Cosmos magazine reports that French researchers think they’ve found the first planet other than Earth capable of sustaining life, concluding that it probably has a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere and that “the climate of Gliese 581d is not only stable against collapse but warm enough to have oceans, clouds and rainfall.” Yes! I just set some coal on fire to watch that shit burn.
It orbits the star Gliese 581 in the so-called Goldilocks zone (not too hot; not too cold), which means that water is likely to exist there in liquid form. Gliese 581d is about twice the size of Earth, if seven times its mass. It’s a neighbour of Gliese 581g, or Zarmina’s World, but unlike that planet, it is certain that this one exists. Sweet! I just stabbed a panda!
It may also be “tidally locked” with one side always facing its sun in permanent daylight. Which will be great for my tan! I just poured mercury down the drain! I just drank some toxic waste! I just shat in the ocean! I just punched the Pope in his ugly Popey nose!
Wait. Oh crap. Apparently it takes 300,000 years to travel 20 light years. Which may be a problem for me.
simulacrum
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 12:43 PM7 times the mass of earth? The force of gravity up there must be hard on the joints.
P3t3
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 1:35 PMThat’s ok you could just use a bong!
Aidan Harris
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 5:48 PMHA! :D
LucasF
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 8:27 PMI can’t believe that got past the moderators. Not that it was bad or offensive. It’s just that it was a Dad joke.
james whatsit
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 11:42 PMda-dun..tshhhh
Nodeity
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 4:25 PMYeah, Seven times our worlds mass, I think someones fudging the figures if they think it’s habitable…
Aaron
Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at 9:23 PMsweet now we have found a planet we can actually go to, now lets just invent FTL travel already.