Carrots!

20LY distance would take at least 40 years to get to, more probably 80 years or more.

It would be a long term mission on a scale not yet seen certainly, and I dont think we could do it right now, but its not inconceivable that we could at least send a robotic probe at some future point. Yes, youre looking at ~50-100 years to get there and 20 years for the signal to get back, but in the grand scheme of things thats not THAT long.


TBH though the most significant thing for me is that theyve basically only just started looking seriously for earth sized  rocky planets in the habitable zone. To find one this quickly is either the biggest stroke of luck ever or indicates that there are an awful lot of them just waiting to be found.

TBH though the most significant thing for me is that theyve basically only just started looking seriously for earth sized  rocky planets in the habitable zone. To find one this quickly is either the biggest stroke of luck ever or indicates that there are an awful lot of them just waiting to be found.

Most of the problem is effort and cost. It would take an awful lot to send a probe there. Signals over that sort of distance would also be an issue. First they need to sort out some new form of propulsion and then send the ship. While there are several possible options theres none we have proven for inter-system travel. By the time you get there the probability is they will have much better telescopes than we do now, which may make the probe entirely redundant. Improvements in propulsion will also be made which could mean a later probe overtaking the earlier one en-route!

I would agree, there probably are an awful lot of earth sized planets out there waiting to be found, the problem is finding ones in the goldilocks zone of a sun similar to ours and earth sized. There are probably billions of them out there.

A completely different issue is will it be worth landing on one? The natural life may be completely incompatible with ours.

I dont think were all about to go jump on a ship and head out there, but the fact that there are planets close enough which are probably inhabitable that we could even consider it is what excites me.

All the previous exo-planets found have been Jupiter+ sized, insanely close to the parent star or both.

Quote from: Mongoose

I dont think were all about to go jump on a ship and head out there, but the fact that there are planets close enough which are probably inhabitable that we could even consider it is what excites me.

All the previous exo-planets found have been Jupiter+ sized, insanely close to the parent star or both.

if you believe the nuts, there about 14 alien species within 20 light years
serpo.org

OMFG!!! we 1z all d00m3dz0r!!!!11eleven! quick! run for the hills!!

Quote from: Mongoose

TBH though the most significant thing for me is that theyve basically only just started looking seriously for earth sized  rocky planets in the habitable zone. To find one this quickly is either the biggest stroke of luck ever or indicates that there are an awful lot of them just waiting to be found.

A completely different issue is will it be worth landing on one? The natural life may be completely incompatible with ours.

Prion-based diseases you think? One potentially life-bearing, but could be populated with moderately evolved thermophiles.

As much as I would love to put faith in humanity as a whole, I get the feeling we will have destroyed ourselves long before we get to the technological level required to explore and expland across the universe in reasonable amounts of time, which I do believe would be possible some day. If this is it, well its not much to look forward to for the future of life, is it really? Especially when you consider that one day were likely to face an ELE anyway.