36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth like Planet.
By Dennis Overbye
A review
Sajid Chowdhury
The article “36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth Like Planet” by Dennis Overbye details new findings of a planet that might just be able to hold life. The planet in question is 36 light years away, and orbits the sun at a distance that makes it able to have liquid water. This newfound planet, HD 85512b, is located near the Vela constellation, and revolves around a star in an orbit a quarter of earths own, making its year 58 days. New information on planets like HD 85512b, or the Vela planet, has been discussed in a news conference hosted by the European Southern Observatory. These new findings are the result of a eight-year observing program in the European Southern Observatory, which is in Chile. The two men heading this program, Stephane Udry and Michel Mayor, are revealing new evidence of 16 “super-earths,” planets that have masses less than ten-times earth, and 50 other exoplanets, which are galvanizing the scientific community.
These findings have immense ramifications throughout the world. This new information on habitable planets has the chance to revamp the space programs of many nations. These planets in the Vela constellation and in other areas of space are found to be in a “habitable” orbit around the stars they revolve around. However unlikely that we will send either a manned ship or even a satellite in the next twenty years, these findings are a testament to the new advances in astrological technology since the end of the 20th century. New telescopes and techniques like observing the warping of light to pinpoint orbits, are allowing us to observe even deeper into the galaxy.
This article was very well written; it informs as well as entices the reader on the possibilities of space. But, that being said, it was rather lacking in its description of the actual science involved in this discovery. There was little written on the eight years these astronomists spent observing, nor on the technology involved. Also, the article mentions opposing viewpoints only in passing, downplaying the controversy over these findings.
I think Sajid’s review of the article, “36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth Like Planet,” was engaging and informative. He explained the facts about the planet very well. For instance, he described how the planet, HD 85512b, orbits a star nearby, the distance at which it orbits its sun, and how that relates to the length of its year. Sajid also did a good job of relating this discovery to the space programs that would be affected by it. He makes a good point that the technology that humans have developed for learning about space has increased greatly since its beginning in the 20th century, and continues to do improve today. Lastly, I liked how Sajid was blatantly honest about how the article seemed to be biased and lost sight of the discovery’s controversy.
ReplyDeleteOverall, the assessment of the article that Sajid gave was very good. However, I think he could have added a more detailed account of the article. I thought it was short in length, and as he said, the article was well-written, so there was no shortage of things to write about. I also thought that Sajid could have explained what the scientists intend on doing with the new discovery. For example, whether they plan on trying to visit the planet or discover more planets similar to it that are closer to Earth or not.
The most significant point that Sajid made in his review of the article was that the technology made for space discovery has improved drastically since its 20th century beginning. Space programs around the world have made such remarkable discoveries in such a short amount of time, it can only be imagined what they will discover in the next few decades.
Sajid’s review of the article, “36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth Like Planet,” was a very interesting read. He gave a very good background of the planet HD 85512b, such as the name, the relative orbit, the solar system, and the star that it orbits. I also found that he did a very good job at explaining how although the planet is habitable, it will not be available for years to come because of the extreme length of travel it would take to get there. Although it may have a habitable orbit in relation to its star, we do not have the technology at this point to even send a satellite to the planet. I also like how he goes on further to explain the type of technology that needs to be developed, or is in predevelopment. It would be very interesting to see the advancements in the upcoming years.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sajid chose a very interesting topic, there is too little detail about it. The information besides the basic findings is very vague. He states that there is “new findings” and “new evidence” however he does not give any information about it. It would be more interesting to read more in detail about them. Also, he went on to say that the discovery will revamp the programs of many nations, but he did not explain how they would do this. Overall he made several exclamations without giving appropriate explanations for them.
I think that the most interesting part of this article is the planet itself. Could there possibly be life on this planet since it has a habitable orbit? When will we create the necessary technology to make contact with this planet? If we were to create the technology to transport people there, how many people could it support and for how long? This discovery opens an array of questions that would be very fascinating to get answered.
I thought Sajid review of the article, “36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth Like Planet,” was very interesting in a sense that there might be life on other planets. Sajid explained the location of the planet in great detail. Also, he kept on relating HD 85512b to Earth, which emphasized the importance of this discovery. But, Sajid also does a good job in explaining how this discovery has to do a lot more research before HD 85512b can be confirmed as a planet that sustains life.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I felt like Sajid lacked detail on his explanation of how these scientists study this planet that is 36 light years away. And, he doesn't describe what technology these scientists use except for mentioning a telescope. Also, I didn't really learn much from reading this article other than the existence of HD 85512b and that it could possibility support life. I think Sajid's article was very vague and therefore, made it hard to write a review about this article.
I find it amazing how scientists can use a telescope to see something 36 light years away because I had no idea that our technology had the capability of doing this. And, imagine what technology would be like in 20 years. This article shows how technology is getting more advanced and efficient by the day.
When reading Sajid’s review on the article,“36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth Like Planet,” was very intriguing and insightful. Sajid did a good job at describing how this discovery was made and how the research is not yet confirmed to sustain human life. Sajid also did a good job at explaining certain factors of the article, but I feel might have lacked some detail from the article’s core research. For such an intriguing topic, I felt this article was bland and did not address key questions a reader could have. I felt myself asking those questions to myself as I read Sajid’s review. I would, however, would have liked to see more about the telescope that was used and how it was able to detect something 36 light years away.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I learned a lot from this article through its details on the planet and its possibilities it can bring. I found the telescope to be quite interesting for it can detect something as far as 36 light years away. I would like to keep in touch with this discovery and monitor its progress as time goes on.
Sajid made a good choice in reviewing this article about the Vela Planet (HD 85512b). It is interesting and thought-provoking to read about the Goldilocks planets that today's technology is able to seek out. Sajid's writing isn't choppy and flows nicely, making the review just as good as reading the article itself. He was observant and picked out the flaws of the article, including the way it bypassed underlying controversy about the new planet. His explanations of what may happen in coming years further engaged the reader.
ReplyDeleteThough his review was informative, Sajid should have provided a link to the original article. Also it would have been helpful for him to clarify what defines a planet as earth-like so the reader can see exactly how the Vela planet was classified as habitual.
Astronomy is a fascinating science that not enough people are in touch with. It is very objective. Astronomers and cosmologists explain space phenomena based on a lot of theory and mathematical calculation, though modern technology has greatly enhanced our knowledge of the universe. Articles such as the one Sajid reviewed remind people of the branch of astronomy and inform them of possible space exploration that may occur in their lifetime.
I think that Sajid did a very good job reviewing the article "36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth like Planet." The review did a very good job talking about the newly discovered planet and about why it could inhabit life. I liked that the article talked about the consequences this discovery and the discovery of the other "super-earths" may have on space programs. Sajid discussed how these new discoveries may revitalize many space programs and bring them much more funding. I also liked that Sajid was realistic about the situation and explained that while this is an amazing discovery, it is very highly unlikely that a satellite or man manned space craft will be sent to investigate it more closely in the near future. One last thing that I liked about Sajid's review was that he explained the reasons why the Vela planet could have life, and he also explained the technologies that are developing that could help us learn more about the planet. He talks about how the Vela planet is just close enough to its sun like our planet and he also talks about how "New telescopes and techniques like observing the warping of light to pinpoint orbits, are allowing us to observe even deeper into the galaxy" and thus helping us find new planets such as the Vela planet.
ReplyDeleteWhile Sajid did write a very good review, he could have given more detail on certain parts of the article. For example, he could have given more information about the "super earths" and about which space programs in particular might benefit from these discoveries and which are going to take advantage of these findings. One other thing that Sajid could have done better was explain how astronauts would be able to learn more about this new planet if they were sent up in a space craft because of its immense distance away from the earth.
I found the most interesting part of the article to be the 16 "super earths" and 50 other exoplanets that Sajid mentioned shortly. I am very interested to learn that there are so many planets like those, and I am very interested to do more research on the planets and learn more about what impacts they could have. Overall, Sajid's review was a great one.