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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Epsilon Eridani
« on: 26/09/2006 03:01:47 »
Anyone know if this is the nearest star confirmed to have a planet? I read before somewhere, that it was suspected to have two, but also that Lalande 21185 was suspected to have a planet or two.
Ross 780 is also very close by, and has a few confirmed planets, I think.
Epsilon Eridani is a very young star, a little smaller than the sun. Lalande 21185 is a very tiny star, as is Ross 780, or whatever astronomers call it now. I like stars to have a name that at least contains one word, like Wolf #### or Lacaille #### as opposed to GJ ### or HD ####-#### type names.
Anyway, what are your thoughts about these close by planets?
Any planet near a flare star or red dwarf would be very unlikely to sustain any life that resembled what we know, but perhaps if there was a nice rocky planet inside the orbit of the Epsilon Eridani planet, close enough to have a decent temperature, there could at least be something habitable, but it's still highly unlikely.
Just that if these planets existed in our own backyard, maybe there is a chance of humans visiting these places someday, even if they are incredibly far away compared to the moon, which is as far as we have gone.
Ross 780 is also very close by, and has a few confirmed planets, I think.
Epsilon Eridani is a very young star, a little smaller than the sun. Lalande 21185 is a very tiny star, as is Ross 780, or whatever astronomers call it now. I like stars to have a name that at least contains one word, like Wolf #### or Lacaille #### as opposed to GJ ### or HD ####-#### type names.
Anyway, what are your thoughts about these close by planets?
Any planet near a flare star or red dwarf would be very unlikely to sustain any life that resembled what we know, but perhaps if there was a nice rocky planet inside the orbit of the Epsilon Eridani planet, close enough to have a decent temperature, there could at least be something habitable, but it's still highly unlikely.
Just that if these planets existed in our own backyard, maybe there is a chance of humans visiting these places someday, even if they are incredibly far away compared to the moon, which is as far as we have gone.