Insp. Clue!So?
05-01-2007, 01:54 PM
The recent discovery of a planet potentially acceptable to life as we know it has a few implications that weren't widely reported, at least as far as I could tell.
First, while our friend Sol and related stars are only stable for a few billions of years, Class M objects are thought to be so for possibly hundreds of billions of years. So the nest remains viable for a much longer period of time.
Second, stars like Gliese 581 are nearly ten times as numerous as the sun. They are as common as a mutt at the pound. So it is quite possible that long after our sun has come and gone, life will just be getting started.
Perhaps we'll send them some post cards noting that we were here first, long ago. Or perhaps we'll be there to greet them. For some liberal definitions of "we" of course.
First, while our friend Sol and related stars are only stable for a few billions of years, Class M objects are thought to be so for possibly hundreds of billions of years. So the nest remains viable for a much longer period of time.
Second, stars like Gliese 581 are nearly ten times as numerous as the sun. They are as common as a mutt at the pound. So it is quite possible that long after our sun has come and gone, life will just be getting started.
Perhaps we'll send them some post cards noting that we were here first, long ago. Or perhaps we'll be there to greet them. For some liberal definitions of "we" of course.