Just smile and wave
And hope they don't come over.
Researchers claim to have found an Earth-like planet orbiting a star called Gliese 581 which is twenty light years away from us ('Second Earth' found, 20 light years away). According to the article, the planet is 1.5 times larger than Earth, but has a year of only 13 days. (Silly factoid: if I lived on that planet I'd be almost 1200 years old; human gestation would take about 21 years.) They've probably got laws against birthdays.) Although the planet is very close to its star, Gliese 581 is quite cool compared with the sun, which makes the zone where a habitable planet might be found quite small.
Would such a planet, if it has an inclined axis, have seasons? Or does it orbit Gliese 581 too rapidly for the concept of season to make any sense if there was a new one every three Earth days? Would it be possible for higher life forms to evolve there and what sort of creatures would they be? What would plant life be like?
Researchers claim to have found an Earth-like planet orbiting a star called Gliese 581 which is twenty light years away from us ('Second Earth' found, 20 light years away). According to the article, the planet is 1.5 times larger than Earth, but has a year of only 13 days. (Silly factoid: if I lived on that planet I'd be almost 1200 years old; human gestation would take about 21 years.) They've probably got laws against birthdays.) Although the planet is very close to its star, Gliese 581 is quite cool compared with the sun, which makes the zone where a habitable planet might be found quite small.
Would such a planet, if it has an inclined axis, have seasons? Or does it orbit Gliese 581 too rapidly for the concept of season to make any sense if there was a new one every three Earth days? Would it be possible for higher life forms to evolve there and what sort of creatures would they be? What would plant life be like?
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