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Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

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Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#161

Post by ExactoKnight »

BurningFrog wrote: post #146
spenczar5 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very large telescopes can achieve great resolving power, but they run up against atmospheric turbulence, particularly in many of the spectral regions we care about for checking out exoplanets. Radio light passes right through the atmosphere for the most part, which is why you see very large radio telescopes, but they're not very practical for infrared or visible light scopes. Space-based telescopes are a better avenu…

Aside from turbulence, gigantic earth bound telescopes struggle with weight and fragility of the giant mirrors. That aspect is also much easier in space. Once you get it out there, which is hard...

The James Webb Space Telescope, nicknamed the telescope that ate astronomy, has cost an enormous amount of money due to the need to get everything aligned absolutely perfect before launching because there will be no chance for repair.

In comparison, with adaptive optics ground based telescopes have a lot more leeway to be fixed and corrected.

(That said, if astronomical interferometry can achieve the same result as a 100Metre telescope, then let's do it that way! How is less important than making sure we have something in our pipeline within the next decade that can be capable of directly measuring the spectra of exoplanets.)

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#162

Post by jdavis703 »

hueving wrote: post #128
ExactoKnight wrote: post #101

I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren't rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us. A telescope this large could tell us whether any of these potentially habitable planets contain oxygen, and thus, biological processes. Yet thanks to funding cuts in science the biggest telescope we have in the pipeline r…

>I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren't rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us. This is because most of society is still struggling with day-to-day tasks like getting housing, clean water, reliable food, healthcare and dealing with physical conflicts. Even people rich enough to not be stuck in the s…

Let's assume a 100-meter telescope is 10x the cost of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope. That means it would cost about $14 billion to build. If the U.S. and E.U. split the cost it would take about $14 for every person and child to build this. If you split the cost out to a decade, it'd be about $1.40 everyone had to pay out every year. This is a matter of priorities, not there being a lack of resources.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#163

Post by MrF3ynmann »

kiliantics wrote: post #158
ExactoKnight wrote: post #101

I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren't rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us. A telescope this large could tell us whether any of these potentially habitable planets contain oxygen, and thus, biological processes. Yet thanks to funding cuts in science the biggest telescope we have in the pipeline r…

Europe is building one that's 40m: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_Large_Telescope

Telescope names are becoming ridiculous... Very large, extremely large, what's next? Super duper large?

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#165

Post by SolarNet »

nextlevelwizard wrote: post #115

Isn't nearest sun-like star... the Sun?

I mean the implication we exclude the object we are searching for when we say like. If I was looking for a table row "like" the value of row 34, row 34 wouldn't be a match.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#166

Post by ExactoKnight »

2845197541 wrote: post #148
ExactoKnight wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finding the existence of life on another planet holds MAJOR implications for many organized and unorganized religions. It would tell us whether abiogenesis and life is common, or something truly unique. So while discovering life on another planet wouldn't answer exactly "why we are here", it would go a hell of a long way in shaping our answers to that question.

I apologize for being semantic, but I think that would answer the 'how' rather than the 'why.' I understand what you're saying though. As for the religious, well... I believe they will absolutely find a way for there not to be any major implications. New findings will be absorbed into the obfuscatory practice of apologetics.

Yeah, I really used the first questions as a way to give importance to how big the "Are we alone?" question is on the scale of humanity.

That is to say, that arguably "Why are we here" is the only question of more significance than "Are we alone?"

If this telescope can answer the second most important question to humanity, that's pretty good.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#167

Post by CamperBob2 »

redthrowaway wrote: post #153
hueving wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren't rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us. This is because most of society is still struggling with day-to-day tasks like getting housing, clean water, reliable food, healthcare and dealing with physical conflicts. Even people rich enough to not be stuck in the s…

>This is because most of society is still struggling with day-to-day tasks like getting housing, clean water, reliable food, healthcare and dealing with physical conflicts. It's been nearly 100 years since anyone struggled with that in the West. Nobody's expecting Eritrea to put a satellite in orbit.

Nobody's expecting Eritrea to put a satellite in orbit.

Worth pointing out that Ghana just did.

If we waited until we "solve all our problems here at home," as the GP suggests, we'd still be calling to each other from neighboring trees in a jungle somewhere.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#168

Post by ugh123 »

ExactoKnight wrote: post #101

I am flabbergasted that as a society we aren't rushing to build a 100 metre wide telescope mirror large enough for us to directly image the spectra of the potentially habitable exoplanets around us. A telescope this large could tell us whether any of these potentially habitable planets contain oxygen, and thus, biological processes. Yet thanks to funding cuts in science the biggest telescope we have in the pipeline r…

I'm all in favor of science funding, especially projects that drive and give back technology capabilities to society. But I would like to see more balance and preference to solve hunger and poverty around the world.

To me that question is high on the list as well. And preferably more so.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#169

Post by JCharante »

meric wrote: post #159
ExactoKnight wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Finding the existence of life on another planet holds MAJOR implications for many organized and unorganized religions. It would tell us whether abiogenesis and life is common, or something truly unique. So while discovering life on another planet wouldn't answer exactly "why we are here", it would go a hell of a long way in shaping our answers to that question.

I can't believe you like the idea of discovering alien life so you can use the discovery to troll religions. Surely there's other reasons why this is exciting?!

I always thought the big deal of finding life on other planets would be to deal a major blow to creationism.

Re: Four Earth-sized planets detected orbiting the nearest sun-like star

#170

Post by DigitalJack »

MrF3ynmann wrote: post #163
kiliantics wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Europe is building one that's 40m: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_Large_Telescope

Telescope names are becoming ridiculous... Very large, extremely large, what's next? Super duper large?

Hexamegagigabyte son.
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