POLL: Does Alien Planet Gliese 581g Really Exist?

[doublehelix]

On Sept. 29, 2010, astronomers announced the discovery of two new alien planets around the star Gliese 581, just over 20 light-years from Earth. One of them, Gliese 581g, made big news for being the first extrasolar planet discovered in a just-right orbit called the "habitable zone," where liquid water could exist.

Now, a follow-up study has cast doubt on the discovery, but the astronomer who led the planet-finding team stands behind the find. What do YOU think?

More stories
Astronomer Stands By Discovery of Alien Planet Gliese 581g Amid Doubts
Doubt Cast on Existence of Potentially Habitable Alien Planet Gliese 581g
FAQ: A Million Questions About Habitable Planet Gliese 581g (Okay, 12)
Gallery: Strangest Alien Planets

 

[MeteorWayne]

sigh...

The intelligent respondant would say "We don't know yet"

And of course, that's not one of the poll choices.

However, this is a front page SDC poll, so I'm sure the responses will be much more "informed" :roll:

 

[Gravity_Ray]

sigh...

The intelligent respondant would say "We don't know yet"

And of course, that's not one of the poll choices.

However, this is a front page SDC poll, so I'm sure the responses will be much more "informed" :roll:

Wouldnt that be choice #2? :lol:

You grumpy bear.

 

[orienteer]

Sorry to disappoint you Wayne, but I agree with you. Gleise 581 g is starting to remind me of a blind date. You may marry her, or she may not even be there at the restaurant, but you can have a lot of fun fantasizing in the mean time. :lol:

 

[MeteorWayne]

sigh...

The intelligent respondant would say "We don't know yet"

And of course, that's not one of the poll choices.

However, this is a front page SDC poll, so I'm sure the responses will be much more "informed" :roll:

Wouldnt that be choice #2? :lol:

You grumpy bear.

No, because the evidence isn't yet compelling or not. It's been submitted to a peer reviewed journal, not accepted.

As I said in the other thread, let the scienctific process play out as it should before rushing to judgement.

 

[J_M_Weikle]

What kind of POLL questions are these? These are not scientific questions to even be considered for a POLL and any data collected is useless.


1. Yes, the planet has life on it and it is the home world of the Ewoks.
2. No, I'm to stupid because I believe what other people tell me and it is in the Bible that the Earth is the only planet.

3. Maybe, but the article is really interesting and I just want to say "Yes".

However; these would be valid questions for the readers;

1. Yes, because the research team has 11 years of data and something within the data leads the researcher to indicate a planet exist.
2. No, because more data collection needs to occur or new technology invented to allow further data collection.
3. Maybe, because the data collected thus far indicates a high probability of a planet.

 

[Moses3]

Well, if life does exist else, let us hope is is close enough to observe us.

 

[gmcdavid]

The results of science are not influenced by polls. Just posting this is a case of "unclear on the concept."

 

[MargaretPOA]

This is a silly poll. None of us have seen the data. Even the wording of the poll seems silly. The Vogt team is well known for the care they take though.

 

[wangz0r]

Worst poll, ever. Ok well maybe not EVER, but still pretty pointless.

 

[SpaceBurger]

Seriously . Why are you asking us?

That's like asking a bunch of Penguins if Sally Struthers is fat ....

 

[terranoid]

The Swiss team used a different, smaller, inferior dataset than Vogt et al. Their analysis showed that with that data, they couldn't confirm the existence of Gliese 581g with confidence because there was a probability of several percent that the signal was just noise. How that could cast a doubt on the results of Vogt's team, who used a larger and clearly superior dataset is beyond me. As long as no one uses the same or even better data than Vogt et al to falsify their results the latter still stands.

That's as if one team announces a supernova in a distant galaxy and then another team, using an inferior telescope/CCD-camera takes a picture of that same galaxy and announces they doubt the supernova because in their picture it could as well be just noise. The only valid thing the second team could rightfully say is that they couldn't confirm the supernova with confidence using the equipment they had at hand.

The poll is weird. The first option would answers two completely unrelated questions.
a) Whether Glise 581g exists
and
b) Whether the odds for life there are 100%
There are absolutely no observational data available to either confirm or reject such a claim. It's therefore pure speculation.

Sorry, I hesitate to vote on such a poll.

 

[adrenalynn]

Wow - the impressive thing to me is that this is the first time in history where all the new registers got it RIGHT!

Kudos to you all, and welcome to the forums! Please stop back in often.

 

[silylene]

And I like your picture, the cat with the green laser light dot on its forehead. (No cats got blinded I hope!)

 

[kkinnison]

I'm like everyone else here; why do these dumb "polls" always present inappropriate choices for answers? The only reasonable answer is "I don't know yet, because we don't have enough data, but we will know eventually; check back with me then". Why is that so hard to understand?

 

[Basketvector]

The poll is about your gut feeling obviously.

 

[Celebrimbor]

This is a silly poll. None of us have seen the data. Even the wording of the poll seems silly. The Vogt team is well known for the care they take though.

Wow! When did the space.com readership get so sensible?!?

 

[Sycamorefan]

I choose NOT to vote on this one......But I will make this comment! It,s time to fund and build the Terrestrial Planet Finder!

 

[adrenalynn]

A highly advanced tool has already been developed to determine whether Gliese 581g really exists with the parameters predicted. This tool can also be employed for answering the poll here with absolute accuracy.

You can find this tool, free of charge, here.

 

[MeteorWayne]

"Signs point to yes" :lol:

 

[adrenalynn]

Sorry to have to disagree with you, MW, but "My sources say no"

 

[Smersh]

sigh...

The intelligent respondant would say "We don't know yet"

And of course, that's not one of the poll choices.

However, this is a front page SDC poll, so I'm sure the responses will be much more "informed" :roll:

I agree Wayne, so I voted for the nearest option available to "we don't know yet" (I'm on the "cosmic fence.")

Basically what we seem to have here is one lot of scientists saying it exists and another lot saying it doesn't. So, speaking not as a scientist but as a retired aeroplane parts salesman I figure I need to wait for the experts.

 

[trumptor]

I didn't respond because, I think it's there, but the first choice clearly states that "its as probable as its habitability, 100%"

Now, if I could bet on it being there I would, but I don't think its quite AS probably as its habitability! LOL

We know the Ewoks are there, but is the planet there, is the question!

 

[bdewoody]

I agree with those who point out that choice one calls for one to not only believe the data that the planet exists but also that it must have life.

I find it relatively easy to believe that the planet exists and that it may be in that star's goldilocks zone. But I think it totally stretches credulity that there is evidence of life there.

 

[jfrich]

Using the Radial Velocity method in a multi-planet system will invariably compound the difficulty of determining the number and position of the planets orbiting the parent star. I still feel that Gliese 581g exists, but maybe I am just wishing it to be so as I believe that habitable planets are out there somewhere.

Jfrich: