As I'm sure you've heard by now, there may be a new kid on the liveable planet block, Gliese 581g. This is the first exoplanet that has the potential to have a solid surface and that is in the habitable zone around its star where liquid water can exist. We all immediately thought, "could there be life?" and one SETI researcher claims to have a possible signal.
There really is no telling yet how many potentially habitable planets there are in the galaxy, though one could make an estimate based on the solar system and Gliese 581's system.
However, just being in the "Goldilocks zone" is not enough to truly be habitable to life as we know it, as we can see from Mars in our very own solar system. But to find such a planet a mere 20 light-years away is still tantalizing. After all, if there was an intelligent civilization there, we could have a short conversation in a human lifetime!
Ragbir Bhathal, an astronomer affiliated with the Australian SETI effort, says that he detected a blip of light, similar to what optical SETI projects might expect from an intelligent civilization, in the direction of Gliese 581 two years ago.
Now, one blip does not a solid detection make, and for decades SETI researchers have been excited then disappointed by strange signals that never repeat. If Bhathal produces this data for scrutiny from other scientists, repeatability would still be needed before a detection of extra-terrestrial intelligence could be claimed. So don't get your hopes up just yet.
Gliese 581g and the Question of Intelligent Life : Discovery News
There really is no telling yet how many potentially habitable planets there are in the galaxy, though one could make an estimate based on the solar system and Gliese 581's system.
However, just being in the "Goldilocks zone" is not enough to truly be habitable to life as we know it, as we can see from Mars in our very own solar system. But to find such a planet a mere 20 light-years away is still tantalizing. After all, if there was an intelligent civilization there, we could have a short conversation in a human lifetime!
Ragbir Bhathal, an astronomer affiliated with the Australian SETI effort, says that he detected a blip of light, similar to what optical SETI projects might expect from an intelligent civilization, in the direction of Gliese 581 two years ago.
Now, one blip does not a solid detection make, and for decades SETI researchers have been excited then disappointed by strange signals that never repeat. If Bhathal produces this data for scrutiny from other scientists, repeatability would still be needed before a detection of extra-terrestrial intelligence could be claimed. So don't get your hopes up just yet.
Gliese 581g and the Question of Intelligent Life : Discovery News