Another Earth Beyond Our Universe

Another Earth Beyond Our Universe

Marlon Gilbert

Astronomy 201

Professor Kazarinov

November 20, 2010

Marlon Gilbert

Professor Kazarinov

Astronomy 201

20 Nov. 2010

Another Earth Beyond Our Universe

Every since I was a little boy I have always been interested in space. I can recall riding in my dad’s car at night asking my dad, “Why is the moon following us?” He would just burst out laughing and say, “The moon is not following us…it just looks like it is.” I can recall staying up late at night watching all of the Apollo space flight missions. I never missed one. John Glen and Neil Armstrong were household names to me. Over the course of years, I always wanted to know what it would be like living on another planet. Although I knew that it was impossible, the thought was always in the back of my mind. The turning point is when I selected Astronomy 201 course for the fall semester. After doing some reading and studying, new light had been shed on this topic. In this report, I will point out the discovery of the new earth, what it would be like living on another earth, and the time frame it would take to reach this new earth.

The thought of another planet like earth is totally unimaginable. Our universe is so vast and steadily expanding. If there were, any hope for another earth like planet to exist would probably be way beyond our universe. Moreover, we on earth view our sun as the hub of the universe. Terrestrial planets such as Venus, Mars, and Mercury are situated too close to the sun; therefore, it is too hot to sustain life. Jovian planets beyond the snowline such as Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Pluto are too far away from the sun, therefore it is too cold. However, astronomers and scientists have recently discovered a blip in the radar, Gliese 581g. “Gliese 581g is the first planet discovered that is the right mass and distance from its star for the surface to be...