My mind is completely blown away by the announcement that scientists have discovered evidence of a planet with water outside of our solar system.
It’s the kind of subject that keeps you awake at night trying to fathom. How on Earth (excuse the pun) can they discover something so far away? What does it mean? Just what else is out there?
It’s so hard to comprehend how astronomers can explore something that is around 150 light years from Earth.
Only remains of the rocky planet still exist, but apparently display all the ingredients that would have been needed to support life.
Professor Boris Gänsicke, of the University of Warwick, reported in the journal Science: “At this stage in its existence, all that remains of this rocky body is simply dust and debris that has been pulled into the orbit of its dying parent star.
“However, this planetary graveyard swirling around the embers of its parent star is a rich source of information about its former life. In these remnants lie chemical clues, which point towards a previous existence as a water-rich terrestrial body.
“Those two ingredients – a rocky surface and water – are key in the hunt for habitable planets outside our solar system so it’s very exciting to find them together for the first time outside our solar system.”
The scientists were able to work out the presence of water by observing the presence of oxygen on the asteroid.
It doesn’t yet prove the existence of little green men, but it is fascinating to imagine the idea of life on another planet.
Another completely mind-blowing aspect of this story is the fact that the planet was destroyed about 200million years ago – a fate that could be in store for Earth in six billion years…
Sleep well tonight!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-11/space-graveyard-reveals-bits-of-an-earth-like-planet/5015906