New Planet Discovered
Should We Look Any Further
There is a lot of talk in the scientific world, about the fact that a new planet has been found. It is thought that the conditions on this planet could support life, as we know it.
The name of this planet is Gliese581g. It has this name, firstly, by the name given to its Sun, a dwarf star, Gliese. Which was named after its discoverer Wilhelm Gliese[pronounced glee-zuh], a German astronomer. Secondly, it received the letter g, by being the sixth planet found to be circling the Sun, which was given the letter a.
The planet is thought to have a greater mass than Earth and is probably 1.3 - 2 times the size of Earth. It is located in the Libra constellation.
There will now probably be a great amount of money spent on finding out if life does exist on this planet. WHY?
Just to prove what most people already believe. That life does exist elsewhere in the Universe..
This planet is 6 trillion miles away, or 22 light years. This means that at travelling at the speed of light, it would take 22 years to reach it. Given that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second and our Space shuttle travels at 5 miles per second, you do the maths on how long it would take us to reach it.
Are scientists therefore going to study it from a distance to see if there are any forms of life on the planet? They have already said that life, as we know it could exist. If they want to find new life that can exist on conditions like that on Earth, then study the Earth.
It is estimated that between 2 - 100million species exist on Earth .With the exception of vertebrates of which there are probably believed to be 5000 still undiscovered, it is estimated that we have not yet discovered half the life forms on our own planet. Some of which are probably becoming extinct before we do find them.
Are scientists perhaps hoping that they will find intelligent life? Life that is by far more advanced than us and hope that they will share that knowledge with us? If an advanced life form does exist, why would it share its knowledge with us? Would we give a Neanderthal a machine gun? No. Knowledge must be learned progressively otherwise it may not be fully understood and that could be dangerous.
There is no doubt that, we have been able to improve our lifestyles because of space technology. However, we should learn to walk before we can run. Continuing to study our own solar system, including Earth, before venturing further into space.
Why would aliens with advanced knowledge wish to contact us? Inhabitants of a planet we do not fully understand and so are slowly destroying.
Surely the best way to attract attention, is to display good husbandry of our planet.
Search for Yourself
The Search for Aliens
- Maya, the link to aliens
The Maya calendar has become more famous as we approach 2012. In the Maya calendar 2012 signifies the end of a "cycle" of time. Some take this to mean the end of the world. It is now believed that in 2012...
Undiscovered species
- Undiscovered Species - How Many Left to Find - Current Results
Most of the world's species remain undiscovered by science. Here are estimates of how many animals and plants have yet to be found.
