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What will you be doing the 4th of January?
Messiah
Failed Experiment
in Zocalo v2.0
[url]http://kepler.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=15[/url]
Comments
[IMG]http://www.latimes.com/media/alternatethumbnails/storylink/2009-11/50670436-23130823.jpg[/IMG]
Im getting excited by this picture:
[img]http://kepler.nasa.gov/images/mws/keptop.jpg[/img]
That doesn't even closely sound like they've discovered Pandora. So what announcement could they possibly make tomorrow?
I think I'll do what most people will do tomorrow, go about their business as usual.
That picture has me pretty excited, too.
Then what? I'm still not holding my breath. :D
Green power rules!
Then what? I'm still not holding my breath. :D[/QUOTE]
If you're not excited, or even interested, why are you spending so much time analysing the picture?
That's.... wait for it.... fascinating. As exciting as finding the next five prime numbers. :D
But somebody had to do it and so they did it. Pin the blue ribbon on their chests. :D
On the plus side, it's good to know that there are still people doing real science.
[url]http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2010/0104/NASA-s-Kepler-finds-its-first-five-planets-an-odd-assortment[/url]
That's.... wait for it.... fascinating. As exciting as finding the next five prime numbers. :D
But somebody had to do it and so they did it. Pin the blue ribbon on their chests. :D
On the plus side, it's good to know that there are still people doing real science.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure why you're being so cynical about all this? You seem to be laboring under the assumption that all those planets are out there and those folks are simply not working hard enough to find them.
The fact of the matter is that until we have solid proof, the assumption that no other earth-like planets exist is nearly as valid as the assumption the galaxy is filled with earth-like planets.
Discovering the answer will be an incremental process not a leap-frog. [EDIT]Also note that this is simply data from the first 43 days of observation and that researchers want to at least 4 transits before determining whether or not its a planet. Each of the discovered planets have 3 to 4 days, so they quickly met the transit criteria. On the other hand, planets further out in the "habitable zone" will likely have much longer orbits, so it may take years to gather enough critical data.
Something I am curious about, what about planets that do not orbit on the plain close to parallel with Kepler's line of sight?
Jake
mmmm......cake....... :D
Launch shuttle?
As I understand it, such planets could only be detected by the gravitational influence they have on a star. I don't know if Kepler is capable of detecting that sort of effect.
[QUOTE=sinclair;186174]What would we do then if a confirmed earth-like planet would be found, with all the goodies such as forests, oceans, oil and blue kittens?[/QUOTE]
If it has oil, declare war with the goal of liberating the planet.
What we expected: the discovery of an Earth-like planet (the mission of Kepler)
What we got instead: something is orbiting a star in 4 days
What we expected: life on Mars
What we got instead: a fossil of a turd inside a rock
What we expected: a trekky replacement for the aging space shuttles
What we got instead: we are going back to rockets
What we expected: an orbital space station
What we got instead: a jumble of connected trailers
I've never seen so many people simultaneously drag their feet to get the job done. These are government employees with job security and six figure salaries.
Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed that they are detecting stuff at those huge distances. It's just disheartening what baby steps we are taking in the 21st century. This is centuries away from flying cars. This isn't even the stone age in space technology terms.
No, I'm not being cynical, just very, very disappointed. If this is the best we can do, I'm not impressed. This is why our future generations will get tortured in class? For this?
Thank you Sir Patrick Stewart for keeping the dream alive, you deserve every kudos you get.
Anyway, that being said, I'm not a cynic, I just play one on the web. :D
Looking at the FAQ: [url]http://kepler.nasa.gov/Mission/faq/[/url]
It appears less than 1% of planets orbiting the 100,000 target stars in Keplers FOV will have plains aligned such that unit will be able to record their transits.
Jake
So many things need to be done, simultaneously, that it is very difficult to focus on what is critical. Meanwhile people are jumping off bridges with bungee cords. That's very helpful. :D
Apparently DARPA has finally kick-started [URL="http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/49469"]the flying car project[/URL]. And here we all thought they've been working on it for decades. No, I'm not being cynical. :D
They can't even fix receeding hair lines. :D (No, spray painting hair on your head doesn't count.)