Potentially Habitable Planet Found

By SETH BORENSTEIN - AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday as a big step in the search for "life in the universe."

-Go to the web address below to view the entire article.

http://www.insightbb.com/story.aspx?doc=ONLINE/D8ON9PUO0.xml&top=TOP

Yeah, I saw that! Pretty cool. When I was reading the newspaper article, though, I kept wondering... How can the scientists tell that it has 1.6 X earth's gravity, but can't tell how big it is? Basically, I was just curious as to how they calculate things like that. (Heh, when I was younger I wanted to be a cosmologist, before I figured out how much math would be involved.)

This is rather interesting. I don't know why they expect life on other planets to be like life on our planet though. 'Habitable' is completely relative. Just on our planet there are different organisms that need various habitats and all those organisms developed on the same planet. Besides, whose to say life off of our planet is even carbon based?

Icarus, I agree. That's another thing I've always wondered about. Just because humans couldn't live somewhere doesn't mean nothing else could... But, eh. It could help!

Hee hee hee... I just watched the movie "Contact" tonight. Appropriate.

The life on this planet has evolved [if you believe in such things] to suit the planet. This is not random trick. If the gravity was stronger on earth, we would be shorter and our muscles much more powerful...to offer up a simple example.

I would fully expect, that if there was a planet with similar a environment to earth in terms of light, air and gravity etc..to find lifeforms with at least the same biological needs as us...though as to their shape and nature, who can guess.

Still, all those Sci Fi films about the human race leaving a charred and ruined planet earth suddenly seem that bit closer.

I recall a book I read about a British regiment that got lost in the Indian mountains while on a mission...they were half dead from starvation when they came upon a large group of native people living in a community in the moutains. They were called the Hunza's I think...and they lived a totally independant and peaceful life. They had no jails, everyone was part of the community..they had no rape, abuse etc....

The captain of the regiment was so impressed with their Zen like community based life that he said in his journal

"My greatest wish for these people, is that civilazation never finds them".

I do hope we don't mess up another planet.