If we somehow found a habitable planet, how would we start out?

[FiahOwl]

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[smjjames]

the chances of a habitable planet in an alternate universe might be higher, but i think we'd find one in this universe first.

and fiah, no one is going to bother to read your miniature text.

We found one already.

Theres also alot of gas giants in the habitable zone of their suns (and so, have habitable moons) and some systems with known planets could have rocky, terrestrial planets in the habitable zone that we just haven't been able to detetct just yet.

Anybody know how far away from a gas giant a moon has to be in order to get to earth size and be stable? It's entirely possible for a gas giant to capture an earth sized protoplanet, but having it stay in a stable orbit for billions of years is another matter entirely. Theres plenty of hypothetical and fictional moons out there which are earth sized or pretty close to it, Endor was probably at least as big as mars, dunno.

Of course though, it doesn't neccesarily have to be earth sized to be habitable, Titan is probably at the lower range for a body to hold a thick, earthlike, atmosphere. I know Triton is bigger, but it's so far away that it's atmosphere would be frozen anyhow.

[blotz]

What if we just missed a planet? Space is so big that you probably can not imagine its vastness.

[Darvince]

We've discovered less than one percent of space, so there's definitely trillions, if not quadrillions, of planets we haven't discovered.

[smjjames]

At our current level of technology detection methods, it's possible, plus we've only been at it for a few decades. Most of the planets we've found so far are gas giants and super earths, we haven't really found earth sized and smaller objects as we can't detect them yet, although I think theres a couple of candidates out there.

Really though, we've only just begun surveying our corner of the galaxy, there will be plenty for future explorers and planet hunters.

Edit: Like Darvince said, we've only covered a tiny fraction of planets, and some systems we are still finding them.

Although, if you want to count rogue planets (anything shot out of the system and are wandering), it's estimated that there are lots of them out there.

[blotz]

yeah.
 
Some planets might be to small to be detected, and lift might even be in them.
If we found one, the weight of the space ship would matter a lot. Probes would have to orbit around and then land on it to gather enough information to send to earth.
Too much work. But it might be worth it.

[smjjames]

Some planets might be to small to be detected, and lift might even be in them.

Thats with our current available instruments, and methods. Heck, we're already finding super earths, so we're getting to the point of being able to find earth sized planets. I could say that it's the technology, but we definetly have the technology capable of finding super earths, so it's a matter of refining the tools and methods.

Theres the terrestrial planet finder sattelite thats slated for launch sometime and a couple other planet hunting probes.

Again, we've only JUST started, I don't think we've gotten to a thousand confirmed planets yet, and as someone said earlier, there are likely trillions of planets. What we've found so far is a water molecule in a bucket full of water.

[atomic7732]

Theres the terrestrial planet finder sattelite thats slated for launch sometime and a couple other planet hunting probes.

Again, we've only JUST started, I don't think we've gotten to a thousand confirmed planets yet

The TPF was cancelled last year or 2009. We really only have CoRoT, Kepler, and a few ground-based surveys. Although, Kepler should be able to detect Earth-sized planets.

And at last count we're at 704, per Exoplanet.eu

[smjjames]

Oh, forgot about that, anyways, with the Kelper Objects of Interest, we probably are over a thousand. Really though, it's only a matter of time before we find an Earth sized object.

Only thing though is that Kelper is looking at a wedge of sky, so any earth sized planet it finds is likely to be hundreds if not thousands of light years away, too far for a realistic colony ship with current technology.

[deoxy99]

Joke: I want to go fish some KOI.

[atomic7732]

Joke: I want to go fish some KOI.

Kepler is already fishing for KOI for you.

[blotz]

Theres the terrestrial planet finder sattelite thats slated for launch sometime and a couple other planet hunting probes.

Again, we've only JUST started, I don't think we've gotten to a thousand confirmed planets yet

The TPF was cancelled last year or 2009. We really only have CoRoT, Kepler, and a few ground-based surveys. Although, Kepler should be able to detect Earth-sized planets.

And at last count we're at 704, per Exoplanet.eu

some things are seriously out of date in that link (2004)

[atomic7732]

No idea why they still have some of that, but that's not what I'm using to source the 704.

And it doesn't make the source any less valid.

[smjjames]

There could be various reasons for not being updated for a long while.

The exoplanet app I have on my iPad says there are 706, although that one probably updates a little faster than the site. The numbers may vary a little from source to source, but the point has been made.

[atomic7732]

There could be various reasons for not being updated for a long while.

The exoplanet app I have on my iPad says there are 706, although that one probably updates a little faster than the site. The numbers may vary a little from source to source, but the point has been made.

It would seem to me that the site would be updated quicker. Is that app created by Hanno Rein, by any chance? I've got that one.

[smjjames]

There could be various reasons for not being updated for a long while.

The exoplanet app I have on my iPad says there are 706, although that one probably updates a little faster than the site. The numbers may vary a little from source to source, but the point has been made.

It would seem to me that the site would be updated quicker. Is that app created by Hanno Rein, by any chance? I've got that one.

Yep, thats the one I have. I also have the Kepler Candidates one by the same person.

[blotz]

For some reason, I feel guilty.

[vh]

wtf ^^^^

which alien did you extinctify

[blotz]

mmmm..............no...i.. didint do anyting dont worru

[karakris]

Replies to some earlier Ideas.

In my "Krissyverse" - which is a kind of variation on the Real Universe.

An unbelievably Ancient species which calls itself The Primes - were in this Universe BEFORE when we believe the Big Bang happened.
They were so old then that the figures do not really mean anything.
They had lived on several successive Planets, orbiting Red Dwarf Stars, and breathing a Fluorine mixture Atmosphere, "engineering" the Planets, and moving their Stars around - in a Universe which was incredibly lacking in Galaxies - only dist and a few Stars.
Then suddenly the Galaxies started to coalesce - Stars and eventually PLanets started to form.  The Primes CREATED new forms of Life - for Carbon-Hydrogen, Nitrogen-Hydrogen and Chlorine-Hydrogen Planets in Andromeda - then moved to this Galaxy.
They started doing the same here - so that life was Created or "Engineered" in this Galaxy as well.
Then they fell-out very badly - and split into two Factions which eventually went to WAR with each other.  The "Peacemakers" Faction fled back to andromeda eventually
While the other group, now calling itself The Imperator stayed - and using a geneteically engineered Ammonia Breathing Species, they set out to Conquer this Galaxy.r   

[FiahOwl]

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[blotz]

sometimes, i wonder how the evolution started to change us. i mean, our brain power led us this far, but we know almost nothing that is 100% correct about our past. or when we started acting like people.

[superecnate]

Actually there is a way to easily get to another solar system well within a lifetime!
A solar sail, of cource!
http://science.howstuffworks.com/solarsail.htm
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/24jan_solarsail/

[clockworks]

we wouldn't do anything for 1000 years until we somehow developed efficient interstellar travel means. To get to the nearest star would take more than 100x all the output of energy used by the earth.
Also at any speeds to get to the planet in a reasonable time means even tiny bits of dust inflict massive damage on the spacecraft so we would need a forcefield

also time dilation etc. and anything over 50 years, by the time they're halfway there they could of developed better technology.

so with current tech I doubt we would ever visit one.

Maybe see if there is intelligent life and communicate somehow

[smjjames]

Yea that's kind of the problem with sleeper ships and multigenerational ships, the longer the journey, the more likely that faster technology will have been developed and people will arrive there before you or perhaps the colony ship will have been lost to the mists of time.

The Star Trek series deals with this a number of times and a novel that I have called Coyote (might not be the full name of it and I forget the author atm), which is a sci-fi book, does deal with a similar scenario in that a while later, faster ships contact the 'lost' colony.

It may take many hundreds of years for a significantly faster technology to catch up with the slowboat colony ships, but we just never know.

[Bla]

we wouldn't do anything for 1000 years until we somehow developed efficient interstellar travel means. To get to the nearest star would take more than 100x all the output of energy used by the earth.

Hmm, but with what mass? And the output from how long time?