Humans must find new planets to survive

[Still Waters]

Finding planets outside our solar system that can sustain life should be made a top priority, say Australian astronomers.

Understanding habitability and using that knowledge to locate the nearest habitable planet may be crucial for our survival as a species, writes Dr Charley Lineweaver and PhD student Aditya Chopra of the Australian National University in the Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Lineweaver and Chopra reviewed current research examining environments where life is found on Earth and the environments thought to exist on other planets.

Since the first discovery of a planet orbiting another star was made in 1995, the number of exoplanets has skyrocketed to more than 750. While a small handful of these planets are known to be 'Earth-like', astronomers are a long way from knowing whether they can sustain life.

"Determining whether these planets are habitable has become the new holy grail of astronomy," says Lineweaver. "It's probably one of the biggest, most confusing, and important issues that planetary scientists are going to have to deal with in the next 10 to 20 years."

http://www.abc.net.a.../27/3490608.htm

[_Only]

They can keep looking around outside.

I'll keep looking inside.

[hooko22]

http://www.abc.net.a.../27/3490608.htm

Imagine if we had used the same money we used for warfare the last ten years or so. You and me would have beemed to work startrek style!

But yea i completely agree we need to start thinking more about space exploration!

[DoesntReallyLike]

I think this is true, but I also think people underestimate the sustainability of earth. Look at how many people occupy the relatively small geographic space of large cities. If you lived in a small or average sized city, how much space could you free up for farming or drilling or some other resource if everyone sold off their one-level ranch homes and surrounding land and instead packed into a couple of high-rise buildings. I don't believe this this would likely happen soon, but if it were matter of survival people would do so. I think the time that we have before the Earth becomes truly unsustainable is so much longer than anyone could imagine, that we will probably have the ability to colonize other planets long long before we could ever need that option just to survive.

[95-Nasty]

We will Eventually.... We just need to exploit this planet further and wait for some sort of major earth disaster or catastrophe. Seems to me that we need the world to UNITE!

Edited May 6, 2012 by 95-Nasty

[Ever Learning]

Im not saying we shouldnt be looking for other planets to live on, but theres so much we can do in the mean time. we should try building underwater civilizations in the sea, conquer nature and thrive in the most inhospitable places on the earth. As for space, lets build orbiting civilizations and try to inhabit the moon. These are all tempory solutions that will have alot of difficulties in suceeding, but once we accomplish all this, we will have learnt so much more about foreign enviroments. Why should we think about running before we can walk.

[_Only]

Im not saying we shouldnt be looking for other planets to live on, but theres so much we can do in the mean time. we should try building underwater civilizations in the sea, conquer nature and thrive in the most inhospitable places on the earth. As for space, lets build orbiting civilizations and try to inhabit the moon. These are all tempory solutions that will have alot of difficulties in suceeding, but once we accomplish all this, we will have learnt so much more about foreign enviroments. Why should we think about running before we can walk.

Yeah. It seems a childish way to think.

"Well, we've pretty much botched this planet. Well, don't we feel silly. Hey, let's find a new one."

Expecting the events on the new planet to end up any differently. It would seem the most fitting and correct thing to do to do the best to fix our problems here, than to toss our hands up and move.

[hooko22]

Yeah. It seems a childish way to think.

"Well, we've pretty much botched this planet. Well, don't we feel silly. Hey, let's find a new one."

Expecting the events on the new planet to end up any differently. It would seem the most fitting and correct thing to do to do the best to fix our problems here, than to toss our hands up and move.

Well it is long time thinking as well. If we want to survive as a species we have to keep in mind that our sun will not last forever. Obviously it will be millions of years before it goes out but we have to find a new place before that time arrives.

[95-Nasty]

I agree we must find a new planet to survive, but i cant see that happening until we put all pull together and unite as a 'world' and not just as a nation! But, then what? Wel exploit that planet, war with our neighbours etc... It will be earth all over again.... Then wel be saying 'We need to find another plant to survive' and on and on and on..... Etc! Will we ever learn? Or are we just a Parasite feeding on our host?

Edited May 6, 2012 by 95-Nasty

[questionmark]

Well duh, we are about to burn this one up..so I guess we need a new one..to burn up too

[Sakari]

I find it funny.........Let's not fix the problem, let's just spread the fricken' disease........

When will anyone important enough get it?

Where is the plague, or the giant meteor........It is soooooooooo over due.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Sakari

[StarMountainKid]

Here's an interesting, but lengthy, article on Earth's population, sustainability and Carrying Capacity:

http://dieoff.org/page112.htm

I'm sure we will discover an Earth-like planet in the near future, but how do we get there, and how many of us would be able to make the voyage? Not many, I would think. I don't think this is the answer to the overpopulation of our planet.

It may be an answer to the continuation of the human race, but what about all of us who must remain behind? I think solving the problem of the sustainability of the population on the Earth is more important than the future possibility of traveling to other planets.

Edited May 6, 2012 by StarMountainKid

[Mikko-kun]

I wonder... if we moved to another planet, how would the horoscope systems act there... this would be extremely interesting in terms of astrology.

That aside, I think that as soon as humanity as a whole realises that it's all about first individual effort and then combined effort, not vice versa, we'll become more able to deal with our problems and old wounds of lifetimes of bad karma will be healed. I'm not saying we shouldn't support one another, but we should observe how our support affects supported person's ability to stand on one's own feet.

I think continuation of human race is more important than survival of as many as possible. We are overpopulated anyways, and everyone will anyways experience death. From the perspective "there's no next life" it shouldn't matter anyways, nor from perspective "we can move our spirits over planetary boundaries". It should only matter if our solar system is destroyed by sun's death and our spirits remain 'prisoned' in this then-dead planet's remains instead of going to another realm.

[95-Nasty]

If we do move on to other planets we'l destroy them, use them up and move on... Humanity is a Plague a Disease a Cancer!

[_Only]

Or are we just a Parasite feeding on our host?

Oh, crap.

[scheming_dreaming]

If we do move on to other planets we'l destroy them, use them up and move on... Humanity is a Plague a Disease a Cancer!

hey don't talk so bad about cancer... at least cancer doesn't know any better

[Merc14]

Thinking that man has te ability to "destroy the earth" is hubris at its highest level. We have the capability to destroy ourselves but this old rock will continue spinning for another few billion years and in all likelihood host many other civilizations. An asteroid striking is a greater threat to life on thie planet than mankind.

[Khrono]

A large portion of you seem to condone internalized speciesism on a grand level... I however am proud of my heritage as a sentient race also capable of incredible things. Besides...by the time we have the technology to travel to other star systems (we are talking even 10% the speed of light) we will have what in all likelyhood will be a nearly infinate and clean power source. I dont know about you, but i believe that eliminates most of this "cancers" lethality...

Edited May 7, 2012 by Khrono

[Him over there]

Seems pretty pointless to me as we can't even get further out than close orbit at present and even if we did, with our technology, it would take centuries to reach anything so we would all be dead by then.

Unless the powers that be have something that they aren’t telling us about.

[+OverSword]

The exact conditions, gravity, atmoshphere, temperature, etc... that would enable humans to live comfortably, healthy and even to middle age on another planet take so many happy accidents that the best plan is to learn how to live here, where have evolved and are meant to be. You may find a planet with a breathable atmosphere that is twice the mass and you can't live there. You can fantasize about living on the moon, but lack of gravity will soon have your bones and muscles deteriorate to nothing and you'll die young, different greenhouse gasses in the atomshpere of a new world and harmful radiations from the local star destroy your skin cells and you all die from cancer. The point is, locating to another world is not a good horse to tie your cart to. It is fiction and will remain that way at least for the next few hundred years. By the time we find a likely candidate planet we will have long since discovered clean cheap energy which will pretty much negate the need to move anyway. Looking for better ways to live on the planet we are supposed to be on is the answer, not moving to a heavy gravity radioactive rock with a semi poisunous atmosphere.

Edited May 7, 2012 by OverSword

[jasmin9]

its stupid to hunt for planits because thers no point we will only do the same as we did with this planit os we should just keep the population on Earth steady and maby we might survive

[skookum]

Seems pretty pointless to me as we can't even get further out than close orbit at present and even if we did, with our technology, it would take centuries to reach anything so we would all be dead by then.

Unless the powers that be have something that they aren't telling us about.

Maybe the Aussies will invest the money required to further our space travel potential. I must admit I am unaware of the quality or quantity or their space program.

[TheMolePatrol]

There should come a day, when the global consensus is that we need to expand to other solar systems. Our sun won't last forever, that part I think everyone agrees on. So then why is it, that it is not a serious concern to advance technology so we can expand, and preserve humanity in the galaxy?

The way I see it, the sun is a ticking timebomb and we've got a limited amount of time to extend our reach if we want to keep this successful experiment of life alive.

[+OverSword]

There should come a day, when the global consensus is that we need to expand to other solar systems. Our sun won't last forever, that part I think everyone agrees on. So then why is it, that it is not a serious concern to advance technology so we can expand, and preserve humanity in the galaxy?

The way I see it, the sun is a ticking timebomb and we've got a limited amount of time to extend our reach if we want to keep this successful experiment of life alive.

Yeah, like only about 5 billion more years before the sun collapses I really don't think we have to bring that aspect into it, since it would be very surprising if humanity still exists in 5 billion years.

[spud the mackem]

its stupid to hunt for planits because thers no point we will only do the same as we did with this planit os we should just keep the population on Earth steady and maby we might survive

Keeping the earths population steady would be/and is, a major headache.The Chinese are trying it by limiting the number of children "allowed" to be born..This is NOT working in other countries,just have a look at Africa,the number of babies born and Dying,and charities screaming out for help,which is never enough.Other big countries are the same,where the population is climbing steeply every year,and on the Asian continent including India its out of proportion to the rest of the world.Its a good idea which aint gonna work..cheers