Habitable planet discovered nearby! (Well, relatively nearby)
By
beyeajus,
Posted on: 2010-09-29 21:29 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
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Humans must thrive and expand through the galaxy...period. I'm kinda getting sick and tired of the self hate...
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Originally Posted by Gehnen
It does raise some puzzling moral questions, however. Imagine there is life there, but not intelligent by means immediately measurable by humans? We've really turned some ecosystems on our own planet upside down from our....blah...blah...blah...
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Me too.|
Originally Posted by Innovator
Humans must thrive and expand through the galaxy...period. I'm kinda getting sick and tired of the self hate...
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I'm also getting sick of the "it's too dangerous, send robots" and "that planet is too far away, we'll never ever see it" crap as well. While those things may be true, barring the invention of time travel or advances in cryogenics, that kind of thinking isn't going to get us anywhere. Neither will the "we suck" thoughts.
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While I'm also excited by the announcement, the article clearly states the planet is in the ESTIMATED habitable zone and even that is not set in stone. Until we get a Hubble style telescope close up shot of a blue planet with green land masses we have nothing but a wild guess. Even if there was a photo it wouldn't be released until it sat in a classified file for a minimum of 5 to 10 years.
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If you're sick of the negativity then nothing's really stopping YOU from inventing warp drive for us.|
Originally Posted by Night-Hawk07
I'm also getting sick of the "it's too dangerous, send robots" and "that planet is too far away, we'll never ever see it" crap as well. While those things may be true, barring the invention of time travel or advances in cryogenics, that kind of thinking isn't going to get us anywhere. Neither will the "we suck" thoughts.
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Since you're apparently so "optimistic" about it why don't you let us know when you've got that figured out...
And don't confuse the "we suck" as a species thoughts with anything other than realistic self-assessment based on historical truths. Pessimistic downer thoughts aren't what's going to keep us from the stars anytime soon, the laws of physics will do that well enough on their own.
Sure I'd like to live in a Star Trek future too.
The diference is that I'm not "assuming" it's going to happen that way for us.
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How arrogant and dismissive. I wish you had read my entire post. No part of it was human-hating.|
Originally Posted by Innovator
Humans must thrive and expand through the galaxy...period. I'm kinda getting sick and tired of the self hate...
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Back to the real discussion now...
EDIT: My real problem is editing my quote to include "blah...blah...blah..." and completely ignoring what I had to say. I will admit that I agree with your sentiments, but your complete lack of character is infuriating.
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"We suck" thoughts are what keep people in trailers, the world didn't become smaller and get the technologies to make 7-11 burritoes because of them (well maybe the last part). Personally, I think it's a silly attitude. The world became what it is because of adventurous spirit, and those that didn't let limitations that life set before them keep them from doing anything, but instead invented ways out of that darkness...like lightbulbs and toaster ovens and the little thing on my desk shelf that I'm still not sure what it does yet. |
Originally Posted by Lothic
And don't confuse the "we suck" as a species thoughts with anything other than realistic self-assessment based on historical truths. Pessimistic downer thoughts aren't what's going to keep us from the stars anytime soon, the laws of physics will do that well enough on their own.
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Yes, there will be people behind those that exploit the strides they create, history has proven that, but thats also how these things spread to even the luddites who still think their CRT sets with static viewing is good enough for them. There will be those with less than morale intentions that will use the strides built for their own gain, hell without them we wouldn't have had the spread of pornography that made the internet what it is today! So I agree, let's do something, instead of complaining about how much we suck.
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No worries, my brother tells me that all the time. |
Originally Posted by Gehnen
EDIT: My real problem is editing my quote to include "blah...blah...blah..." and completely ignoring what I had to say. I will admit that I agree with your sentiments, but your complete lack of character is infuriating.
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Well like I said I'll wait until someone more "adventurous" than me breaks the laws of physics and invents the warp drive or something equivalently fantastic that'll make travelling to the stars a realistic possibility. I suppose I'm personally satisfied being a "Luddite" about it until that scientific impossibility happens mostly because it's pretty clear it's not going to happen in my lifetime, if ever. We can't even generate the collective will as a species to work together to go back to the Moon at this point - what makes anyone seriously think we're going to get our act together enough to do anything better? *shrugs*|
Originally Posted by Innovator
The world became what it is because of adventurous spirit, and those that didn't let limitations that life set before them keep them from doing anything, but instead invented ways out of that darkness...like lightbulbs and toaster ovens and the little thing on my desk shelf that I'm still not sure what it does yet.
...let's do something, instead of complaining about how much we suck. |
I'll suppose I'll leave it to the far future generations to create the Star Empires needed to fight the Aliens, Predators, Klingons, Sith Lords, Daleks, Cylons, Tribbles and/or whatever else is out there...
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The last 30 years. I'm actually quite amazed at how fast technology has developed in computers, robotics, medicine, communication. I have great hopes, as I was there when there were no cell phones, music was played on large vynil disks and magnetic tape on machines called 8-tracks, and people just started to have computers, when BBS's ruled and the internet was nothing but people trading software and porn through usegroups, when gopher sites were the first inklings of the www. I was also a student at the very first computer programming course offered in schools in California, where I was paid $15 dollars a week to be part of the course, as that's how they got us to come in for it during the summer, now I write code for smart phones! |
Originally Posted by Lothic
what makes anyone seriously think we're going to get our act together enough to do anything better? *shrugs*
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My parents are probably doubly amazed for they had to draw on cave walls to entertain themselves and walk 30 miles in the snow uphill barefoot to school, cause there where no cars or some such...
Edit: As far as people, I think we're still a little shaky but hopefully getting there. We had good times and bad. Remember, I come from the time of the cold war, where nuclear threat was talked about every day, as well as the evil communist empire called the USSR. Then, I also remember, that we danced after the wall fell, and boy did we dance
Loose, footloose
Kick off your Sunday shoes
Please, Louise
Pull me offa my knees
Jack, get back
C'mon before we crack
Lose your blues
Everybody cut footloose!
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Who knows, a lifetime may be longer than you think.
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Originally Posted by Lothic
I suppose I'm personally satisfied being a "Luddite" about it until that scientific impossibility happens mostly because it's pretty clear it's not going to happen in my lifetime, if ever.
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Sadly I'm old enough to remember a time when people thought the things that happened in 2001: A Space Odyssey might realistically be possible by 2001. 
We might eventually get there anyway, but at this point I think it's going to be more important to see how we survive the Technological Singularity (a.k.a. real life HAL 9000s) than worry about humans creating moon bases or sending manned ships to Jupiter.
And as far as people living longer sure it's always possible someone might come up with a medical way to extend our lifetimes soon enough. But more than likely that way will be too expensive and too difficult to allow EVERYONE to take advantage of it, at least at first. Imagine the chaos that'll happen if only -some- of us were allowed to be effectively immortal and not -all- of us. It'll make our upcoming wars for oil and water look like pillow fights...
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again, waiting for the tech singularity, when we can shake off this fleshy body and go completely energy, that way we can traverse great distances, regardless of the effects of time.|
Originally Posted by Lothic
We might eventually get there anyway, but at this point I think it's going to be more important to see how we survive the Technological Singularity (a.k.a. real life HAL 9000s) than worry about humans creating moon bases or sending manned ships to Jupiter. |
Trying to get this fleshy mass all that way is a waste, really.
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I suppose I'm just hoping that "humans uploaded to machines" will win out over the "sentient machines that load themselves into terminator robots". |
Originally Posted by QuietAmerican
again, waiting for the tech singularity, when we can shake off this fleshy body and go completely energy, that way we can traverse great distances, regardless of the effects of time.
Trying to get this fleshy mass all that way is a waste, really. |
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What you really have to look out for are uplifted lobsters.
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Originally Posted by Lothic
I suppose I'm just hoping that "humans uploaded to machines" will win out over the "sentient machines that load themselves into terminator robots".
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Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
I'm guessing that the habitable region of this planet will be called "The Twilight Zone"?
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Yes. Sadly, we believe it may also be inhabited by a race of sparkly, emo, bloodsuckers. This planet would not be a good second home, in fact, I suggest we just avoid it altogether. |
Originally Posted by Coyote_Seven
I'm guessing that the habitable region of this planet will be called "The Twilight Zone"?
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http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceno...ble-world.html
"Oh, so, um, guys. About that planet..."
Having Vengeance and Fallout slotted for recharge means never having to say you're sorry.
Not surprising. There's always going to be doubt in this area. I'm sure there are going to be those who doubt until they're on a space ship floating above the planet. We still have people wearing tinfoil hats claiming we never landed on the moon.
Btw, on the self-hating topic, take a look at what's going on in Chile at the moment. Yes....we are such a horrible species....
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thank you!
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Originally Posted by Veritech
...Bob from accounting?
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And there will be people that still doubt that we are on a planet orbiting a sun which orbits around a galactic center. Orbiting around the galactic center is easier to doubt since it takes too long to complete a revolution.
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Originally Posted by Night-Hawk07
Not surprising. There's always going to be doubt in this area. I'm sure there are going to be those who doubt until they're on a space ship floating above the planet. We still have people wearing tinfoil hats claiming we never landed on the moon.
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The first step in being sane is to admit that you are insane.
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We're on a planet Orbiting a star.|
Originally Posted by starphoenix
And there will be people that still doubt that we are on a planet orbiting a sun which orbits around a galactic center. Orbiting around the galactic center is easier to doubt since it takes too long to complete a revolution.
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A star that orbits around the center of a galaxy.
A Galaxy that is gravitationally locked within a local cluster of galaxies.
A Local cluster that is gravitationally locked within a Super cluster of galaxies.
All possibly in an infinite universe.
An infinite universe that could be a black hole.
A black hole that could by just a particle in another universe ^.^
There is a decent chunk of people that can't comprehend the first part let alone the second... and when we get into the third part...well we've just about lost everyone so >.>
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I don't doubt any of that. |
Originally Posted by starphoenix
And there will be people that still doubt that we are on a planet orbiting a sun which orbits around a galactic center. Orbiting around the galactic center is easier to doubt since it takes too long to complete a revolution.
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But I've read where they estimate it takes 250 million years for our solar system to rotate around the galactic center. If we are to accept the scientific age of the Universe that means the Milky Way has only spun around roughly 50 times (give or take) in its lifetime and our solar system has only existed for about 18 of those. Those just seem like remarkably low numbers for something as huge and relatively organized as our galaxy....
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Have you ever rowed a boat, or just moved your hand through the water, and seen little spinning eddies in your wake? You might notice that they don't last very long before spinning out and dissipating.|
Originally Posted by Lothic
I don't doubt any of that.
But I've read where they estimate it takes 250 million years for our solar system to rotate around the galactic center. If we are to accept the scientific age of the Universe that means the Milky Way has only spun around roughly 50 times (give or take) in its lifetime and our solar system has only existed for about 18 of those. Those just seem like remarkably low numbers for something as huge and relatively organized as our galaxy.... |
The Milky Way -- and all other galaxies -- are just spinning eddies in the wake of the Big Bang.
...
New Webcomic -- Genocide Man
Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass slaughter can be hilarious.
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*Keanu Reeves as Ted Logan* Whoaaa.... |
Originally Posted by RemusShepherd
Have you ever rowed a boat, or just moved your hand through the water, and seen little spinning eddies in your wake? You might notice that they don't last very long before spinning out and dissipating.
The Milky Way -- and all other galaxies -- are just spinning eddies in the wake of the Big Bang. |
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This planet is much too far away (although very close by galactic standards*) for us to seriously consider some sort of expedition within any of our lifetimes. The distinct possibility of no natural shielding from radiation would pretty much crap on any terraforming notions, too. Mars is practically impossible just due to this.
It does raise some puzzling moral questions, however. Imagine there is life there, but not intelligent by means immediately measurable by humans? We've really turned some ecosystems on our own planet upside down from our ignorance, but that's excusable to a certain degree because we belong here. Rocketing off to some other world, and accidentally tromping through some alien creature's brain is really disturbing to me.
A near-dead Red Dwarf is beyond comprehension. The universe itself is only about 13 billion years old.
*Please consider that our galaxy is about 100,000 light-years wide.