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Space Science

32 Exoplanets Discovered By Chilean Telescope 146

the4thdimension writes "An article on CNN notes that 32 exoplanets have been discovered using a new Chilean telescope. The telescope is capable of detecting movements of 2.1mph (comparable to a slow walking pace). These 32 new planets give the telescope a total of 75 planets it has discovered, out of the 400 discovered using all methods employed by astronomers. This places the HARPS system as the world's foremost exoplanet hunter."
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32 Exoplanets Discovered By Chilean Telescope

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  • Great (Score:2, Funny)

    by Threni ( 635302 ) on Monday October 19, 2009 @05:15PM (#29800229)

    That's all we need. More planets.

  • by confused one ( 671304 ) on Monday October 19, 2009 @05:19PM (#29800283)
    As soon as we find a habitable exoplanet, we'll let you know.
  • Re:Great (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19, 2009 @05:30PM (#29800433)

    if those planets knew what's good for them, they'd hide

  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19, 2009 @05:58PM (#29800805)
    Tell me, is there any kind of physical sensation associated with having an abnormally low IQ? Is there like a numbness or heaviness inside your head? Or is the affliction completely transparent to the sufferer?
  • by Conchobair ( 1648793 ) on Monday October 19, 2009 @06:00PM (#29800829)
    The larger question is, how many of these are enemy planets? I'm going to say at least half, if not more.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19, 2009 @06:03PM (#29800869)

    It's pretty much the same feeling you get when you reply AC. Ooooh, I'm getting it now...

  • Re:3.5km/h (Score:5, Funny)

    by Kingrames ( 858416 ) on Monday October 19, 2009 @06:28PM (#29801137)
    Sadly, most slashdotters won't be impressed until it can detect the jiggle of the breast of an Orion slave girl.
  • by Idiomatick ( 976696 ) on Monday October 19, 2009 @06:37PM (#29801213)
    To be fair stop signs don't seem like the most stimulating conversation.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 19, 2009 @06:43PM (#29801283)
    If it's "garbage" and "lunatic" and "foaming-at-the-mouth" then you should have no trouble explaining why the mismanagement of Social Security has been a good thing, why the reluctance to reform it has been a good thing, and why we should reward the government for the job they have made of Social Security by giving them more power over health care. If you are the calm rational one in this discussion then that should be very easy for you. So how about a little less hand-waving and name-calling and a bit more explaining why I am wrong?

    Think of it like any other business or organization. Let's say I hire Acme Inc. to handle my accounting, and they do a terrible job. I mean they really screw it up, they mismanage my accounts, they fail to correctly handle the taxes, and they generally do a poor job and create a lot of problems for me. If I hire them a second time, and a third time, and get the same results, might it be reasonable to conclude that this is an incompetent organization that should not be trusted with more responsibility? Would you call that conclusion the rantings of a foaming-at-the-mouth lunatic?

    Let's look at the government. First, they don't understand this basic principle that every citizen understands, which is that you get into financial trouble if your expenditures constantly exceed your revenue. So we have record deficits and no relief of those in sight. We have programs like Social Security that were originally supposed to be a bit like insurance for retirees. The original program that loosely resembles insurance became an entitlement because this change was politically expedient (it put incumbents back into office). That alone is non-ideal but isn't really so bad, except that there is a shortage of money. Left alone, the Social Security program absolutely will collapse into bankruptcy. The sooner we deal with that, the easier it's going to be, yet we are in no hurry. No one seems to care that this is headed towards a scenario where younger people like me will pay all their working lives into a system that they will never see a dime from, and further, no one seems to care that taking action right now might prevent this ugly scenario.

    So you see this kind of incompetence, or maybe you have some magical ability to ignore it. Then you want to give this same organization more power, more authority, and more money so they can regulate health care. Do you honestly believe they will handle the more complex issue of health care better than they handled the simpler issue of Social Security? Or have you even thought this through? Let me guess, you see no connection between rewarding incompetence and mismanagement with more money and power, and getting more incompetence and mismanagement? It reminds me of those women who stay with abusive men that beat them up every day, because they think maybe THIS TIME he'll change.

    If you understand anything at all about government, you will understand that once government gets into the health care industry, it is never getting back out. These questions need some good, solid, no-bullshit answers before we accept this. If the questions make you uncomfortable then you can call me names for asking them if that makes you feel better, but please don't pretend to be the level-headed voice of calm reason if you are going to go that route.
  • by Hognoxious ( 631665 ) on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @06:26AM (#29805595) Homepage Journal

    So what would you call a rocky body the size and shape of (say) Earth or Mars that doesn't orbit a star?

    Cold?

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