Super-Earths Discovered Orbiting Nearby, Sun-Like Star 242
likuidkewl writes "Two super-earths, 5 and 7.5 times the size of our home, were found to be orbiting 61 Virginis a mere 28 light years away. 'These detections indicate that low-mass planets are quite common around nearby stars. The discovery of potentially habitable nearby worlds may be just a few years away,' said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Among hundreds of our nearest stellar neighbors, 61 Vir stands out as being the most nearly similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties."
mmmm (Score:2, Funny)
61 virgins...... drool.....
Fishy... (Score:3, Funny)
Something tells me that these astronomers are keeping Virginis 1 through 9 to themselves. Grab your torches and pitchforks, kids.
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:5, Funny)
Not so much a problem for the folks on the spacecraft, relativity can make the journey very manageable for them. They better not think about returning home to see Grandma though...
So space will be colonized by people with dysfunctional families?
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:5, Funny)
Re:mmmm (Score:3, Funny)
I never said I was straight.
of course since it's the internet, I'm actually a 12/f/CA.
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:4, Funny)
So space will be colonized by people with dysfunctional families?
Sorry folks, planet's closed. The six legged moose like creature out front should have told you.
Super War (Score:4, Funny)
I say it is high time we develop a warp ship capable of carrying the combined military might of the entire planet to this system.
We'll move quickly, from one "Super" Earth to the next, conquering indigenous peoples and enslaving them to toil in our mines until the planet is naught but a smoldering husk, a shadow of what used to be.
Then we'll see who is "Super".
Who's with me!?!
Re:Fishy... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:5, Funny)
At .0002c, it would take about 14000 years to get there, but the lucky astronauts would only experience 13999.99972 years. Sign me up!
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:4, Funny)
Why should space be any different?
oblig... (Score:0, Funny)
found to be orbiting 61 Virginis
now to be known as the slashdot system...
Re:mmmm (Score:5, Funny)
Re:mmmm (Score:5, Funny)
/me puts on his robe and wizard hat.
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:5, Funny)
Re:mmmm (Score:5, Funny)
FWIW, the two major inputs to their tastes are diet and sanitary practices. I heard vegans taste better.
(Just trying to think outside the box)
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:3, Funny)
Protip: for easy comparison of VLNs, make sure they are in the same units (although anyone on slashdot should know that 1 Joule is equal to one Watt-Second).
But anyway, your numbers make the answer quite clear. We need a nuclear fusion reactor to propel our spacecraft, and it needs to have about 10,000 times the energy output of the sun. Quite doable. We know of stars with 100,000 times the energy output of the sun, we just need to harness one of those to the shuttle, shutter the front half of it, and we'll get plenty of energy pushing us forward.
Now we only need to figure out a way to get to that 10,000x star.
Re:mmmm (Score:1, Funny)
Virgin number one found.
Re:dissapointing (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yes, nearby (Score:3, Funny)