Possible Habitable Planet Just 12 Light Years Away

sciencehabit writes "Astronomers have discovered what may be five planets orbiting Tau Ceti, the closest single star beyond our solar system whose temperature and luminosity nearly match the sun's. If the planets are there, one of them is about the right distance from the star to sport mild temperatures, oceans of liquid water, and even life (paper)."

Re:"JUST" 12 light years? LOL.

[mbone]

The math is wrong - Voyager I is 0.71 light days away, or 0.0019 light years away. It will take a lot longer than 840 years to get to another star.

Re:Definitely NOT Earth 2

[mbone]

Gravity is GM / R**2. Mass is proportional to R**3, which means that Gravity is proportional to R, if the density is the same. Inverting that, Gravity is proportional is M**(1/3), so 4 times the mass is 1.587 times the gravity (for a constant density).

So, I wouldn't rule it out.

Re:"JUST" 12 light years? LOL.

[LordLucless]

Even if it managed to get to a blisteringly fast .1c, you're still looking at longer than a human lifespan and generation ships.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:It goes the other way, too

[xstonedogx]

SETI is looking for intentional signals, not the alien equivalent of Abbot and Costello.

Re:Just like Venus

[maxwell demon]

No, it isn't. The sun's habitable zone is between 0.9 AU and 1.5 AU. The maximum distance of Venus to the sun is 0.728 AU. So Venus doesn't even come close to the habitable zone.

Vulcans Invented The Prime Directive

[dwye]

The Vulcans came from the habitable planet that orbited Tau Ceti, according to my Starfleet Technical Manual. Given that they invented the Prime Directive, they probably have to maintain radio silence (frex, using very directional masers where necessary for radio-band communications) to avoid clueing in lesser civilizations.

Plus the Andorians live right next to them and we all know what they are like.

210 posts and nobody mentioned Asimov?

[Spy Handler]

He had foreseen this. The planet around Tau Ceti is called Aurora. It is the home of long-living humans and mind-reading robots.

Re:It goes the other way, too

[sFurbo]

No, you do mean the inverse square law. The inverse square law states that the intensity of radio waves (or light) decreases with the square of the distance to the source. The square-cube law is about the surface relative to the volume: The surface increases with the square of the size, while the volume increases with the cube. This means that the same structure at different sizes would not have the same properties. For example, a giant ant would not be able to get enough oxygen, as its ability to get oxygen follows its surface area, while its oxygen demand follows its volume. Likewise, it would be crushed under the weight of its own exoskeleton, as its strength is proportional to the square of the size, while its weight is proportional to the cube.