Comments on: Billions Of Super-Earths Discovered Within Our Milky Way http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/billions-superearths-discovered-milky.html Stomping Science Fiction Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:30:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: B.f. Caffrey http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/billions-superearths-discovered-milky.html/comment-page-1#comment-5714 B.f. Caffrey Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:26:00 +0000 http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/?p=14658#comment-5714 Brian, the habitable zone is that in which the planet has adequate heat and light from its star and any surface water would be liquid. Further out and that surface water freezes and limits the growth of life.  Closer to the star and excess heat causes high evaporation reducing the water available for life to use (or it’s simply too hot for many types of life). 

People forget this planet was quite inhospitable to early man. From large predators to tiny tse-tse flies, from dysentery to malaria we add poisonous waters, insects, animals and plants. It is amazing we were able to survive at all for very long. A new planet may have similar hidden dangers, even though it is “hospitable”. 

]]> By: Brian White http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/billions-superearths-discovered-milky.html/comment-page-1#comment-5682 Brian White Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:21:00 +0000 http://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/?p=14658#comment-5682 How do you define habitable? Big difference between what a single celled bacteria would find inhabitable and what a human being would. Liquid water is an index item but it is only the beginning. Weather, atmospheric content, stellar spectrum, soil composition. The question to me is whether it is more economical to engineer a planet for humans or to genetically engineer humans for a planet. The later I think.

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