Rocky super-Earth named most habitable known world beyond solar system

[brooklynite]

The Guardian

A faraway planet in the constellation of Leo has been named the most habitable known world beyond the solar system after astronomers detected water vapour in its atmosphere.

It is the first time a planet in its star’s “Goldilocks zone” – where the temperature is neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist – has been found to bear the life-sustaining substance in the blanket of gases that surround it.

The discovery has raised hopes that the planet, and similar worlds spotted in recent years, not only have conditions that can be suited to life, but in some cases may host living organisms.

“This is the first potentially habitable planet where the temperature is right and where we now know there is water,” said Angelos Tsiaras, an astronomer at University College London. “It’s the best candidate for habitability right now.

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[at140]

1. Can we move Trump cabinet to that planet

with Trump as the captain of the space ship.

[PhoenixDem]

2. It has always fascinated me

There has to be intelligent life out there somewhere and yet we will have no way to meet or communicate

[brush]

3. Good news but it can't be the only one. It's the only one we are pretty sure of.

There are billions/trillions of stars and exponentially even that many more planets so the chances of there being many more habitable ones that we know nothing about from our little, remote spiral band of the Milky Way galaxy are great.

[Bayard]

4. Habitable for humans maybe...

Who is to say other species require water or oxygen?