Friday, December 18, 2009
A big, hot ocean
Hot, but cool.
4 Comments:
By 
SR, at
Fri Dec 18, 02:03:00 PM:
But do they have universal free healthcare?
By JPMcT, at
Fri Dec 18, 09:47:00 PM:
"With an estimated temperature of 370 degrees Fahrenheit, GJ 1214b is an unlikely incubator (Earth’s toughest extremophile, a microbe that lives in deep-sea volcanic vents, maxes out at 284 degrees) but it’s not impossible."
...and let me get this straight...we are worried about a 3 degree centrigrade increase in global temperature over the next 50 years.
Something is a little MALODORUS about this concept.
By 
Brian Schmidt, at
Mon Dec 21, 04:53:00 PM:
I could think of a way to politicize this comment, but instead I'll just say it's a really wonderful discovery.
Even better is that the star is close enough for the Hubble to take spectrum readings of the atmosphere.
Best, and still possible, is if they ever find an earth-sized planet in a similar transit orbit at a similar distance from us. Hubble or the Webb telescope could examine the atmosphere for disequilibria like having both methane and oxygen present, which would strongly indicate a planet with life.
By Brian Schmidt, at
Mon Dec 21, 04:55:00 PM:
Oops, should've said earth-sized, in transit, and in the habitable zone of the star.
