Astronomers see second Earth in the making

[Sir Ulli]

Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away.

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. The dust belt, which scientists suspect is clumping together to form planets, is located in the middle of the star system's terrestrial habitable zone where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water. Scientists estimate there is enough material in the belt to form a Mars-sized world or larger.

Full Story can be found here

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21114394/

Greetings from Germany NRW
Sir Ulli

[DerekDRP]

Astronomers have spotted evidence of a second Earth being built around a distant star 424 light-years away.

Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted a huge belt of warm dust swirling around a young star called HD 113766 that is just slightly larger than our sun. The dust belt, which scientists suspect is clumping together to form planets, is located in the middle of the star system's terrestrial habitable zone where temperatures are moderate enough to sustain liquid water. Scientists estimate there is enough material in the belt to form a Mars-sized world or larger.

Full Story can be found here

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21114394/

Greetings from Germany NRW
Sir UlliSure it's not a hoax?

[El<(')>Maxi]

No Derek, the stuff they are finding and proving now is pretty remarkable.

[EmAn]

So in a couple million years we may be able to talk to primitive earth2lings?

[DerekDRP]

So in a couple million years we may be able to talk to primitive earth2lings?I guess we will be able to do that huh?


I wonder if the we have a twin rumor is true?

[CGR]

So in a couple million years we may be able to talk to primitive earth2lings?

Will never happen..

1. We will destroy our planet with polution

or

2. E.L.E will occur...

[DerekDRP]

E.L.E?

[Deanzo]

E.L.E?

extinction level event

[Sir Ulli]

more Info found

http://lanl.arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0710/0710.0839.pdf

Greetings from Germany
Sir Ulli

[DerekDRP]

extinction level eventthat's pretty much right around the corner.

I've been watching the program "Seeing in the sky"

and a few others saying that there is a big astroid coming our way.

and a 1 mile long astroid could give us another ice age.

[sp33dball]

With our luck, our government might decide this new developing planet is a risk and try and send troops to get them to change their political ways.

[CGR]

that's pretty much right around the corner.

I've been watching the program "Seeing in the sky"

and a few others saying that there is a big astroid coming our way.

and a 1 mile long astroid could give us another ice age.

It will happen eventually but "around the corner" in space and time terms could mean thousands of years. Could also mean next year, but I would say more likely not in our lifetime.

With our luck, our government might decide this new developing planet is a risk and try and send troops to get them to change their political ways.

HAHAHAH.. Yea you may be right...

[Nebulous]

With our luck, our government might decide this new developing planet is a risk and try and send troops to get them to change their political ways.

LOL, good point!

[sno.lcn]

Thanks for posting Ulli :)

[Deanzo]

Thanks for the links Sir Ulli.

that's pretty much right around the corner.

I've been watching the program "Seeing in the sky"

and a few others saying that there is a big astroid coming our way.

and a 1 mile long astroid could give us another ice age.

Like CGR said, in terms of our planet "around the corner" could well be thousands or tens of thousands of years, who knows :shrug: though I think we have bigger issues to worry about than an astroid hitting us.

With our luck, our government might decide this new developing planet is a risk and try and send troops to get them to change their political ways.
You know, Im sure I read a report that said ET had WMD's :D

[Shelnutt2]

If what we are seeing is 424 lightyears away that means, The Second Earth..geeze I hope the name doesn't become "Earth II"..but for all we know this new planet could become one of our first colonies, where we can just walk right out into the open, with no environmental suit on. If it forms like earth has...the question just become will there be enough gravity and all to keep just the right about of gasses on the planet. (plus we have to eventually get find a way to get there.)

I hope in the near future (100 years) we are able to watch this planet more closely for clues into Earth's past.


Thanks for the link. I always enjoy them Sir Ulli.

[dicecca112]

424 light years away. Its gonna take billions of years to be inhabitable. Earth II in name only not function

[Vento1]

424 light years away. Its gonna take billions of years to be inhabitable. Earth II in name only not function


Yep sure will. It will take a long time to even form into a planet.

Great find Sir Ulli

[dicecca112]

not to mention, it'd take 424 years or longer with current technology to get there, but cool nevertheless

[sp33dball]

not to mention, it'd take 424 years or longer with current technology to get there, but cool nevertheless

Ahh see that's the catch, current technology... When that planet is ready we should be there and past by then!

[El<(')>Maxi]

Not if they WMD us :p

[Neuromancer]

Not if they WMD us :p

Oh is that where Saddam hid them?

[toddm27]

wmd? oh, nevermind it's been a long day

[tricknasty]

wow thats really interesting ! i have read alot about asteroids and its pretty scary how close we have come and will come to an asteroid impacting the earth to cause a mass extinction.

[dicecca112]

Ahh see that's the catch, current technology... When that planet is ready we should be there and past by then!


I take the law of averages and say the earth and us will be long gone. A Billion years is a lot of time

[sp33dball]

I take the law of averages and say the earth and us will be long gone. A Billion years is a lot of time

Yeah I'm pretty sure on that one also... I think our sun is suppose to turn to a supernova or something well before that (probably mixing it up)

[Neuromancer]

Yeah I'm pretty sure on that one also... I think our sun is suppose to turn to a supernova or something well before that (probably mixing it up)

I think thats like 5 billion years. could be wrong though

The ELE that could happen next is due around 2013... and its not a definite... just a VERY large asteroid heading for our planet.. A lot of people make something out of it because the Aztec or the Inca calander ends around the same time (the 5th cycle?). I heard about it like 10-12 years ago when my pop was working at Goddard for Martin Marietta/NASA. No I do not remember the name of the asteroid.


At the time, orbital mechanics being what it is (margin of error stuff) it could come close enough to be drawn in... or not. I just googled looking for it and found a bunch of stuff about hte Stargate badguy ;) (Apophis) and some website claiming the world will end in 2012. :P

I dont expect the Earth to end anytime soon although things maybe tight for the human race, it wont really change much on the surface for us considering our level of technology. People that look into things will see huge changes of course.. .but generally the oblivious person might not notice much more then it got hot or cold and half his family died.

[tricknasty]

speaking of apophis i was looking into this article, which is pretty crazy..
Risk of asteroid smashing into earth reduced. (http://space.newscientist.com/article/dn9203-risk-of-asteroid-smashing-into-earth-reduced.html)
The odds of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036 have now been reduced from 1 in 5500 to 1 in 24,000, following new radar measurements taken by the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.
Still the fate of millions of lives comes down to 1 in 24000 !! and this is only one of many potential asteroids. The one coming near Earth in 2014 has a 1 in 900,000 chance of hitting.
edit: i thought id throw this one in too, if anyone googled anything about asteroids hitting the Earth this probably came up.
Asteroid has 1 in 300 chance of hitting Earth on March 16, 2880 (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/asteroid_deflection_020404.html)

[Tyranos]

While we may be eradicated by a large asteroid within the next 10 years, it may not be so after 100 or 200 years depending on our energy consumption at that time (given an average growth of 3% a year, that should be a semi accurate time frame). According to a russian physicist named Nicolai Kardashev, as a civilization, we can be ranked ultimately by energy consumption using 3 principles. First, any advanced civilization is limited by the laws of thermodynamics. Second, the laws of stable matter dictate that baryonic matter clumps into 3 large groupings, specifically planets, stars, and galaxies. That means the civlizations energy can be divided into 3 different types (harvest energy of a planet, star, and galaxy) and puts upper limits on their consumption. We currently would rank as a Type 0, using only primitive energy sources such as fossil fuels, hydropowerplants, fission, etc. Last, the laws of planetary evolution. As a civilization we HAVE to grow in energy consumption faster than the rate of ELE's as you call them, or we WILL go extinct.

Once we are able to harness the entire energy output of our planet, which is the next stage (within 200 years), our total energy consumption will be between thousands and millions of times more than we consume now. A Type 1 civilization will have enough energy to manipulate weather and "alter the course of earthquakes, volcanoes, and build cities on their oceans." That means, we have already grown enough in energy consumption to survive any conceivable natural planetary disaster, perhaps with ease.

Even at a moderate growth of 1% a year, we may be able to be qualified as a Type II civilization after several thousand years. "Type I civilization will exhaust the power of a planet, and will derive their energy by consuming the entire output of their suns energy, or roughly a billion trillion trillion ergs per second." We will literally resemble a small star, and have the same energy output. It's been said that a Type II civilization literally has nothing to fear but perhaps a close proximity supernova explosion (our sun?). That may be avoidable by fleeing to a nearby planet to terraform.

Physicist Freeman Dyson of the Institute for Advanced Study predicts that we may attain Type III status in a little under 6000 years, at the same slow 1% yearly growth. The total energy output and consumption should be about 10 billion times that of a Type II, by harnessing energy from entire galaxies. A civilization of this class will be unaffected by any occurrence known to current science.

It's a matter of pure speculation and physics, but these provide a good idea of what we can resemble in the future, and how we can predict disaster survivability by energy consumption. It has been theorized that the scale can be extended to other types, such as IV, V, and so on. These civilizations would be operating on energy levels of entire universes, to give you an idea. I would imagine it would be the closest thing to being a "god".

[Spion]

very interesting post Tyranos. For some reason that post made me think of Tabula Rasa (the game)

[Careface]

But can a Type III civilisation truely be omnipotent? Can anything truely be omnipotent? Closest thing to being a god? Hmm.. I might bring your post up in my philosophy of religion class and see what they say xD could be interesting.

I think we really only need to worry about finding Atlantus, harnessing the power of Carbon-60 and we will be impervious to everything :D muaha. Wonder if anyone will get the reference Im making here..

[johnjohngoose]

I also wonder how long it will take people to Decipher your reference...

[Tyranos]

That sounds like a pretty STELlar idea.

[Alexhk]

I also wonder how long it will take people to Decipher your reference...

Listen Bucky, wipe that smirk off your face or your balls get it :mad:

:p

And of course thank you to Sir Ulli for the linky

[QuietIce]

ROFLMAO ...!!!!!!!

[Careface]

I also wonder how long it will take people to Decipher your reference...

<3333. Excellent book.

[Captain Helghas]

Maybe that ring of dust is the remnants of an earth-like planet that got hit by an asteroid almost 2k years after Jesus saved it...

Or maybe the global warming there got so bad that the planet exploded... THEN it got hit by an asteroid.

And maybe the global warming was caused by a simultaneous bovine flatulence release coupled with the test run of a 10GHz P4.

Or maybe it's just dust in the solar wind, cut by Ockham's razor.