Is it possible for us to discover habitable planets close to us?

[serhiy1635]

Interesting question.. !! Well...so far we observed, there are no such planets near Earth or our Solar System, which supports life. Yes, there are some 'Earth like Planets' but the condition of those planets are not suitable for life.

Actually, there is a possibility that some forms of life can be on the surface of the red planet. As a frozen lake was found on the surface of Mars, some forms of life can remain there in the frozen water. I have already mentioned in another thread the Rosalind Franklin’ mission. This
space mission will attempt to search for life on Mars. The launch is scheduled for 2022. Interesting fact, that this is the first Mars mission by British aerospace companies. Looking forward to this mission and I hope it will open some new things for us.

 

[Helio]

Interesting question.. !! Well...so far we observed, there are no such planets near Earth or our Solar System, which supports life. Yes, there are some 'Earth like Planets' but the condition of those planets are not suitable for life.

What we know is that we have only an extremely limited amounts of data to allow us to draw any clear conclusion of what is or isn't out there. The vast majority of the exoplanets discovered are very poor candidates for life, assuming liquid water is critical to life. But these early observations were focused on the low-hanging fruit - large, hot planets close to the star. The juicy stuff will come later with better and better telescopes.

 

[serhiy1635]

What we know is that we have only an extremely limited amounts of data to allow us to draw any clear conclusion of what is or isn't out there. The vast majority of the exoplanets discovered are very poor candidates for life, assuming liquid water is critical to life. But these early observations were focused on the low-hanging fruit - large, hot planets close to the star. The juicy stuff will come later with better and better telescopes.

Well... the whole theory about exoplanets and the possibility of life there is based on assumptions. We do not have any facts that can prove this theory...

 

[Helio]

Well... the whole theory about exoplanets and the possibility of life there is based on assumptions.

Well, we have some evidence including thousands of exoplanets that we didn't have before. The evidence is clear that there is nothing known that would prevent another Earth-like planet to exist. Seeing them, however, is incredibly difficult, but newer and better telescopes will reveal them. This certainly doesn't guarantee life but it would be sad if every oasis has no life.

We do not have any facts that can prove this theory...

Correct, but the exploration itself is worth watching.

 

[Stellarwest]

I’m a writer and currently writing a book that involves space travel to a potentially habitable planet. I’ve done lots of research of potentially habitable planets that we are already aware of and I am aware that scientists believe there to be billions of planets in the Milky Way alone.

What I’m curious about is how likely it would be to find one or more of these potentially habitable planets in proximity closer to the ones we have already found?

Is it possible that scientists haven’t discovered everything near us? Or would I have to be setting my book somewhere much further afield?

I essentially want to create a planet so as to not get too deep into technical issues of impossibilities with already known existing planets.

And yes I am aware that we can’t reach those planets as of now, but I’m setting the book in the future and will invent technology advances to accommodate this issue.

Hope to hear from someone who might have an answer for me.

Thanks,

Malibu.

Sounds like and interesting subject . I have heard some interesting ideas about Proxima B and I'm trying to find the article where one of our new telescopes might investigating if there is em radiation like ambient light coming from Proxima B, which would be a possible sign of intelligent life there. I just found it. Also we did receive a radio signal from Proxima B. Proxima B maybe tidily locked like our moon showing one side all the time. Maybe its a Grey home-world eek.

Malibu there would be a whole lot to write about concerning Proxima B and I would pick that one. I'm certain that's the star Humans will race too when things get really rotten here on Earth. If we do go there, I just hope the ET's are nice and we don't mess that place up!

ET, is that you? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope might be able to detect any artificial lights on the exoplanet Proxima b when it launches this October, scientists claim

• Proxima b is the nearest exoplanet to Earth at about 4.2 light years away
• The planet is likely tidally locked due to its close proximity to its red dwarf star
• This 'tidal locking' means one side of the world always faces the red dwarf star
• However, as the star is smaller than the Sun it is still within the habitable zone
• Astronomers say people on Proxima b may live on the dark side of the planet
• They would require bright lights or sunlight reflecting mirrors to illuminate them and the team predict this could be detectible by the James Webb telescope

NASA's James Webb telescope may spot artificial lights on Proxima b

The study, by a team including controversial Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, suggests that the James Webb space telescope can be configure to spot evidence of LED light.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Did We Receive a Message from a Planet Orbiting the Nearest Star?

Did We Receive a Message from a Planet Orbiting the Nearest Star?

A radio blip, seemingly from Proxima Centauri, where an Earth-size planet world orbits in the habitable zone, is tantalizing—but it’s probably not a signal from aliens

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[serhiy1635]

Sounds like and interesting subject . I have heard some interesting ideas about Proxima B and I'm trying to find the article where one of our new telescopes might investigating if there is em radiation like ambient light coming from Proxima B, which would be a possible sign of intelligent life there. I just found it. Also we did receive a radio signal from Proxima B. Proxima B maybe tidily locked like our moon showing one side all the time. Maybe its a Grey home-world eek.

Malibu there would be a whole lot to write about concerning Proxima B and I would pick that one. I'm certain that's the star Humans will race too when things get really rotten here on Earth. If we do go there, I just hope the ET's are nice and we don't mess that place up!

However, many people claim that Proxima B is the closest planet to Earth outside of our system. There is no reason to think that this makes it life supporting

 

[Dragrath]

However, many people claim that Proxima B is the closest planet to Earth outside of our system. There is no reason to think that this makes it life supporting

Well with exception for a planet in our solar system or some planet 9+ candidate around our Sun or a appropriately close rouge Planet we can largely rule out a closer system that the Alpha Centauri triple star system with Proxima being the member currently closest to us. Proxima b might not currently be the closest planet for sure (as there could in principal also be a much more distant world orbiting the triple star system at great distances and oriented in our direction it is just unlikely)

As far as we can tell there isn't a closer brown dwarf or rouge gas giant within the Sun's domain since such a world should be hot enough to have been picked up by infrared surveys unless it is exceptionally cold

 

[Catastrophe]

Is it possible for us to discover habitable planets close to us?

That's the question. The answer is "Yes, if there are any there".
The means? Probably the presence of liquid water is the best guide.

Cat

 

[serhiy1635]

Is it possible for us to discover habitable planets close to us?

That's the question. The answer is "Yes, if there are any there".
The means? Probably the presence of liquid water is the best guide.

Cat

The is a chance to find such a planet, or at least, find a planet that can have some form of life. Proxima B might be considered as the appropriate one.

 

[Catastrophe]

Has not Proxima system dropped down the list because of flaring?

Cat

 

[Helio]

Has not Proxima system dropped down the list because of flaring?

Cat

Yes. It’s likely all red dwarfs are too fisty. Their atmospheres are convective, which causes flares, etc.

Perhaps there is some tiny hope that a tidal lock would allow an oasis on the far side, but I doubt it due to atmosphere stripping.

 

[Helio]

So this is your story, it can be whatever you want.
Now whether it is scientific or not, it makes little difference.

Why do you see little difference?

 

[voidpotentialenergy]

Rare Earth i think will be a true theory.
Don't hold your breath for finding earth2.
Think we are in for a long hunt and probably looking at the wrong type of places.
Moons of big plants i think will be better results when we can detect them properly.
In a numbers game moons will be 100s of times more possible for earth2 than earth/moon systems
JMO

 

[Catastrophe]

"Now whether it is scientific or not, it makes little difference."

Whether anything is true or not - so what? Let's post some rubbish and who cares? What is the point of having a science orientated forum if that attitude prevails?

Overall, the standard here is very high. There are always some with other views - fine, providing the rules are upheld. I just ignore anything less.

Cat

 

[Catastrophe]

J:
"Anything can happen in a story, even Thor travels faster than light,
So this is your story, it can be whatever you want.
Now whether it is scientific or not, it makes little difference."

H:

"Why do you see little difference?

J:
Slight difference because there is more population of those people who only read or watch the story but no response"

I think I have lost the thread here. This is the subject:
Is it possible for us to discover habitable planets close to us?
What has SF got to do with it, other than possibly a few practicable suggestions?

Cat

 

[Catastrophe]

I have just found this map of close stars. Astronomy July 2020.

https://imgur.com/a/1N6q3w4

View: https://imgur.com/a/1N6q3w4

There is more off to the left.

The text, bottom right, reads This diagram shows the stars out to 16.2 light years from the Sun. Two thirds are M-class dwarf stars. The numbers are the distances in light years, as measured by the ESA's Hipparcos satellite. The sizes shown are relative to each other, not to the distances between them. All stellar data are from the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars. Astronomy Richard Talcott and Roen Kelly.


Cat

 

[Catastrophe]

Going a bit further away, there is an article in the same issue (Astronomy July 2020) about eta Corvi, which is described : "By examining the infant system, which sports two belts of debris, astronomers hope to gain insight into how young systems form and evolve". This seems relevant to habitable planets.

Cat

 

[Catastrophe]

List of nearest terrestrial exoplanet candidates - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_nearest_terrest...

Name	M⊕	R⊕	Ts	a	e	D
Proxima Centauri b	≥1.27	~1.1	234 K; ‑39°C	0.05	<0.35	4.22
Proxima Centauri c	~7		39 K; ‑234 °C	~1.489	~0.04	4.22
Barnard's Star b	≥3.23		105 K; ‑168.15 °C	0.404	0.32	5.958

View 34 more rows

 

[Lariliss]

Long watch, but there is a wide scientific background and ideas that may be inspiring (with all mentioned in the thread).


https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/isaac-asimov-memorial-debate/2020


Some extract:

There is no exact definition of life from astrobiology point (it only sees life as we can understand it). Not to mention biocentrism, it manifests life in all it’s diversity.

Extraterrestrial intelligence (another point) - might not be well defined,but likely to go from machines (Seth Shostak).

In the case of intelligence as information processing we might be able to create machines that are not necessarily alive, but can produce meaningful information.


Anything that doesn’t follow statistics math as ‘a chance’, might be an intelligent force.

 

[Catastrophe]

Is it possible for us to discover habitable planets close to us?

The question asks about finding habitable planets close to us. This presumably means planets close enough to reach which would allow us to sustain life. We have seen above that even the closest known stars would take hundreds of years to reach without FTL travel, which would not appear to be achievable any time soon, if ever. If we are going in for 'generational' missions, we would have to be pretty sure that there was a suitable planet 'at the end of the tunnel'.

Coming back closer to home, I have pointed out that some of my suggestions would not, in fact, be feasible. At one time, I was quite attracted to the idea that some moons of our more distant planets might be possible venues. But, there are difficulties with 'water worlds'. In the longer term, I thought some of these moons might have solid surfaces beneath the water, when it evaporated. That in about 5 billion years time (if we are still here!) these moons might be made habitable. But, of course, I was forgetting that the gas giants would lose all their hydrogen and helium, and their planets, when their mass shrank to almost nothing, in comparable terms.

So, I guess, we shall just have to forget worrying about the next 5 billion years, and hope Nature will not decide to wipe us out with a more malignant strain of Covid.

Cat

 

[Emely Morris]

I think that there are such people and not even one, but it will be clear in 300 years.
At the moment, your main task is to take care of the Earth.
Therefore, now more than ever, companies with an interest in this problem are important. One of these Dragonfly with an environmental focus invented a chameleon imager for studying from near-earth orbit.

 

[Dragrath]

List of nearest terrestrial exoplanet candidates - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_nearest_terrest...

Name	M⊕	R⊕	Ts	a	e	D
Proxima Centauri b	≥1.27	~1.1	234 K; ‑39°C	0.05	<0.35	4.22
Proxima Centauri c	~7		39 K; ‑234 °C	~1.489	~0.04	4.22
Barnard's Star b	≥3.23		105 K; ‑168.15 °C	0.404	0.32	5.958

View 34 more rows

Probably should note that the Barnard's star candidate has largely been ruled out of being due to a planet instead likely having been caused by a long lived star spot It is sad news but given the low metallicity and old age of the star it seemed a bit unexpected for there to have been a planet like that. The age range became particularly suspicious when accounting for the galactic archology of GAIA tracing astrometry and comparing with spectroscopy and calculated/measured age estimates the last time I checked the youngest possible ages for Barnard's star fall within a star formation lul where very few stars were produced. (which is basically the interval between when the starburst from the GAIA Enceladus merger finished ~9 Gya and when the ongoing Sagittarius merger started and induced our galaxies largest starburst episode lasting between 6 to 5 Gya~6Gya. Considering that its statistically very likely at least twice the age of the Sun there likely wouldn't be much material to form planets.


On a somewhat related note the probable resolution to the solar metallicity crisis may offer an avenue for estimating the amount of material that coalesced into planetesimals/planets around a young star.

In recent years as precision for estimating the Sun's total metallicity via spectroscopy and asteroseismology has increased it has reached the point where the two values no longer agree with asteroseismology suggesting a far more metal rich Sun than the results of spectroscopy do. Recently however it has been noted that the methods are probing different parts of the Sun spectroscopy the outer convective envelope and asteroseismology the core/ radiative interior. Calculations looking at the amount of material that the discrepancy between these two measurements of the convective exterior and the unmixed radiative interior if the discrepancy is real and the result turns out to be roughly the same order of magnitude as the astrophysical metal content measured by Cassini and Juno for Saturn and Jupiter combined which accounts for virtually all the mass of astrophysical metals in the solar system. It is pretty preliminary work but it suggests the discrepancy is likely physical and accurate measurements of both methods metallicities might be able to constrain the total amount of material which could be in orbit around a given star so long as the star is not fully convective which is basically all main sequence stars excluding the extremely common fully convective lower mass M (and or L) type dwarfs and the very rare and extremely short lived monstrous stars where the extreme rate of fusion driven by CNO catalyzed fusion is sufficient to mix material through the full star. The first type of these exceptions tends to have nasty flares that could strip away atmospheres with the liquid water stability zones being so close to their parent stars that they are tidally locked and or might have direct magnetic reconnection events with the star's coronae.

 

[Catastrophe]

Bearing in mind, that it could take well over 400 years to get to Centauri systems - even if, indeed, there is a habitable candidate there, I posted the list for consideration 'as starters' Of course, not all will be suitable.

Cat

 

[Dragrath]

Bearing in mind, that it could take well over 400 years to get to Centauri systems - even if, indeed, there is a habitable candidate there, I posted the list for consideration 'as starters' Of course, not all will be suitable.

Cat

Yeah I don't think we will ever reach the capacity to travel interstellar distances at least while being anything remotely similar to what we are now. In a little over a million years there will naturally be an easy opportunity to reach Gliese 710 a orange k dwarf star for example during its closest approach but the timescale for any such journey is going to be much longer than modern human civilization has lasted or is capable of lasting if we don't reign in our short sighted selfish destructive impulses.

 

[Catastrophe]

Yes, we have to rein in those impulses. Just as a matter or origin, rein in is an allusion to pulling on the reins of a horse in order to exercise more control. How difficult is English! All pronounced exactly the same. "Long to reign over us . . . God save the Queen". Even here in England where it may rain every day.

Reign comes from the old French reignier - to reign. Rain comes (with a vowel change) from Middle English rein, from Old English regn "rain, descent of water in drops through the atmosphere" - we don't need to be told that here!

Cat