Still Waters Posted December 16, 2009 #1 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Astronomers have discovered a new "waterworld" 40 light years away, raising the chances of the existence of Earth-like planets.Evidence suggests it has an atmosphere, and astronomers believe it to be more like Earth than any planet found outside the Solar System so far. Although the planet is thought to be too hot to sustain Earth-type life, it is believed to consist of 75% water. Planet GJ1214b is six times bigger than Earth and was discovered orbiting a small faint star 1.3 million miles away. Although its red dwarf parent star is 3,000 times less bright than the Sun, it hugs the star so closely that its surface temperature is an oven-hot 200C. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benz Posted December 17, 2009 #2 Share Posted December 17, 2009 wow 200 degrees celsius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefinalfrontier Posted December 17, 2009 #3 Share Posted December 17, 2009 Also this world being six times the mass of earth one has to wonder what the gravitational affect may have on any potential for life there, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Black Posted December 17, 2009 #4 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I guess if it was 75% water then the chances of life is pretty high, considering one would assume that the temperature in deep water would be significantly lower, and that is assuming and basing it on earth life, chances are the potential life would have adapted to the atmosphere.... alot of assumption, but thats all we can do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueLiez Posted December 17, 2009 #5 Share Posted December 17, 2009 wow, just... wow! imagine; a planet 6 times larger than earth. So that means; 6 times more water than earth. And I asume it's very cloudy planet??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raina Posted December 17, 2009 #6 Share Posted December 17, 2009 (edited) This is just so cool. Opens the imagination to all kinds of possibilities. The temperature shouldn't hinder life. How hot is it where those tube worms grow along the volcanic cracks in the ocean floor here on earth? I love reading about stuff like this, I wish we had the capabilities to go site seeing and traveling the universe. It sucks to learn all this stuff is there and we can't go see it first hand. Maybe my great, great, great, great grandbabies will some day. I just looked up those worms and found that the temps around the vents are 360 degrees, around 5000 feet below the surface and life swarms around them, with no sunlight. Hydrothermal Vents Edited December 17, 2009 by Raina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbondo Posted December 17, 2009 #7 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I wonder what kind of light the dwarf provides to the planet? Seems that daytime would seem like dusk, with a reddish hue of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Danger Posted December 17, 2009 #8 Share Posted December 17, 2009 well the name is certainly convinving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted December 17, 2009 #9 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I may not know much about physics, but why doesn't the water boil if it's that hot? Or is this some extraterrestrial water that has different, and perhaps magical, properties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Commander Travis Posted December 17, 2009 #10 Share Posted December 17, 2009 i do, though, think that Waterworld is certainly a better name than GJ1214b. Though perhaps Kevin Costner might want royalties if it's called that. Though heaven knows, it's about the only way he's going to make any money out of that film. :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:PsYKoTiC:BeHAvIoR: Posted December 17, 2009 #11 Share Posted December 17, 2009 I may not know much about physics, but why doesn't the water boil if it's that hot? Or is this some extraterrestrial water that has different, and perhaps magical, properties? My guess is, while the surface experience evaporation from direct sun exposure, the deeper regions of its oceans are cold, maybe even ice at the very bottom. Therefore, for the most part, it would keep the overall temperature below boiling point. With an atmosphere, cloud formation and precipitation happens in a similar fashion. Although, the problem here would be rainfall wouldn't have a chance to touch the surface as it would evaporate instantly. Or, the atmosphere captured so much steam and cloud formation, it actually produce a cooler environment instead of causing a greenhouse effect? Who knows. It's a bit boggling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brlesq1 Posted December 17, 2009 #12 Share Posted December 17, 2009 True coolishness. Can't wait for the sequel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyrus11 Posted December 18, 2009 #13 Share Posted December 18, 2009 doooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood.. that planet and it's brown dwarf star could be the nibiru of antiquity. since the universe is expanding.. nibiru has escaped our solar systems pull and now it orbits on its own regular path with it's star. I mean I don't think nibiru had came back into our solar system in a very long long long long time, it might have eventually followed it's star and free'd itself from us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRUEYOUTRUEME Posted December 18, 2009 #14 Share Posted December 18, 2009 So we go from two new discoveries of Water on the Moon to the discovery of Waterworld all in a few months. Wow!!!! From the article: He said some of the planet's water should be in the form of exotic materials such as Ice Seven - a crystalline form of water that exists at pressures greater than 20,000 times the Earth's sea-level atmosphere. Of course the LCROSS mission was in search of exotic ice as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malakthrin Posted December 18, 2009 #15 Share Posted December 18, 2009 (edited) I may not know much about physics, but why doesn't the water boil if it's that hot? Or is this some extraterrestrial water that has different, and perhaps magical, properties? I believe pressure also has something to do with the temperature that it takes to boil water. I'll see if I can't find any source to back that up but I am pretty sure... Edit, from Wiki but there are references: A liquid in a vacuum environment has a lower boiling point than when the liquid is at atmospheric pressure. A liquid in a high pressure environment has a higher boiling point than when the liquid is at atmospheric pressure. In other words, the boiling point of liquids varies with and depends upon the surrounding environmental pressure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_point Edited December 18, 2009 by Malakthrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureBoff Posted December 18, 2009 #16 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I wonder if our visitors from outerspace (if they exist of course) have any photos of their trip there? Fascinating to see their holiday homemovies of the extreme lifeforms..wow..imagine that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeistOnerz Posted December 18, 2009 #17 Share Posted December 18, 2009 i bet the planet would have some life form with bio-luminescence capability on the surface like plankton or shiny algae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbondo Posted December 18, 2009 #18 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Waterworld has become a cult favorite. How can you not like a film where Tom Petty is the leader of an elevator settlement? I think a sequal should be made that combines Waterworld and The Postman. It would be called "Post-Waterworld", LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted December 19, 2009 #19 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I wonder what kind of light the dwarf provides to the planet? Seems that daytime would seem like dusk, with a reddish hue of course. that would depend on what chemicals was in the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paracelse Posted December 19, 2009 #20 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Also this world being six times the mass of earth one has to wonder what the gravitational affect may have on any potential for life there, Well done.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRUEYOUTRUEME Posted December 19, 2009 #21 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Well done.. Yes with the exception that even on earth we know of live forms that existed with more than six times the mass of man (even more like 20X) and we also know of life forms more than six thousand X (times) less then the mass of man as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted December 19, 2009 #22 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Yes with the exception that even on earth we know of live forms that existed with more than six times the mass of man (even more like 20X) and we also know of life forms more than six thousand X (times) less then the mass of man as well. in the case of life forms it isn't the mass of the creature but the amount of muscle. a creature born on our world would have trouble moving on that planet at least for a while. where as the single celled variety shouldn't have any trouble at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted December 19, 2009 #23 Share Posted December 19, 2009 that would depend on what chemicals was in the sky. Only partially. An atmosphere can absorb or scatter light but it can not affect the quality or quantity of light that is received. In the case of a red dwarf star there is a big difference in the light arriving in the first place. Because it is much cooler than the sun it produces much redder light (hence the name). Even with an earth like atmospher the light would be lacking the blue wavelengths we are used to (as these are produced at higher temperatures than are achieved by the surface of a red dwarf). To our eyes the light would seem very red. As jbondo said, it would seem like dusk or dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted December 20, 2009 #24 Share Posted December 20, 2009 (edited) Only partially. An atmosphere can absorb or scatter light but it can not affect the quality or quantity of light that is received. In the case of a red dwarf star there is a big difference in the light arriving in the first place. Because it is much cooler than the sun it produces much redder light (hence the name). Even with an earth like atmospher the light would be lacking the blue wavelengths we are used to (as these are produced at higher temperatures than are achieved by the surface of a red dwarf). To our eyes the light would seem very red. As jbondo said, it would seem like dusk or dawn. not real sure about it being twilight all the time. a planet with six times the mass would hold in about six times the atmo. meaning it would hold in more light. thus it may be as bright there as here during the day. Edited December 20, 2009 by danielost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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