On Facebook, I follow some pages that are to do with photography or science. Something that has concerned me in recent weeks is the prevalence of "Flat-Earthers" commenting on them. I don't mean people commenting jokingly about how the Earth is flat but people who genuinely think that this is the case.
Pun partially intended but what on earth is this nonsense? How can anyone, is this day and age, think that the Earth is flat? There is zero evidence to prove the flatness and plenty to prove that it's a sphere. An obvious example is watching a ship on an ocean: As the ship descends over the horizon, it's because it's travelling the curvature of the planet.
Has idiocy increased or is it just becoming more obvious because of social media? Anyone who believes that the Earth is flat and insults others for understanding that the opposite is true deserves to be laughed at as though they're an imbecile - because they are.
Showing posts with label Earth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earth. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
Sunday, 28 August 2016
Proxima b
This is a fascinating discovery:
By galactic terms, the planet of Proxima b is just next door to we here in the Solar System, given that it orbits Proxima Centauri, which is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Until now, the extrasolar planets that have been discovered were tens if not hundreds or thousands of lightyears away. While using current technology it would still take thousands of years to arrive there, Proxima b is slightly over 4 lightyears from Earth.
By galactic terms, the planet of Proxima b is just next door to we here in the Solar System, given that it orbits Proxima Centauri, which is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Until now, the extrasolar planets that have been discovered were tens if not hundreds or thousands of lightyears away. While using current technology it would still take thousands of years to arrive there, Proxima b is slightly over 4 lightyears from Earth.
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
Trillions of trees
I was pleased to read this article, which states that the number of trees on Earth could be as high as three trillion:
The article notes that this is a vastly higher estimate than the previously-thought figure of 400 billion trees, although it also notes the the actual number of them could be "...anything between the two [numbers] - or even 10 times higher."
This does not mean, however, that deforestation is not a problem. The article also states that fifteen billion trees are removed annually while only five billion are planted to replace them. On the bright side, this does mean that significantly less than 1% of trees globally are cut down each year and there are efforts to plant to more trees to offset those that humans use.
The article notes that this is a vastly higher estimate than the previously-thought figure of 400 billion trees, although it also notes the the actual number of them could be "...anything between the two [numbers] - or even 10 times higher."
This does not mean, however, that deforestation is not a problem. The article also states that fifteen billion trees are removed annually while only five billion are planted to replace them. On the bright side, this does mean that significantly less than 1% of trees globally are cut down each year and there are efforts to plant to more trees to offset those that humans use.
Thursday, 28 November 2013
Thanksgiving 2013
So what am I thankful for in 2013? Well, just like last year, I'm thankful for my immediate family and my relatives, for my friends, my good health and that I live in a good home. Not really much change there, as they're all reasonable things to be thankful for every year.
I am also thankful this year for a specific friend of mine. I can't go into too much detail as to not violate their privacy, but I am thankful that this person is still alive. They underwent a massively traumatic experience this year and were lucky to survive it. I've never met this person face-to-face, given their residence thousands of miles away from me, but we've been close friends online for well over two years; to say that I would have been extremely upset if anything had happened to them is an understatement. As such, I am thankful that they are still living and breathing on this Earth. I truly value our friendship.
I hope that you have all been enjoying time with your families and friends. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
I am also thankful this year for a specific friend of mine. I can't go into too much detail as to not violate their privacy, but I am thankful that this person is still alive. They underwent a massively traumatic experience this year and were lucky to survive it. I've never met this person face-to-face, given their residence thousands of miles away from me, but we've been close friends online for well over two years; to say that I would have been extremely upset if anything had happened to them is an understatement. As such, I am thankful that they are still living and breathing on this Earth. I truly value our friendship.
I hope that you have all been enjoying time with your families and friends. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Kepler-78b
I find the discovery of this "lava world" fascinating:
Kepler-78b is an Earth-sized planet orbiting the star Kepler-78, located 400 light-years away. Its distance from its sun is a hundredth of Earth's distance from the Sun, with temperatures reaching 2800C (5072F) . Astronomers have theorised that the planet is tidally locked, with the side facing the star being moltee, giving it "lava world" status. Kepler-78b can be considered a lifeless planet, as the day side is obviously too hot to support life and the night side's temperatures are unknown but are unlikely to be any more hospitable.
Regardless of Kepler-78b's ability to support life, the discovery of planets outside the Solar System has always fascinated me. Countless Earth-sized worlds have been discovered but no Earth-like plants have been found yet. It's just a matter of time before we find a world similar to our own out there.
Kepler-78b is an Earth-sized planet orbiting the star Kepler-78, located 400 light-years away. Its distance from its sun is a hundredth of Earth's distance from the Sun, with temperatures reaching 2800C (5072F) . Astronomers have theorised that the planet is tidally locked, with the side facing the star being moltee, giving it "lava world" status. Kepler-78b can be considered a lifeless planet, as the day side is obviously too hot to support life and the night side's temperatures are unknown but are unlikely to be any more hospitable.
Regardless of Kepler-78b's ability to support life, the discovery of planets outside the Solar System has always fascinated me. Countless Earth-sized worlds have been discovered but no Earth-like plants have been found yet. It's just a matter of time before we find a world similar to our own out there.
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Neil Armstrong, and the Moon landing conspiracies
I was completely shocked and upset last night to hear about the death of Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon, and by extension the first on a terrestrial body other than Earth. His accomplishment and first words on the Moon ("That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.") are both symbols of hope and human achievement. Despite his obvious importance and place in history, Armstrong was a humble man, preferring to think of himself as someone who merely did their job rather than as a hero. No reasonable person can have anything other than respect for him.
My admiration for Armstrong is one of the reasons why it infuriates me to read comments on various forums dismissing (an understatement) the Apollo 11 mission rather than commiserating over someone's death. Moon landing denial is among the very few things that immediately anger me, and it is especially sickening when it's combined with the Internet equivalent of defacing a person's grave; it doesn't matter whether it's outright insults and denial to sarcastic "he was a great actor" posts. If someone, for whatever reason, doesn't believe the Moon landings took place they should at least have some sympathy for a person who has died; to not do so is an insult to the deceased's memory.
As for the conspiracies about the landings, the more I thought about them the more I came to realize they are nonsense. To start with, without even going into the various "problems" with pictures taken on the Moon look at history: the 1960s were the height of the Cold War, and the United States and the Soviet Union were far from friends; the Soviet Union would most certainly have been aware of the launch date for Apollo 11 and it's safe to assume that they would be monitoring activity coming from the United States. When the rocket launched and headed for the Moon it is likely that they would have been listening to as much of the communications between it and NASA as possible. Thus, if the Soviets had discovered the mission was fake they would have been the first to expose the United States. Other nations, such as the United Kingdom and China, would also have had the technology to verify the existence of the mission.
I don't think that bribery would have been possible. If the landings were faked all of NASA would have to have been paid off, followed by various members and aides of other government agencies, the aforementioned Soviets (I doubt they would have accepted money over the chance to discredit the United States and try to win the Space Race themselves), other countries that would have been able to monitor the mission, anyone who supposedly helped create the "video" of Armstrong and others in a film studio, and anyone else involved in faking the mission or had the ability to expose it. The more you analyze the conspiracies the harder it is to take them seriously.
Going back to Armstrong, he was a great human being; while he was somebody who declined to be in the spotlight he is still deserving of our respect and gratitude. He has a permanent, high-profile place in the history books and will continue to be a hopeful and inspiring figure for the long-term. I wish his family the best in this painful time for them.
My admiration for Armstrong is one of the reasons why it infuriates me to read comments on various forums dismissing (an understatement) the Apollo 11 mission rather than commiserating over someone's death. Moon landing denial is among the very few things that immediately anger me, and it is especially sickening when it's combined with the Internet equivalent of defacing a person's grave; it doesn't matter whether it's outright insults and denial to sarcastic "he was a great actor" posts. If someone, for whatever reason, doesn't believe the Moon landings took place they should at least have some sympathy for a person who has died; to not do so is an insult to the deceased's memory.
As for the conspiracies about the landings, the more I thought about them the more I came to realize they are nonsense. To start with, without even going into the various "problems" with pictures taken on the Moon look at history: the 1960s were the height of the Cold War, and the United States and the Soviet Union were far from friends; the Soviet Union would most certainly have been aware of the launch date for Apollo 11 and it's safe to assume that they would be monitoring activity coming from the United States. When the rocket launched and headed for the Moon it is likely that they would have been listening to as much of the communications between it and NASA as possible. Thus, if the Soviets had discovered the mission was fake they would have been the first to expose the United States. Other nations, such as the United Kingdom and China, would also have had the technology to verify the existence of the mission.
I don't think that bribery would have been possible. If the landings were faked all of NASA would have to have been paid off, followed by various members and aides of other government agencies, the aforementioned Soviets (I doubt they would have accepted money over the chance to discredit the United States and try to win the Space Race themselves), other countries that would have been able to monitor the mission, anyone who supposedly helped create the "video" of Armstrong and others in a film studio, and anyone else involved in faking the mission or had the ability to expose it. The more you analyze the conspiracies the harder it is to take them seriously.
Going back to Armstrong, he was a great human being; while he was somebody who declined to be in the spotlight he is still deserving of our respect and gratitude. He has a permanent, high-profile place in the history books and will continue to be a hopeful and inspiring figure for the long-term. I wish his family the best in this painful time for them.
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
In the year...2112 (Part 2)
The second part to my opinions of this article about predictions people had submitted for potential advances by the year 2112. Again for attribution, note that the text highlighted in bold are the submissions themselves, which I have copied from the article. I went over ten of the predictions in my first post, and now I will be covering the remaining ten here:
11. Eighty per cent of the world will have gay marriage
I do not have any problems with this: however, some parts of the world are extremely hostile to gays and lesbians at the moment, and others are still wary of them, but that negative attitude is changing and I am sure the change will accelerate and spread.
12. California will lead the break-up of the US
I am opposed to these ideas of splitting up the United States, and think they are nothing more than jokes, or in some cases mere wishful thinking. By law, no state can declare its independence from the United States on its own accord (see the Supreme Court case Texas v. White), but even if that was not the case, I do not consider it to be in any state's interest to attempt to break up the Union. In the case of California, the only times I have seen its independence or its own splitting up be suggested are by people either with a grudge against the state or those who disagree with it politically (of which I think neither are good reasons for it to secede). I would also be very surprised if Congress ever approved a state's secession, now or in the future.
13. Space elevators will make space travel cheap and easy
I have always been unsure about space elevators: while I accept that technology does change and advance, I have wondered how such incredibly tall structures would even stand up, and get through the atmosphere...not to mention the danger of something hitting the elevator above the ground but below space, or of the elevator snapping outright from stress. I think I would prefer to travel to space on a ship.
14. Women will be routinely impregnated by artificial insemination rather than by a man
I respect and support that a woman should have control over her own reproductive rights, but I do not understand why pregnancy through artificial means would become commonplace just for the sake of itself. I can see why single women, older women, and women in relationships with other women would need to do this, but unless the world decides to enter an incredibly anti-sex period, I think most people will still choose to reproduce via sexual intercourse if they do not need any assistance with reproduction.
15. There will be museums for almost every aspect of nature, as so much of the world's natural habitat will have been destroyed
Actually, I hope that by then attitudes have changed so that everyone is doing their part to protect the environment...therefore ensuring that museums to honour the extinct wildlife and habitats do not come to be. Harming the environment does harm us in the long run, so it is in the best interests of all people to preserve nature.
16. Deserts will become tropical forests
I would support restoring forests that have been lost to expanding deserts, but I would oppose replacing the deserts altogether: places such as the Sahara, Mojave, and the Gobi all have their own ecosystems that should be preserved. By all means, recover places overrun by desertification, but still allow the deserts to remain.
17. Marriage will be replaced by an annual contract
I am a strong supporter of marriage: my parents are married, my father's parents are married, my mother's parents were married until one of them died, and I have friends whose parents are married; I have been fortunate to celebrate a couple's 50th wedding anniversary (twice!), and am looking forward to celebrating a couple's 50th anniversary this year. A couple here in the United Kingdom even recently celebrated their 86th wedding anniversary.
Marriage is about love and commitment, and I fear that replacing marriage with renewable contracts would turn it into a commodity and a convenience, rather than something genuinely treasured by both partners. I am aware that divorce can be painful, but changing marriage in this way would hurt people who do make their relationships work. While these are only predictions, this one does contradict 11. much further above: gays and lesbians want equal marriage rights, and I think that replacing/doing away with marriage would be a large step backwards for everyone.
18. Sovereign nation states will cease to exist and there will be one world government
I do not think this would be a bad thing as long as the said government is similar to the Federation government in the Star Trek universe rather than like the one in 1984. I think at the very least there will be much greater cooperation between governments in the future and much less prejudice among people overall.
19. War by the West will be fought totally by remote control
I think it would be infinitely more preferable if there were no wars fought at all, regardless of the means used to fights them. Again, I think there will be more cooperation in the world, and therefore no war.
20. Britain will have had a revolution
What can I really say about this one? Any nation could have a revolution between now at the year 2112, so I would not single any out.
----
To be honest, I do not think the future can really be predicted that accurately: forty years ago it was predicted that we would have eliminated poverty and crime, built colonies on the Moon and developed warp drive by now, but sadly, these have not yet come true. We can give rough estimates based on current and past technology and human behaviour, but nothing exact. As for me, I merely hope for a more positive future for humanity and a more peaceful world: the advanced technologies will come when they come.
That concludes Part 2 of my posts on the Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now article. I would again like to thank the people who submitted their predictions to the magazine, and I would also like to say that I hope I did not come across as dismissive to any that I disagreed with: I appreciate that the submissions were likely all done in good-faith.
If anyone has any comments on what I have had to say, I welcome the input. I am open to discussing my opinions, and to changing my mind.
11. Eighty per cent of the world will have gay marriage
I do not have any problems with this: however, some parts of the world are extremely hostile to gays and lesbians at the moment, and others are still wary of them, but that negative attitude is changing and I am sure the change will accelerate and spread.
12. California will lead the break-up of the US
I am opposed to these ideas of splitting up the United States, and think they are nothing more than jokes, or in some cases mere wishful thinking. By law, no state can declare its independence from the United States on its own accord (see the Supreme Court case Texas v. White), but even if that was not the case, I do not consider it to be in any state's interest to attempt to break up the Union. In the case of California, the only times I have seen its independence or its own splitting up be suggested are by people either with a grudge against the state or those who disagree with it politically (of which I think neither are good reasons for it to secede). I would also be very surprised if Congress ever approved a state's secession, now or in the future.
13. Space elevators will make space travel cheap and easy
I have always been unsure about space elevators: while I accept that technology does change and advance, I have wondered how such incredibly tall structures would even stand up, and get through the atmosphere...not to mention the danger of something hitting the elevator above the ground but below space, or of the elevator snapping outright from stress. I think I would prefer to travel to space on a ship.
14. Women will be routinely impregnated by artificial insemination rather than by a man
I respect and support that a woman should have control over her own reproductive rights, but I do not understand why pregnancy through artificial means would become commonplace just for the sake of itself. I can see why single women, older women, and women in relationships with other women would need to do this, but unless the world decides to enter an incredibly anti-sex period, I think most people will still choose to reproduce via sexual intercourse if they do not need any assistance with reproduction.
15. There will be museums for almost every aspect of nature, as so much of the world's natural habitat will have been destroyed
Actually, I hope that by then attitudes have changed so that everyone is doing their part to protect the environment...therefore ensuring that museums to honour the extinct wildlife and habitats do not come to be. Harming the environment does harm us in the long run, so it is in the best interests of all people to preserve nature.
16. Deserts will become tropical forests
I would support restoring forests that have been lost to expanding deserts, but I would oppose replacing the deserts altogether: places such as the Sahara, Mojave, and the Gobi all have their own ecosystems that should be preserved. By all means, recover places overrun by desertification, but still allow the deserts to remain.
17. Marriage will be replaced by an annual contract
I am a strong supporter of marriage: my parents are married, my father's parents are married, my mother's parents were married until one of them died, and I have friends whose parents are married; I have been fortunate to celebrate a couple's 50th wedding anniversary (twice!), and am looking forward to celebrating a couple's 50th anniversary this year. A couple here in the United Kingdom even recently celebrated their 86th wedding anniversary.
Marriage is about love and commitment, and I fear that replacing marriage with renewable contracts would turn it into a commodity and a convenience, rather than something genuinely treasured by both partners. I am aware that divorce can be painful, but changing marriage in this way would hurt people who do make their relationships work. While these are only predictions, this one does contradict 11. much further above: gays and lesbians want equal marriage rights, and I think that replacing/doing away with marriage would be a large step backwards for everyone.
18. Sovereign nation states will cease to exist and there will be one world government
I do not think this would be a bad thing as long as the said government is similar to the Federation government in the Star Trek universe rather than like the one in 1984. I think at the very least there will be much greater cooperation between governments in the future and much less prejudice among people overall.
19. War by the West will be fought totally by remote control
I think it would be infinitely more preferable if there were no wars fought at all, regardless of the means used to fights them. Again, I think there will be more cooperation in the world, and therefore no war.
20. Britain will have had a revolution
What can I really say about this one? Any nation could have a revolution between now at the year 2112, so I would not single any out.
----
To be honest, I do not think the future can really be predicted that accurately: forty years ago it was predicted that we would have eliminated poverty and crime, built colonies on the Moon and developed warp drive by now, but sadly, these have not yet come true. We can give rough estimates based on current and past technology and human behaviour, but nothing exact. As for me, I merely hope for a more positive future for humanity and a more peaceful world: the advanced technologies will come when they come.
That concludes Part 2 of my posts on the Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now article. I would again like to thank the people who submitted their predictions to the magazine, and I would also like to say that I hope I did not come across as dismissive to any that I disagreed with: I appreciate that the submissions were likely all done in good-faith.
If anyone has any comments on what I have had to say, I welcome the input. I am open to discussing my opinions, and to changing my mind.
Monday, 16 January 2012
In the year...2112 (Part 1)
I read this article about predictions people had submitted for potential advances by the year 2112. I did find it interesting, and had mixed emotions about the predictions themselves. I thought giving my opinions on them would make for a good blog post (for attribution, note that the text highlighted in bold are the submissions, which I have copied from the article); as there are twenty numbered predictions listed, I will post ten today and the remaining ten tomorrow:
1. Oceans will be extensively farmed and not just for fish
My feelings on this one are mixed: on one hand, harvesting more sea-based plants, harnessing tidal power, and the desalinisation of salt water would go a long way to solving food and energy problems. At the same time, I am concerned that if ocean-farming was poorly managed or too extensive, every piece of marine life would be consumed. The harvesting of the seas would have to be carefully planned, otherwise the resources they contain would end up being wasted and the ecosystem destroyed.
2. We will have the ability to communicate through thought transmission
Telepathy would only be a good thing if we could also block being able to send/receive thoughts. If anything, I would prefer to have more empathic abilities (as with Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation) than telepathic.
3. Thanks to DNA and robotic engineering, we will have created incredibly intelligent humans who are immortal
If "robotic engineering" here implied fitting people with a heavy amount of electronic implants (going back to STNG here, but think of the Borg), then I would be strongly opposed to this, but I would have less of a problem with genetic enhancements (Julian Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). To address immortality, I could only agree to allowing people to become immortal if: 1. we have colonies beyond the Earth to support the guaranteed increase in population; 2. the behaviour of humanity will have changed by then to use less resources and/or recycle as much as possible; 3. the technology would be available to everyone.
4. We will be able to control the weather
This would be a good idea, providing it would be managed sensibly. Maintaining the weather, such as ensuring a certain region gets its average historical rainfall, or preventing an area from flooding would be positive. I doubt there would be any "personal weather-control" devices, however; it would likely be a global system.
5. Antarctica will be "open for business"
I would oppose this completely: the Antarctic should be left alone. If anything, we should be trying to preserve the wonders of the continent.
6. One single worldwide currency
For the sake of convenience, this could be very useful (especially for people who often travel from country to country). At the same time, there would have to be mechanisms in place to prevent the currency from ever running into any problems. Perhaps a universal currency that could be used in addition existing currencies might be a better idea.
7. We will all be wired to computers to make our brains work faster
No thank you, this brings me back to the Borg, whom I mentioned back at number 3. To be honest, I suspect the vast majority of people, regardless of their background, who oppose being made into machines (for one thing, being plugged into some sort of worldwide supercomputer could end up robbing everyone of their individuality and independence).
8. Nanorobots will flow around our body fixing cells, and will be able to record our memories
Again, I think genetic enhancements would be better. That being said, nanotechnology within people to aid in healing would be preferable than having us plugged into machines or fitted with cybernetic implants (providing they are not used as a stepping stone towards either of them).
9. We will have sussed nuclear fusion
All I can say to this one is that I hope it will be around long before 2112: then we will be able to get rid of fossil fuel and nuclear fission power plants.
10. There will only be three languages in the world - English, Spanish and Mandarin
This will probably be the case, or something similar; but I do believe it will be a huge cultural loss for smaller languages to die out.
That is the first part of my thoughts on the Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now article now complete; remember that these were only my thoughts on the predictions, not necessarily a comment on their plausibility. I would also like to thank the people who gave their submissions to the magazine. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.
1. Oceans will be extensively farmed and not just for fish
My feelings on this one are mixed: on one hand, harvesting more sea-based plants, harnessing tidal power, and the desalinisation of salt water would go a long way to solving food and energy problems. At the same time, I am concerned that if ocean-farming was poorly managed or too extensive, every piece of marine life would be consumed. The harvesting of the seas would have to be carefully planned, otherwise the resources they contain would end up being wasted and the ecosystem destroyed.
2. We will have the ability to communicate through thought transmission
Telepathy would only be a good thing if we could also block being able to send/receive thoughts. If anything, I would prefer to have more empathic abilities (as with Deanna Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation) than telepathic.
3. Thanks to DNA and robotic engineering, we will have created incredibly intelligent humans who are immortal
If "robotic engineering" here implied fitting people with a heavy amount of electronic implants (going back to STNG here, but think of the Borg), then I would be strongly opposed to this, but I would have less of a problem with genetic enhancements (Julian Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). To address immortality, I could only agree to allowing people to become immortal if: 1. we have colonies beyond the Earth to support the guaranteed increase in population; 2. the behaviour of humanity will have changed by then to use less resources and/or recycle as much as possible; 3. the technology would be available to everyone.
4. We will be able to control the weather
This would be a good idea, providing it would be managed sensibly. Maintaining the weather, such as ensuring a certain region gets its average historical rainfall, or preventing an area from flooding would be positive. I doubt there would be any "personal weather-control" devices, however; it would likely be a global system.
5. Antarctica will be "open for business"
I would oppose this completely: the Antarctic should be left alone. If anything, we should be trying to preserve the wonders of the continent.
6. One single worldwide currency
For the sake of convenience, this could be very useful (especially for people who often travel from country to country). At the same time, there would have to be mechanisms in place to prevent the currency from ever running into any problems. Perhaps a universal currency that could be used in addition existing currencies might be a better idea.
7. We will all be wired to computers to make our brains work faster
No thank you, this brings me back to the Borg, whom I mentioned back at number 3. To be honest, I suspect the vast majority of people, regardless of their background, who oppose being made into machines (for one thing, being plugged into some sort of worldwide supercomputer could end up robbing everyone of their individuality and independence).
8. Nanorobots will flow around our body fixing cells, and will be able to record our memories
Again, I think genetic enhancements would be better. That being said, nanotechnology within people to aid in healing would be preferable than having us plugged into machines or fitted with cybernetic implants (providing they are not used as a stepping stone towards either of them).
9. We will have sussed nuclear fusion
All I can say to this one is that I hope it will be around long before 2112: then we will be able to get rid of fossil fuel and nuclear fission power plants.
10. There will only be three languages in the world - English, Spanish and Mandarin
This will probably be the case, or something similar; but I do believe it will be a huge cultural loss for smaller languages to die out.
That is the first part of my thoughts on the Twenty top predictions for life 100 years from now article now complete; remember that these were only my thoughts on the predictions, not necessarily a comment on their plausibility. I would also like to thank the people who gave their submissions to the magazine. Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
On Kepler-22b and space travel
Over two weeks ago, it was announced that the first Earth-sized planet located within the habitable zone of a star the same type as the Sun (both are class G stars) had been discovered. Currently, it is still not known if Kepler-22b is rocky, liquid, or gaseous...it could be a place completely hostile to life, but even so, the discovery of a planet both similar in size to Earth and a similar distance from its star as Earth is to the Sun is fascinating and important: I have always been interested in extrasolar planets and space travel.
The only thing that does disappoint me with the discovery of thousands of planets outside the Solar System, especially the ones capable of supporting life (we may not have found them yet, but we will), is that we will not be able to visit them. If it is confirmed that Kepler-22b can support life, being 600 light-years away it would take 600 years to get there just at light-speed (technology that humanity does not possess at present). Even our closest star besides the Sun, Alpha Centauri, would take four years to get to at that speed. The Moon is the only place outside Earth that humans have been to so far, and I am enthralled by that, but saddened that we have not gone to it since the 1970s.
While humans are unlikely to be able to personally travel to extrasolar locations for the foreseeable future, at least we have plenty of places within the Solar System itself to visit long before then. Granted, I doubt I will be able to visit a base on Pluto (although I would be delighted to), but I remain optimistic, even with cuts to space programs, that in my lifetime trips into space (and possibly the Moon) will be commonplace and Mars will have been visited by humans
I strongly think that one day humanity will be able to travel to these distant places and beyond. In the meantime, I also think it is important to care for and protect our current residence in the Universe: the Earth.
The only thing that does disappoint me with the discovery of thousands of planets outside the Solar System, especially the ones capable of supporting life (we may not have found them yet, but we will), is that we will not be able to visit them. If it is confirmed that Kepler-22b can support life, being 600 light-years away it would take 600 years to get there just at light-speed (technology that humanity does not possess at present). Even our closest star besides the Sun, Alpha Centauri, would take four years to get to at that speed. The Moon is the only place outside Earth that humans have been to so far, and I am enthralled by that, but saddened that we have not gone to it since the 1970s.
While humans are unlikely to be able to personally travel to extrasolar locations for the foreseeable future, at least we have plenty of places within the Solar System itself to visit long before then. Granted, I doubt I will be able to visit a base on Pluto (although I would be delighted to), but I remain optimistic, even with cuts to space programs, that in my lifetime trips into space (and possibly the Moon) will be commonplace and Mars will have been visited by humans
I strongly think that one day humanity will be able to travel to these distant places and beyond. In the meantime, I also think it is important to care for and protect our current residence in the Universe: the Earth.
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