Thursday, March 05, 2009

Other Earths


Earthlike planets may not be as uncommon as we always thought, according to Sentient Developments. I didn't know that one had already been found only 20 light years away. It's still too far to go for a visit but as interstellar distances go I suppose that counts as next door.

I'm not sure if this is good news for science fiction writers or not. Given that we're writing fiction maybe the state of the real universe isn't too important. I like to think that it's based on science though. Now all we need is to perfect that faster than light travel and we'll be sorted.

14 COMMENTS:

Natalie Whipple said...

That's really cool, thanks for sharing.

Sophie in the Moonlight said...

that blog was so cool that I added the blog to my blog list.

Where do youfind this stuff? Pharyngula, Save the Words, Sentient Developments? Great stuff I would never have found otherwise. Thanks.

fairyhedgehog said...

Natalie - glad you like it!

Sophie - I think I just spend way too much time online!

Bevie said...

I had heard of this, but without any details. Thanks for the post.

JaneyV said...

If only Zefram Cochrane wasn't fictional.

fairyhedgehog said...

There was more information about searching for other planets in yesterdays Financial Times Don't be put off by the paper's name: it's a really interesting article.

I had to google Zephram Cochrane. Ah yes! We so need a warp drive. I can't tell whether the physicists are right and it is intrinsically impossible or not. I so hope not!

laughingwolf said...

neat-o!

i won a book by hywela lyn [starquest] wherein she mentions speeds faster than light for her ships, but then, it's mostly a fantasy tale and i'm quite enjoying it

due to eye surgery, not reading much of anything, since surgeon told me it'll take 3 months or so for both eyes to fully heal

fairyhedgehog said...

Three months without being able to read much is grim, laughingwolf. I do hope it heals up quicker than your doctor expects.

Robin B. said...

Maybe this is where our alter egos live?

Sarah Laurenson said...

Many of the laws of physics have been debunked and new "laws" of physics have come to replace them. Long gone are the days when we thought the earth was the center of our solar system and the sun revolved around us (except conceptually, we still think this way). I'm assuming the time will come when someone will discover something that debunks the belief that we cannot travel FTL.

Marta said...

My kiddo is so into space right now (just got a telescope!), that this is great. Thanks for the link

fairyhedgehog said...

Robin - nice idea!

Sarah - I hope so.

Marta - glad you liked it.

Tara Maya said...

Well, you could always go retro. "Captain Future and the Elephants of Tomorrow" stuff. I read one sf book which postulated an inhabitable planet between Mars and Jupiter, even though he knew there wasn't one!

fairyhedgehog said...

What a wonderful title! Something in me resists going against known science, even though by that I mean "science known to me"!

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