Edit: Mistakenly put it in the wrong forum, meant to go in Science.

Inhabitable Planets have become quite the hot topic since the Kepler spacecraft's discoveries.

If you don't know what Kepler is and what it discovered, have no fear, it's quite simple really.

The Kepler space craft was launched to orbit with the primary purpose of identifying livable planets other that earth. It was to search for the possibility of planets orbiting in the "habitable zone" of other systems (an orbit range that would be the right distance from the sun to avoid us turning into popsicles or fried balogna). Before the launch, we knew there were other planets out there, but how numerous are they? And more importantly, are any of them in a position to support human life?

What did the satellite find? There are millions, if not billions of planets in our galaxy. Some estimates say there may be more planets than stars in our galaxy. But that's not all, we have found planets in the habitable zone of some close-by systems (still light-years away, though). Isn't that something! But wait, there's more! Many of these well situated planets are of similar size and composition as earth! Now our ability to detect such small planets amongst comparatively large stars is limited. As our ability to peer into space increases in precision, isn't it a safe guess that we will only find more and more habitable candidates?

In fact, already, there are 2,740 planets that are possibly suitable for our form of life. Some of them (see here) provide even slightly better environments for vegetation that earth! Now there is still much left in the dark, such as the presence of water. But isn't that quite the discovery!?

I thought this was especially cool: there are some good candidates in binary systems! Yes, some day, this could be a reality:



What do you guys think?

We will someday reach these planets?

Do you think earth-like planets even exist?

Will we find vegetation or animal life on them?

They found what they described as super earths too, planets like earth but bigger.
Its hard to tell for certain which could actually support us but they found some good candidates.Its a pity i will probably be dead before we reach that stage of human history, id like to see it.

thenumberone : Yes, because they are easier to find, planets larger than earth are found first. In fact, most of the convincing candidates are superterrans, that is, a little bigger than earth.

But I suspect that in time as our technology increases, we will find more earth-sized as well.

It could happen, but I doubt it will. Then again, alot of people doubted that we could ever fly, go into space, or many other things that we have now done. So, who knows?

As for whether other Earth-like planets exist, I think they probably do. Vegetation? Sure! Animal life? Probably not, but maybe.

So do we have the spaceship technology to actually go to these planets? I mean, the list of possible inhabitable planets is pretty cool and all, but it would be rather useless if we don't have the technology to get to those places. Things look pretty grim with the space program on earth since our development of those technologies have slowed down since the race to the moon.

play4fun : Not even close.

In 200 years we might start working towards that technology. But many of the good candidates are 20 light years away. We can only travel a tiny fraction of light speed at the moment, meaning it would take hundreds or thousands of years to get there.

But it's still something to think about: there are other earth-like planets out there. In the distant future, will we colonize them? If this earth reaches it maximum population, humans will to to the sky. The moon and Mars (or even Venus) are colonizable, but only in bunkers, not "out in the open" like earth. If humans ever want to spread off of this planet, these planets look good, don't they?

Yeah, that would be awesome. And I wouldn't be too surprised to see man try to colonize the moon one day, though it still would not compare to these other planets. It'd still be an awesome experience.

Eirinn : I suppose what will determine where we colonize (and I mean an almost self-sustaining colony) first depends on weather we develop the capacity to reach near light speed travel or effective quick terra forming first.

Mars has an ok supply of water on it, but has a very thin atmosphere and no global magnetosphere. The moon has hardly any water (except maybe at it's poles, there may be big sheets of ice). And Venus has Greenhouse on steroids. If we can find a way to solve any of those problems that's a first step. But how LONG would it take to develop and ecosystem on any of those planets?

But traveling to an other system is just as unimaginable at this point too. I really wish I live for at least 500 years, eh?

Lol that would be about the only way we'd see it, probably. But, yeah, for a self sufficient system, it would take alot of work and thought. Not to mention all of the materials they'd have to haul, plus resources. They'd need everything from dirt (I'm sure the soil probably wouldn't support our vegetation), to food. Now on these Earth-like planets, they could probably grow something, or maybe eat the native vegetation there. Who knows?

Sorry for the sandwich, this is my last post for a few replies.

Eirinn : Imagine if there is vegetation on an other planet (and there likely is).

Imagine eating fruits and veggies that are we have never had a chance to before. They might be completely different that ours, the trees might look completely different. Then again, maybe they would look same, who knows.

You know, it would be a bit easier to colonize if we worked on expanding into our oceans.  While the conditions are of course different, it would spur technology that would be able to colonize these earths when we get there (if we get there).  A self-sustaining biosphere underwater, would be a big step forward don't you think?  As to these super earths..we most likely won't see them in our live times..but that does not mean we will not get there.