1700 Extrasolar Planets and Counting

NASA says the total number of exoplanets now confirmed is around 1700. To quote the article, the galaxy is starting to look crowded.

They're probably all Gas Giants. *sigh*

I initially read the thread title as "1700 Extrasolar Panels and Counting".

I'll take a ticket to Londinium, if you don't mind. I've got aims on wearin' a shiny hat there.

Even if there were a few that were Earth's twins, it would never really matter to us. It will be centuries--if ever--before the human race will extend that far.

I really can't get too worked up anymore about extrasolar planets until they manage to image one close to Earth sized with some kind of atmosphere.

Exoplanets stopped being exciting after the 10th discovery. But I did read something recently about some Earthlike planets possibly orbiting Alpha Centauri B. Now that would be exciting! It is, after all, the eventual home of Zephrame Cochrane.

First Contact forever soured me on anything relating to Zephrame Cochrane.

I'll grant that it pales compared to the two most recent Treks, but IIRC First Contact is generally considered a fan favorite.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Should I open a thread in media central listing the ways I detest First Contact?

Is that a threat?

Perhaps you are right, as I only said it was a fan favorite, not a masterpiece on the quality of JJTrek.

Can we take the Star Trek discussion to Media Central, please?

It was gul who brought a Star Trek character into the thread.

In reference to an exoplanet, which then led you to troll First Contact fans. So yes, let's return to topic.

Not sure whether it was this article or one I read in the paper this morning, but it said the newly discovered 715 included 4 Earth-like planets and that this represented a 400% increase in Earth-like planets. I could swear there had been previous discoveries of Earth-like planets, is this really the first time?

I don't think so . . . these new "earthlike" planets are supposedly in their systems' goldilocks zones, but IIRC Gliese-something-or-other satisfied those conditions as well.

Yeah, Gliese 581 was the one I was thinking about, couldn't remember the name.

Does it give you a secret little thrill to be talking about extrasolar planets? It does me. It's almost like Star Trek . . .

No, me too.

It really excites me that there is a good chance within my lifetime astronomers will identify another planet that has signs of life, even if we'll be centuries away from an ability to know more than that.

All I want to hear before I die is "we've found solid evidence of complex life outside our solar system."
Either that, or "Wow, John, that's amazing! I've never seen anyone have sex with 10,000 people all at once!"

Before I die I wish scientists would find the "X" factor that makes chemicals form into life itself. That would be more likely IMO. I'm guessing it is very simple and hiding in plain sight.

Before I die, I'd like to hear the words "Good news! You're not going to die!"

I'll start getting excited about extrasolar planets when our tech level reaches the point that we can reliably find earth-like planets. Currently it seems everything is pretty much gas giants, and the few smaller, Earth-like ones they do find are all WAY too close to their stars. I imagine that's a function of our current technological limitations, though, so I'm not depressed about it. Just not excited about more gas giants is all.

James Webb goes up 2018, so it'll probably be 2019/2020 before the data starts rolling in on Earth-like planets.

Yes, but . . . since we seem to be finding planets pretty much everywhere we look, the data augurs well for lots of earthlike planets to be out there waiting for us to find them.

The bad news is....you have to live in Los Angeles!

I'm thinking, I'm thinking.

We should probably expect at least SOME Class M planets &/or moons discovered to be like Eden in "The Way to Eden"

Oh, I'd not be at all surprised to find that even the most earthlike worlds were inimical to us for biochemical reasons.