probably have been millions of years older and if they were technological (a good chance they would fashion tools out of their environment) they would have invented a robot-probe/lander like the mars lander but 10000 years better and would have sent it looking for intelligent life tens of thousands of years ago. that hasn't happened so perhaps we are alone.