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I understand your point, but you seem to err. Sure, there are extremophiles. So are you saying that you know life could develop in temps as hot as the sun or as cold a Pluto? I'd say warm sounds about right, although for humans that could be extremely warm.
The thing is that IF HD85512b is warm and muggy (again we don't know that for sure), and since it's host star HB85512 is estimated to be a bit more than 5 billion years old, based solely on the emergence of life on Earth, that's plenty of time for life to get a start and evolve on HD85512b. So, sure it's POSSIBLE it could be teeming with a wide variety of life, assuming the conditions are suitable for whatever those conditions might be. We don't know if it is or it isn't though. Not sure why such statements should be a big issue for you.
This is exactly my point as well.
To quote myself "It all seems to go hand in hand."
That isn't really a concrete statement now is it.
These are our best theories of how this all happened. Only a fool would think they are set in stone; only a fool would discredit them completely.
To quote myself "It all seems to go hand in hand."
That isn't really a concrete statement now is it.
These are our best theories of how this all happened. Only a fool would think they are set in stone; only a fool would discredit them completely.
You're quite right HH. Nothing is set in stone. It's all subject to change as new discoveries are made. They are indeed the best theories at present, unlike our friend who has offered absolutely no plausible alternative in return. The feeble attempts to discredit such theories is because they don't provide any insta-poof results. It seems some people have difficulty understanding words like "possible", and somehow takes it to mean "absoute". What's disturbing is the failure to actually read people's posts, rewording things to be completely different from what has been said, and the pointless cherry-picking, which collectively only attempts to derail an otherwise interesting thread. Seems pretty trollish to me.
We'd all like to know if there's life elsewhere. It's not that it isn't relevent. It's that it's a bit too soon to jump to any conclusions. The thing is there isn't a lot known about HD85512b other than it's estimated mass, the approximate distance from it's host star which is roughly within the zone where habitability is possible. To say what might be possible, is not a confirmation that life (as we know it) exists there, or even could exist there. It's real simple: we don't know.
What has been said is that if the conditions are right (which is still unknown), if it contains liquid water and a cloud cover of over 50%, and that the temperature is initially estimated (with also needs to be better confirmed) to be about 298 degrees Kelvin (76.73 degrees Fahrenheit), which is quite comfortable by human standards, then it's POSSIBLE life could potentially exist there. That said, it's considered as one of the best candidates discovered so far for habitability. It may be earth-like, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's identical to the Earth. What it all means is that we are developing better techniques and better equipment to find planets that are nearly the size of the Earth. That's pretty remarkable.
We need a lot more information about the planet before any conclusions can be drawn. My understanding is that such information is not yet complete enough. As far as I know, we still have no concrete idea what its atmosphere is like or what its surface is like. That should be forthcoming in the not too distant future. It could just as easily turn out to be inhabitable. The point is that it takes time, step by step, to better analyze some of these rocky planets.
HD85512b is about 36 light years away from us. That's pretty close in terms of astronomical distances, but it's still no walk in the park. It's a heck of a long distance away from us. HD 85512 b - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What your view appears to me from the reply you gave to Pitts, "How would we know? Science can't tell us how life came about on Earth..much less how it MIGHT come about on some other planet.", is that you're trying to turn this thread back into another one of your 'abiogenesis doesn't exist' views. Am I wrong? If you'd read what Pitts actually said: "It may turn out to be a "hotbed" for life and evolution.....time will tell." He didn't say it WILL turn out like that.
Good post......also the thread was meant to convey that IF the planet harbors no indigenous life....then there is a possibility that this world is a great place for human colonization in the future.
Educated posters and knowledgeable people realize that one day our species must expand to other worlds or face extinction......HD85512b holds the best hope so far in our explorations.
And by astronomical standards it is rather closeby.
Interesting how they can assume a planet can have life from nearly 216 trillion miles away.
Noone assumed that....only you and another poster....who seem to not have read the thread title and OP completely and without "reading" your agendas into the thread title and opening post......nor seem to have read any of the provided links either.
I have heard of Peter Noone, from Herman's Hermits, just didn't know to which Noone you were referring. It is not a very common name and I didn't see a poster with that name.
I think an understanding of how life forms is certainly relevant to the question of whether or not it could form, isn't it?
No. Those are two different aspects. One speaks of possibilities (conditions and such), the other investigates... how. With this discovery, we're talking the former. You didn't get that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnPaul
Interesting how they can assume a planet can have life from nearly 216 trillion miles away.
"Can" because they can. But in this case, I'm not aware that they are assuming anything but telling us that the planet has conditions that could support life.
Last edited by EinsteinsGhost; 09-14-2011 at 07:50 AM..
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