Scientists discover Earth-like, water-rich planet: study

PARIS (AFP) – Astronomers have discovered a new Earth-like planet that is larger than our own and may be more than half covered with water, according to a study published Wednesday in the science journal Nature.

The so-called "super Earth" is about 42 light years away in another solar system and has a radius nearly 2.7 times larger than that of our planet, according to the study by the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.

The discovery of the planet, called GJ 1214b, represents a "major step forward" in the search for worlds similar to the Earth, added the University of California's Geoffrey Marcy in a commentary also in Nature.


The "newfound world" is too hot to sustain life as we know it, said the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in a statement.

Its density suggests however it "is composed of about three-fourths water and other ices and one fourth-rock," it said. "There are also tantalising hints that the planet has a gaseous atmosphere."

Its temperature is estimated at between 280 and 120 degrees Celsius (536 and 248 degrees Fahrenheit) with its host star about one-fifth the size of the Sun, according to the scientists.

"Despite its hot temperature, this appears to be a waterworld," says Zachory Berta, a graduate student who first spotted hints of the planet's presence.

"It is much smaller, cooler and more Earthlike than any other known exoplanet," he said in the statement.

An exoplanet is one outside of our solar system.

Berta said some of the water would likely be in crystalline form that exists at pressures greater than 20,000 times Earth's sea-level atmosphere.

Its temperature is much lower than that on the only similar discovery, called CoRoT-7b, which revolves around a star that is much hotter, the scientists say.

The CoRoT-7b has a density close to that of the Earth (5.5 grammes per cubic centimetre) and seems to be rocky, while the new discovery appears to be much less dense (1.9 g/cm3).

"To keep the planet's density that low requires that it contains large amounts of water," said Marcy. "It must contain a huge amount of water, roughly 50 percent by mass."

The "wild card" is the make-up of the gases on the planet, he said.

The planet orbits every 38 hours around a small, faint star that was first spotted by eight ground-based telescopes no larger than those used by amateur astronomers, the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre said.

Its relative closeness makes its possible to study it to determine its atmosphere.

"That will make it the first super Earth with a confirmed atmosphere -- even though that atmosphere probably won't be hospitable to life as we know it," said David Charbonneau who heads the research team.

787 Dreamliner takes to the sky

EVERETT, Wash.--At long, long last, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is aloft.

On July 8, 2007 (7/8/07), in front of thousands of enthusiastic onlookers, Boeing rolled out the 787 at its mammoth assembly plant here. The aerospace giant promised to change the nature of long-haul flight, making it significantly more efficient than ever before, and promised to showcase the new plane with its first flight just a few months later.

But one delay after another has substantially slowed the 787 program, and even though the plane was brought to the flight line last May, and it was expected that the first flight would take place sometime in the second quarter, that didn't happen. Until Tuesday, when at 10:28 a.m. PST, the maiden voyage of the first Dreamliner finally lifted off from Boeing's Paine Field here, quickly disappearing into a thick cloud cover. The plane is scheduled to land in a few hours at Boeing Field, near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, about 29 miles south. For Boeing, Tuesday's development is one of its most significant in years. The 787 Dreamliner, which is built from carbon fiber composite materials and has new-style curved wings--allowing it to fly 20 percent more efficiently per passenger than other planes of its size--was meant to be the company's best chance to dominate the next generation of super planes. Originally, said Boeing spokesperson Russ Young, the idea was to build a plane that was 20 percent faster. But eventually, the company decided, after discussions with potential customers, to go for more fuel efficiency.

But the delays--a machinists strike, a problem with the joint between the wing and the fuselage, shortages of parts and supplies, and more--cost Boeing that advantage. And in the interim, archrival Airbus got its much-heralded A380 plane off the ground and into the hands of several carriers. Today, the A380 is flying regularly scheduled service on airlines like Qantas, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and others.

Still, with the kind of time and money Boeing has invested in the 787, it was hardly going to drop the program because of some delays. Instead, it fought through the problems and continued forward. Last week, the company completed the last tests necessary to get the green light for the first flight, and today, the plane took to the skies in front of a large audience, some of whom were said to have paid $250 for the privilege of watching. Also on hand were thousands of Boeing employees who had front-row seats alongside the runway.

Of course, while all eyes were on today's flight, there is a great deal more work to do before Boeing can deliver its first 787 to a customer--expected to be All Nippon Airways in 2010 assuming no more major delays--or see the plane carry its first paying passengers.

For one, there are six 787s that will be part of the test fleet, with 34 total test pilots. The planes will be put through a battery of in-air stress tests to determine if the model is ready for prime time. All told, said Young, the six already-built 787s will be put through more than 3,000 hours of test flights. In addition, there will be more than 4,000 of ground tests. Young said either the fourth or the fifth 787--in terms assembly order--will be flying tests with a fully fleshed out interior.

SRC-news.cnet.com

Our devices will spin denser webs of data in 2010s

SEATTLE – Ten years ago, we would have been blown away by a cell phone with far more computing power and memory than the average PC had in 1999, along with a built-in camera and programs to manage every aspect of our lives. Ten years from now, the iPhone and its ilk will be antiques. Over the next decade, the evolution of computing and the Internet will produce faster, increasingly intelligent devices. More of our possessions will contain sensors and computers that log our activities, building digital dossiers that augment our memories, help us make decisions and tame information overload.

Such ideas may sound futuristic and excessive today. And technological predictions are notoriously off-base. Short-term forecasts tend to assume too much change and long-term forecasts underestimate the possibility of sudden, major shifts.

Even so, this vision of interconnected devices that produce and filter massive amounts of data in the 2010s is a logical progression of the Web, computers and gadgetry that emerged in the 2000s. Moore's Law, the principle that computing power doubles every two years without increasing in cost, still rules.