This is great, it brings us ever closer to the day that we will find another Earth. Any possibility of shutting up the religious freaks and the skeptics is a glorious day in my book!

DUH!

I am sorry, but this story is a crock. Iam guessing I won't be seeing your name in the Lambs Book of GOD.

I am sorry, but this story is a crock. Iam guessing I won't be seeing your name in the Lambs Book of GOD Wolfman..

i dont think religion will go away since some philosophies agree with the cosmos and life outside our galaxy...

Wow, it's amazing to think that God created us more than one Earth!

Dear Religious Freak... fortunately, your "belief" system has considerably less effect on the universal happenings than your urinating in your back yard.

All religious believers don't fall into the same category of denial. Some share the elation that the confirmation of extraterrestrial life will bring.

ofcourse they found other earth like planets...the Universe in TEEMING with conscious life..but God created them too! stop seeing division where there exists only Oneness and Unity

I am originally from one of the "super earths" you have recently discovered. We too were vastly surprised by the discovery of your earth about 8,000 years ago. Don't worry, we're mostly harmless. The only thing that pisses us off is when you allow your noxious garbage to escape your own planet cesspool and pollute the rest of pristine space.

You know, I always wondered what is the answer to life, the universe and everything. So I asked this computer from another Super-Earth about it, and his answer was forty-two (42). Honest!

They can't see it, but the know it's there? That doesn't make much sense to me. In fact, I think this is all bs because every week they come out with a new "super planet" that "resembles earth."

BTW, most religion accepts the fact that there can be life outside of earth. There is no way to prove or disprove God and by finding a planet with alien life would no disprove it. I am sure on other planets, they too have similar religion which would bring up the question of perhaps a universal concept of God.

religious people will find yet another way to transform their bible to accomodate current events. So in other words, if we ever find life on another planet, they will just say, "oh look, we can interpret the bible as saying life outside of earth if we look at this passage..." The bright point is that more and more people are turning away from churches and religion, look at europe, the churches are empty compared to 50 years ago. CHEERS !

Don't you just love the 'completely realistic' artists' impressions which seem to be always included with 'faith-shattering' 'scientific' discoveries such as this one? Amazing.

Do your homework athiests:

"The discovery was presented by the University’s team leader, Michel Mayor and according to scientists’ estimates, the planets orbit much too close to their stars to support life, with the temperatures exceeding the one on Mercury which is of about 354 degrees."

Dallen wrote:
>>I am sure on other planets,
>>they too have similar ...
It is very impressive that you can talk with such certainty! Bravo

All of the comments I've read just serve to reinforce the notion that we should never, under any circumstances, get rid of the electoral vote here in the United States.

All of the comments I've read just serve to reinforce the notion that we should never, under any circumstances, get rid of the electoral vote here in the United States.

THE END IS NEAR!!! ;)

Finding life on other planets still doesn't alter the fact that everyone who is born into life leaves exactly the same way, death. Just like the nebulas that birth new stars that all eventually become super novas and die. Only one person that we know of came back to life and from my experience still lives, Jesus Christ.

Finding life on other planets still doesn't alter the fact that everyone who is born into life leaves exactly the same way, death. Just like the nebulas that birth new stars that all eventually become super novas and die. Only one person that we know of came back to life and from my experience still lives, Jesus Christ. If they can believe planets are there that they can't see, how could they not believe in God or Jesus Christ, whom they can't see. Blessed are those who believe and cannot see.

Dear Gnark,
Welcome to our country and please be assured that I will tax your alien butt to death, make sure you have universal healthcare, secure really high fuel prices like those crazy EU people have, make false promises about returning manufacturing jobs to America, preach about unity(we all know I agree 120% with Wright - why else would I sit in the pews for 20 years!), trample on the military with my elitist J&Ms, and flush tons of money into Africa without monitoring or accountability!

The Mormons got right. From the Book of Moses:
But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I aknow them.

Dear Mr AltoValSol, You are right the churches are empty now-a-days, thanks to all the priests and clergy hogging on innocent children and never representing God. But that does not make the system given by God bad. What we need to do is to encourage pure peolpe and want to know God. You can not know Him by not wanting to know Him. He does not need to reveal Himself to you. And if He does exist (which He does) you are in a soup because he controls you. By the way, the very hands and the brain that you used to type your comment defying His existence was given by Him. If you don't think so then whay not create a couple of more hands and probably 10 or 20 more brains for yourself. You depend on Him for everything. With all your so called scientific advancement you can not make a single grain of rice or wheat or corn. If you can show that to me and i will follow you for the rest of your life. And you should not use any of the things given by God to make that grain. Use things that you can generate. Then talk about God not being there.
I sincerely wish that you give it a deeper thought than having such a myopic vision. Our trying to defy existence of God is same as the ant walking on your own hand saying "I don't think AltoValSol exists. I have never seen him." Thanks and all well wishes for you from the core of my heart.

Dear Mr AltoValSol, You are right the churches are empty now-a-days, thanks to all the priests and clergy hogging on innocent children and never representing God. But that does not make the system given by God bad. What we need to do is to encourage pure peolpe and want to know God. You can not know Him by not wanting to know Him. He does not need to reveal Himself to you. And if He does exist (which He does) you are in a soup because he controls you. By the way, the very hands and the brain that you used to type your comment defying His existence was given by Him. If you don't think so then whay not create a couple of more hands and probably 10 or 20 more brains for yourself. You depend on Him for everything. With all your so called scientific advancement you can not make a single grain of rice or wheat or corn. If you can show that to me and i will follow you for the rest of your life. And you should not use any of the things given by God to make that grain. Use things that you can generate. Then talk about God not being there.
I sincerely wish that you give it a deeper thought than having such a myopic vision. Our trying to defy existence of God is same as the ant walking on your own hand saying "I don't think AltoValSol exists. I have never seen him."

And by the way existence of other planets like earth has been known and described by the religious texts. I heard about them right from my childhood, which means several edcades ago. You should try to explore and find out what is the real truth. If you want I can send you links to books which vividly descrive all these things. And those books were written thousands of years ago. We have been having those books in our families for generations and generations. We need to educate ourselves better.

Thanks and all well wishes for you from the core of my heart.

Wow, that's really cool. Thanks for the info.
Stumbled!

nhick
http://www.itrush.com

You measure the effect... not the affect.

There is no end to the "Universe". Whats out there is unimanageable! A no end Universe has to have somthing else existing.

Let's hope we get a good glimpse of the celestial objects. Universe fascinates us God!

"Do your homework athiests:

"The discovery was presented by the University’s team leader, Michel Mayor and according to scientists’ estimates, the planets orbit much too close to their stars to support life, with the temperatures exceeding the one on Mercury which is of about 354 degrees."

Whew! Guess that means Oral Roberts and his ilk won't be shilling for funds to build a ship so they can go annoy other life forms and "bring them to Jebus." Incidentally, I hear missionary tastes a lot like pork. Mmmm...pork...

This matters? 42 light years or even 1 for that matter is not within our reach and may never be.

And for the ones who strike out at religion, you think you are without faith? Look at your blind faith to what is "science".

LOL!!! ROFL!!!

How about Rule 62?

Beam me up, Scotty...I just don't think we can help these people.

42 Light years is close as far as things get really. Plus, what about the day we can travel that fast? At least we know where we're going. Think ahead.

I think the BIG point being made is that we are not alone in this universe. Which is a big hit to religious groups because a strong selling point to non-believers is the comfort of something "else" out there.

The thing about every religious individual posting on this board is you all have separate beliefs. To each other you have only one common belief, that there is a god (and even the definition of "god" varies). On my side I have an entire community trying to figure out life's answers to the universe and everything. Trying to get ahead trying to innovate trying to improve. You guys can't even agree what book to read or what preacher to listen to. You are not any more credible than the crazy hobos freaking out on the side of the street, the serial killers that think murder is fun, or the psychotics we lock up in institutions.

At LEAST we can prove what we know. If we can't, we don't know it. Simple. What do you have? A bedtime story and a dream? Get your head out of the book and do something productive. Seriously.

I pray every day. Yet, when I see some of the statements presented by those who claim to be religous and firm believers in G-D, I can only shake my head. There are no philisolphical arguements or explanations that prove the existence of G-D, which is one reason there are athiests. Then you start adding virgin births and resurrections to your contentions and wonder why some people are put off by your beliefs. I say for those of us who believe, realize just what it is to believe and stop exposing the obvious weeknesses in our arguements. Instead of being self-rightous, and using words like truth in our commentary perhaps we should explore the possibilities created by scientific discovery and yes, even their assumptions. As for the atheists and others who look upon commentary by religious individuals with such disdain, you should simply realize that there are different levels of understanding, and while you may believe that certain understandings are derived from ignorance you should also realise perception and personal experience help to mold our understanding. By the way, some of the most intellegent people I know are religious.

I hope that there(?) are some other forms of life with intelligent beings that are better than we are. Here and now, we are doomed due to lack of INTELLIGENCE. Believe me, or ask your God why it created so many dumb-ass Earth creatures, called Humans :)

I think that it's very likely God created other beings on other planets. Why not? Why would he only focus on earth? Other beings doesn't disprove the Bible by any means since the Bible is specifically for this planet and never denies the existance of other beings on other planets.
Altovalsol, your comment is irrelevant. The Bible doesn't say there is or isn't life on other planets. There could very well be and it wouldn't surprise me. If you were God, wouldn't you create more than one inhabited planet? Bible verses would not have to be twisted to fit findings of "aliens" since it never denies them in the first place!

Yes, in Europe more and more people are turning away from organized religion. The good news is that many are turning to Jesus and a life following him instead of ORGANIZED Religion which IMO is crap.

I'll never understand why some of you actually believe that "science" discredits the Bible. It hasn't once. I believe they go hand in hand to be honest.

I think Charlie White is a "Jupiter-like gaseous planet"

Humanoid -
You say that only one person has ever returned from the dead. "Only one person that we know of came back to life and from my experience still lives, Jesus Christ."
This is plain wrong. With the technological know-how of over 2000 years ago, if someone was unconscious, it could look like someone was dead. If someone was in a coma, it could look like someone was dead. I am not saying that this is what happened to the beloved Jesus H. Christ, but what I am saying is that he is no longer the only person to have ever come back from the dead. In fact, coming back from the dead is now so commonplace in today’s society that it is almost never reported. At any hospital in the US today, you will hear Code Blue (or whatever other color they prefer to use now) which means that someone is having a heart problem. Often in surgery a patient will actually die. Their heart has stopped beating, their brain has ceased functioning and they are dead. They are awaiting the Name Book to be read with their name, and they are returned to the living. They are not undead zombies. They were dead and now they have been returned to life. There is no miracle of godliness, holiness or some other mystical aspect, but science. And as many authors have said that any significantly advanced society can appear to be magical or mystical to a non-advanced society.
Thus the argument that Super-Earths are somehow related to god, Jesus H. Christ, Buddha, Zionism or some other aspect of higher beings creating the universe is absurd. However, granting this the authority that it has upon the world as we know it, we must allow the absurdity to continue for the sake of the human race. Just do not say that no-one but Jesus H. Christ has returned from the dead.
Thank you,
Not-A-Zombie

notazombie,

I agree to a certain degree. Jesus Christ, was supposeably dead for 3 days. The medical examples you have given are of patients that have been "dead" for a few minutes if that. The bodies have not started to decompose as of yet. As of now, Science can get in there and "restart" vital organs and bring a person back to life as long as it's done within minutes of death. Can it do the same days later? There is a huge difference IMO. There isn't much comparison between the ressurection of a person who was suspected of being dead for 3 days versus one who has only been dead for a few minutes. Jesus, came back without the assistance of man/science.

Science and religion do not go hand in hand. Period. Take a look around, anti-stem cell groups, anti-genetics groups all lead in the name of god to stop scientific advancement. If it was up to religion, we would still think the world was flat and that the sun revolved around us. Religion is a suffocating blanket around science.

The GREAT news is that people are turning away from organized religion. Very true, thats the first step in your discovery of a lack of god. People are not going to church because they simply don't need to. Easy. We don't have the hardships that the old days brought us, so we don't need someone to help us out anymore. We can help ourselves now :)

Unfortunately the whole "if I were god" argument is well, terrible. If I were god this desk I'm typing at would be made of chocolate, why not?

The bible doesn't speak about other planets, but it does speak pretty fondly of earth and only earth. Was extraterrestrial a word back then? Maybe thats why it wasn't included...

"Can it do the same days later?" Yes, happens frequently in cardiac arrest patients. I know a few people that were considered dead - no brain function, body slowly going septic for up to two weeks before they snapped out of it. Granted their life today is quite miserable.

With that being said, I have a buddy that every year on the day his dad died he smells the smoke of his cigarettes as soon as he wakes up and it follows him through the day. It's not because his dad is there in spirit, it's because it was a traumatic experience and he is hallucinating. The mind does that sometimes :) One could argue that was the case many many years ago in the early AC days.

Andrew,

I disagree. Ignorant individuals are a suffocating blanket around science. There are plenty of believers that are for science. There are believers out there that don't think for themselves and go with whatever their pastor says. That says nothing of the faith whatsoever. Many of the groups are lead by people using the influence of religion to accomplish their own personal agendas.

We don't have the hardships that the old days brought us? Are you serious. Turn on the news why don't you. There is plenty of hardship to go around. Shall I upload some images of third world countries? Unfortunately, the world will probably always have it's share of hardships.

People are leaving organzied religion because it's false. God does not intend for us to be in bondange. Religion promises a bunch of lies and tries to control the masses. That is not the way and many are realizing that. Many that leave don't loose the faith of their being a God. For some it's just the beginning of their journey as they seek elsewhere for the answers of who God is and what he truly seeks from us.

Yes, he speaks fondly of earth since the words within it's pages are directed at us.

What a strange argument that has come out of a simple article of discovery...
I think...(wow now i'm going to sound like you people)... Everyone is entitled to their own opinion no matter how absurd (scientologists). Personally I prefer to believe in God due to what has happened here and there in my life. If you don't believe then I don't care. I'm tired of people who try to push off their beliefs on others who point blank tell them I DON'T want to hear it. Its like a car salesman who just won't leave you the hell alone. Incidently I had a pastor/teacher who used to tell us that "Aliens don't abduct people. Demons Do!!!" Quack...
Secondly, I'm a pretty arrogant individual...with that said I'm not arrogant enough to believe that God would stop at making just earth. Or if you don't believe in God then are you so arrogant to think that we are the supreme beings in the universe?
The one truth for all mankind is....
We can only suspect/believe but not yet know for certain.

It is sad that we have taken such a cool discovery and turned it into an opportunity to bash another's belief systems. There is bigotry on both sides of the fence. Hopefully someday we can create an Earth or better yet go to other Earth's and not have to listen to bigoted remarks from atheists and Christians. I am a Christian and do not believe in cramming my opinions down someone's throat. We all have our own opinions and beliefs. Let's respect each other and start working together to make a better world.

Religon has nothing to do with finding another planet, one that may be another earth, I think its exciting. Hypothetically speaking, what if it is inhabited with another species, and intelligent species, then if thats the case, they most likly will have their own religon and god or gods. This is science, plain and simple. And also to say that planet earth is the only planet in the Universe to sustain intelligent life is unthinkable. Trust me, we may not have came across any beings out there, doesnt mean that they are not out there.

To Notazombie: Jesus was beaten, made to carry a heavy wooden cross, and then nailed to it with large spikes and hung there to die. No life support, no one to bring Him back. One of the Roman guards stuck a spear into His side to make sure he was dead. Blood and water rushed out of His side. The Roman guards laughed at Him and said " If you are God save yourself ". They most assuredly saw Him as dead. They even gambled to see who would get his clothes. Crusifiction was the most cruel and painful death anyone could be given. He was dead!! For three days!! Not 20 minutes in a hospital with 5 doctors working on Him. They put His body in a tomb where they put dead people. I don't recall anyone ever being exumed from a grave and being alive or appearing to anyone.
Anyway we will all get a chance, including you, to die. Dead. Not alive. And God has given up His only Son to death on a cross so we might live if we want to be with Him forever.
God's peace be with you

Well, I'm Christian, and not opposed to the possibility of other livable planets in the universe. I may be a Baptist, but I am open minded. For the probability of another Earth with it's OWN 'Good Book' (religious history) created under the same God may be just a few light years away could very well be probable.

religion should have nothing to do with it but christian people should not have a problem with aliens because god created the universe and that means he created it all so if they complain and say this is against god they are just hypocrites and they know nothing about their own religion

To the understanding of all I could said you fools for when the Bible speaks of heavens and EARTH it is not speaking of a planet. But it is speaking of the relam of matter. And it said(the Bible) to us to have dominion over the earth it is not limited to a planet. And only one third of the angels left there proper domain, so that means that in the relam of matter two third is in order and has life and there is no darkness.

-----MEOW------

Hmm, sounds like their use of the term "Earth-like" is very broad. As in they are earth-like in so far as they are solid rock instead of a giant ball of gas. By that definition, there are at least 26 earth-like planets, moons, and other bodies in our solar system alone (to come up with that number I even added in the requirement that their mass be large enough that gravity forms them into a perfect sphere); compared to the 4 non-earth-like planets. Of those 26 bodies, only one (at this time) is known to have an abundance of carbon and liquid water which are the two universal requirements that all currently identified life forms need to survive. So chances are these three giant rocks aren’t places you would want to visit with out a space suit, even if you could make the 42 light year journey in your lifetime.

As for the question “does finding intelligent life discredit religion?” I doubt it, after all most religions managed to deal with the “earth is round and not flat” revelation, eventually. The way I see it, if you believe in a supreme being, than it created all the of the planets, and any life on those other planets. If you don’t believe in a supreme being, then everything is just the result of the random groupings and interactions of matter and energy that have been a direct result of the big bang.
It’s nice we live in a country where we can debate this sort of thing without getting put in jail, but can we all try to be civil about it?

Interestingly enough, if there is intelligent life on one of these planets, and if they are keeping up with all the television and radio broadcasts that we’ve sent out into space, then the Christians among them are probably pretty steamed about the Beatles “Were more popular than Jesus now” remark right now.

Hey people. Wake up. Science and religion are not at odds here. Science is just to young to understand religion. Oh, and by the way, the ultimate answer to the ultimate question is not 42, it's 420.

To: hmwallace:
"There are plenty of believers that are for science." - Exactly, it takes dedication, mind power, and time to follow a religion, dedication mind power and time that could be spent on something worthwhile. If we put the effort followers put into religion into science we would be on those planets by now.

"We don't have the hardships that the old days brought us? Are you serious." Do you live in a third world country? I was talking directly about Europe, developing nations still have a long cycle if development to catch up on. In time they will turn just like Europe.

"People are leaving organized religion because it's false. God does not intend for us to be in bondage. Religion promises a bunch of lies and tries to control the masses." Very true, couldn't of said it better myself. However separate yourself from the group doesn't make you stronger, eventually the less "hardcore" believers will lose faith. It comes back down to if you need a god in your life or not, you should see how fast a non-believer or someone who once lost faith turns to god when a close family member passes away. Other than the few times where you're not strong enough to handle life on your own (read: weak) people are generally waking up to the idea that hey, this god idea isn't doing anything for me.

"Yes, he speaks fondly of earth since the words within it's pages are directed at us." - Well why just us? Does that mean there is no other life? If not then why wouldn't he include them? The bible should be universal should it not?

To: Hunter:
"I DON'T want to hear it. Its like a car salesman who just won't leave you the hell alone." - Wacky wavable inflatable arm waving tube man! Wacky wavable inflatable arm waving tube man! Wacky wavable inflatable arm waving tube man!

"We can only suspect/believe but not yet know for certain." Or, we could figure it out and know for certain. Prime example of religion blocking science.

To: Humanoid:
I read a book once, it was called the rolly polly puppy. Man I loved that puppy. I wonder where he is now. I mean everything written is true and literal right?

To dancesonsnow:
Haha I like your style! I don't know if this is related to this story or not but if the planet is a certain size and distance from the sun to sport ambient temperatures doesn't it automatically have the features earth has? Think about it most of the planets in our solar system have both carbon and water, however, the temperature is well below freezing or above the boiling point of water so life has a tad bit of trouble starting. But when a planet comes along that has the correct temperature the other pieces should fall right into place right?

42 Light Years?
The answer to Life the Universe and Everything=42
Hmmm?

Belief in a god, gods, the force, ect; is personal and if it brings you comfort or meaning then great.

Adhearance to organized religious doctrine created by humans to control, persecute and discriminate against other humans (or other life in general) will not be the human race's most crowning acheivement when viewed through the eyes of history. Can't say what visitors to this planet would think about it, they may have very different views and beliefs or they may not.

To bad taking personal responsibility and striving to better one's self are not emphisied more on this planet. It would be a better place.

Hmm seems I diverged from the article and fed the trolls.

It would be very cool if we had the technology to get "eyes on" of these planets.

Andrew,

It's obvious that you and I have a different understanding of what it truly means to have faith in Christ. I don't believe in organized religion. With that thought, I don't agree with your statement where you suggest that all our effort and time is wasted and would be better off we focused on science.

Faith in Christ means we die to self and put the needs of others before us. We feed the hungry, comfort the hurting and learn to forgive. How is that wasted time? Humanity could truly benefit from it. Organized religion does waste a lot of time and I'll give you that. It also keeps people wrapped up in tradition, rules, and squeezes them for money which could be used for much better causes such as feeding the poor or cancer research.

As for Europe, they face hardships just like anybody else. It may not be to the degree that third world countries face, but they do face them. Everybody has their own hardships and always will. We were stationed in Europe for 4 years and saw plenty.

The "God idea" isn't doing anything for me remark depends a lot on who we think God is and what his role is. For many, they expect answered prayer. They expect their problems to be taken away. When that doesn't occur, then they feel as if the God thing isn't working. Perhaps, that's not what God does. Perhaps, he is there to help us through our trials and tribulations and wants us to focus on others despite our problems.

Why should the Bible be universal? Honestly, why? Let's say that there is a God and he made several different inhabited planets with different species, why would deal the same way with all of them? You are only assuming that it should be universal. What if he made another planet which is inhabited only with creatures that don't have emotions or free will? Heck, what if he made a planet with only snakes? Would snakes need a Bible? Just saying that we don't know what else he could have created. To assume that the Bible would have to be universal only adds to the bubble mentality IMO.

I made a comment on the 17th which I don't fully agree with. I said that science and religion go hand in hand. To be honest, I'm not sure why I said that. They don't go hand in hand, but they don't negate each other. I don't understand why some believers think science is of the devil and can't be part of religion. Perhaps, they are afraid that their interpretation of scripture is wrong. God says to study scripture for ourselves. We need to go to the originals and check translation errors instead of counting on what our pastor tells us. Science IMO shows us how great God is and how he created this amazing place we call Earth.

Andrew, One thing that is for sure. And it is not written in a book. Everyone has to face death once they are alive. Including me and you. Is that all there is? Noone knows the answer to that question on fact, only of faith alone.

Universe + God = God
Universe - God = Nothing
God - Universe = God

To humanoid: Yea, someday my time will come and so will yours and yes, that's all there is. Make the best of things while your alive because it's the only chance you have :)

Universe + God = Nonsense
Or in a mathematical sense it would be "god, universe" but I don't think basic math is your forte. With your logic Humans+god=god.. which would mean I'm god? Right on!

To: hmwallace:

"With that thought, I don't agree with your statement where you suggest that all our effort and time is wasted and would be better off we focused on science." When you pray, it's a waste of time, effort, and thought.

"Faith in Christ means we die to self and put the needs of others before us. We feed the hungry, comfort the hurting and learn to forgive." We don't need faith in christ to accomplish any of those deeds. What that sentence implies is that anyone who does not have faith, does not "feed the hungry, comfort the hurting, etc" which is entirely untrue. We don't need this nonsense to be "good" people.

Two parts: "As for Europe, they face hardships just like anybody else. It may not be to the degree that third world countries face, but they do face them. Everybody has their own hardships and always will." AND "The 'God idea' isn't doing anything for me remark depends a lot on who we think God is and what his role is" Very true, but I didn't specify answering prayers as something that isn't working. What I mean is everything we looked up for god to help us with we can do ourselves now. We don't need the stories in the bible to be good people, we don't need to pray and hope that there is an afterlife for our loved ones, we don't need to ask for protection against the natural world. We don't need anything from god anymore because we are above that. This is where Europe comes into play and other first world countries.

God was created by man for many reasons, to guide us, help us through trouble, to give us answers of the unknown, etc. These days it's simple, we're running out of reasons to have a god.

"Why should the Bible be universal? Honestly, why? Let's say that there is a God and he made several different inhabited planets with different species, why would deal the same way with all of them?" Simply because they would all be the same. Organisms take form to their environment - we can scientifically prove that. If there is an earth like planet it's going to have earth like creatures very similier to what we have on earth now. They will have creatures with four legs, and eventually have creatures that look and act exactly like humans do. Have you ever watched StarTrek? I hate bringing StarTreck into this but it's a prime example. Every different race in StarTreck has a lot of characteristics humans do... and it's not because they were low on budget.

So for your example there would not be a habitual planet with "just snakes", the laws of the universe simply would not permit it.

"God says to study scripture for ourselves. We need to go to the originals and check translation errors instead of counting on what our pastor tells us." It's actually really interesting to sit down with someone who can read Hebrew and go through the bible. If you ever get the chance I would highly recommend it. To you and everyone else on this board.

Let's get back to the science element of this article. Fantastic discovery. Oh, and by the way, look up what the Catholic Church has to say about the possible "existence" of life beyond Earth. It will make you think (if you can).

Wow! That great NEWS. I want to go live on new Earth there. I think our Earth will have more serious problems due to climate change. I need pay a lot of money to federal then ready move out and say good bye to our old planet. I feel so boring on our old world, but I want move to new Earth to seeking new life and lot of things out there. Maybe weird animals, people, water, rocks, etc. I want go to new planet with life before year 2049 from our old Earth. I will be nervous and suffer to keep going for our life. It will not be easy go on trip to new planets. We better watch out for dangerous weather, animals and aliens. It should hardest for our life to live on new planets. Fresh air and water there. Don't forget bring weapons to protect us from bad animals try to eat people. I recommend we use steel armor, steel boots, steel cap for head, swords and shield. We will doing over and over again like in Year BC then build largest city later on new planets. Unlike our old Earth have now. Don't forget bring important for wheat, vegetable and fruit seeds to new planet to grow up on it. I think we will have long story talking about history from past, now and in the future. Let us go to new planet. :-)

I'm sorry, but i don't see what you are all getting so excited about, we found a rock that is the right size and distance from the sun, not the colonial fleet escaping kobol. I dont know why the are calling them super earths, they havn't even seen what they look like, i dont see why anyone thinks this will shut religious nutjobs up, in fact this just shows you are all religious nut jobs, clinging to what you want to be true without knowing all the answers

I think you all need to watch Starvin Marvin ep (of South Park) where he finds a space ship. I don't think God is the problem, I think it's the way us mortals use it (religion) to bash other people over the head with it. Abuse of power in ANY form is absurd. 42 Light years away is VERY close, so imagine what is out there further away (with or without religious undertones which everyone so readily jumped on). And as for the three super earths, lets not forget (if we base Earth as 1G) you are up to 9 times your weight so none of these are really suitable. But if I may borrow from another doctrine (to some) "the trutch is out there".

1. jesus christ was a zombie.
2. it's pretty small minded of religious people to think that everything has happened here on earth. Jesus, mozes, adam and eve... So extraterrestrial life wouldn't know about any of this? very strange thought. This is all based on a book. If Lord of the Rings was written 2000 years ago we'd all be looking for a ring right now

Or, to quote Pratchett:
The Quirmian philosopher Ventre put forward the suggestion that "Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it's all true you'll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn't then you've lost nothing, right?"

It has to be asked: how did a scientific article discussing the findings of three planets, non-gaseous in form, via the HARPS spectrograph - based telescope, devolve into a politically heated discussion on religion?
Me: I'm just fascinated as all get-out that there are non-gaseous planets that are just fantastic to consider a future generation's contact and discovery...too bad we on this lump of rock can't get along - I wonder how xenophobic the future generations will be?
"Curiouser and curiouser", said Alice...

Sidenote: I'm neither religious,nor non-religious. Insofar as "life after death" - I flatlined for a solid five minutes, yet I am not only cognizant enough to communicate, but also am employed as an electronics assistant engineer, and enjoy music and a strong cup of coffee in my downtime.
Not to dissuade one or another on it, but I do believe the focus of the article was the telescope, and its findings; astronomy,not theology.

I am confused, to say the least. First I do not understand how anyone can say that the planet is earth-like. I mean face it if the distinction is, that it is not a gaseous giant that you may as well say it is Mars-like. As for this religious diatribe, why does religion allow for science but science does not allow for religion?

Many people have blasphemed the Name of The Lord God and His Son Jesus. Nobody here has the power to show you salvation against your will, but if you will not listen respectfully to what everybody has to say at least refrain from blatant blasphemy. Both for your sake and for everyone's. Most Christians respect science and its theories and discoveries, but as THOM1959 stated, many who believe in science show no tolerance for Christians.

As far as the article itself, I think it would be amazing to discover life on another planet. More amazing will be the discovery that allows us interstellar travel. To be able to cover that 42-lightyear gap in several hours, days or even weeks would be an amazing feat of science.

"Without science religion is blind, without religion science is lame" ~Albert Einstein
You can debate God all that you want, but the fact is that believers will still believe and call you (non-believers) heathens, non-believers will still not believe and call believers ignorant religious freaks. I work in physics, and I use science to understand the tools that God used, not to disproove the existance of. As for the extremests (the anti-stem cell, abortion clinic bombers and what have you) they are extremests that have been led away by charismatic people with non-mainstream ideas or never actually found the word of God. There are those that do not believe that are just as extreme in their beliefs.

There is no need to have despicable religious bickering in a scientific thread aimed to inspire its readers and their imaginations.

Thom 1959, Earth-like means more similar in size, orbit, etc, to us than planets like Jupiter. Besides the fact that it is classified as a planet, and is a part of our solar system, I do not know many similarities between Earth and Jupiter. A planet with a short orbit, relatively close to our size, and the possibility of being a hard, rocky planet, however, is good news. It might not be the jackpot that they have found, but the possibility is out there, and this is more evidence supporting it. Even if a planet very similar to Mars were found orbiting another sun, that would be one of the greatest astronomical discoveries of the human race. Remember that Mars is very earth-like, but seems to be in a different stage of its life. I.E., it has dried up.

At last someone talking normal. Keep it up HRAFN.

Whether you believe in god or not, and whether you believe god made the heavens and the earth(s) or not really does'nt matter. The fact is, there are planets out there, there may very well be other earths with people just like us. I know there are. To make an assumption that we are the only intelligent life in the whole universe is a very ignorant view. If our earth can develope life and intelligent life, then why not other worlds in other solar systems, in other galaxies? I really hope we make contact with other peoples. Maybe we can see how much we really evolved into an intelligent species. We may be surprised as to how much of a savage species we really are, and how much more we have to go. Maybe god does not want us to make contact with other earths, because we are such a savage and violent people. No need to contaminate other planets with our ideas. Lets keep exploring, but lets work on improving ourselves so we don't make fools of ourselves when we finally make contact.

A person on it`s own can be rather intelligent, but when mankind acts together, they look like a flok of fools. What will happen if we have mankind and aliens together?

I find this article fascinating! Hopefully the continued search will lead to more accurate sightings so we can firmly establish other Earth-like planets within the "green zone." I hope our propulsion systems will be further along by then, and we can finally take the next big step -- human exploration!! I only hope it happens within my lifetime...

Great, I hope they find something soon, getting tired of naysayers about life out there (none of them scientists I might add).
Finding life elsewhere is a question of when and not if. 300.000.000.000 stars in the milky way galaxy, 100.000.000.000 galaxies in the observable universe and a higher then 0% percent of planets with life (well we're here aren't we.) do the math :)
The better question is what's the point, with the speed limit of lightspeed which is pretty darn slow when you are talking 10's and 100's of lightyears to travel and that's not taking into account the big problem of relativity at those speed. We'll get there some day though, if we don't blow ourselves up first.

Great, I hope they find something soon, getting tired of naysayers about life out there (none of them scientists I might add).
Finding life elsewhere is a question of when and not if. 300.000.000.000 stars in the milky way galaxy, 100.000.000.000 galaxies in the observable universe and a higher then 0% percent of planets with life (well we're here aren't we.) do the math :)
The better question is what's the point, with the speed limit of lightspeed which is pretty darn slow when you are talking 10's and 100's of lightyears to travel and that's not taking into account the big problem of relativity at those speeds. We'll get there some day though, if we don't blow ourselves up first.

I think for humans to try to understand the ways of God is the worst type of egotism and ignorance at best. The fact is.. what is.. is. It is there to discover. Where it came from matters not when you don't even have atom's worth of understanding of what all is in front of you. These things are no further away from us than were medical sciences and flight in the ancient days of humanity in my mind, yet the resources put forth to study and invent technologies to support such undertakings are dismally ignored and underfunded because of mankind's greed and self seeking here on this planet. 1% percent of the population in the USA controls 90%+ of the resources and money in this country alone. (this is a LOOSE figure.. it's actually higher.)For example: At such an advanced stage as the medical sciences are, still there are people on this planet that do without because of the greed involved. Ignorance in motion. With today's current system taken into account, greed and destruction reign paramount. Those that have ways of making money do so in spite of what consequences may come about to future generations here. Had we enough money to bribe leaders like the lobbyist do, maybe something tangible might happen in a reasonable amount of time. We're it not for the 800 years in our past that science was considered evil and heresy, who knows where we would be now, and now that it's accepted we want to argue over it some more. Point is.. the way our species acts on this planet alone, why would God let us have more when we disrespect what's already here for us?? We don't even have the social skills and intelligence needed to get along on this planet. And that stands if there is no spirituality included. Yet we still kill people for believing in things that can't be proven one way or the other. (God, Allah, Budda, whoever) What kind of things have we accomplished in history that show we are even close to a civilized world ready to meet others? The ones we have built and use in greed and self seeking? Think even if we had such space faring technology that you and I would ever have access to it? (maybe you are seriously wealthy?)
Already you can have a wedding in space for a couple mil. lol. When this planet goes stinking bad, the elite will leave us, taking their wealth, their family's, and their ways, to spread it's infection to the rest of space... leaving the regular joe's to live in their leftovers. Until the elitist are removed from using wealth to direct the intentions and actions of those that supposedly lead us, the main body of our population will become more powerless, dependent, and ignorant. The only space exploration that will be done, will be in ways to create more wealth and control to those that already have it. Not to enlighten the human race. More is done out of competition than for any of the right reasons. Mankind will have to grow far more to overcome the trivialities it still struggles with to ever come to a level that we could actually even begin to undertake the steps it would take to bring any of this to a real possibility. As it stands.. there isn't the stability in the whole human race to possibly accomplish any of these "goals". We can't unite our own kind.. what would we have to offer any planet or species?

If God is God he can make all the toy's he wants. why be happy with just us? I'm sure he had better luck somewhere in the universe!

I find it entertaining that all the backwards god-thinkers have figured out how to use the internet.

Congratulations!

Now go back to preaching to your clergy about the devil's fossil factories.

Thank you.

And as a closing remark, I'd just like to say that evolution is a fact, not a theory.

Bye!

Okay... All of you really need to stop bitching at each other. The fact of the matter is, neither the religious people nor the scientific people have the slightest idea of where we actually came from or what could possibly exist beyond our world. We haven't even finished exploring our own planet and everyone is so damn worried about answering questions that will never be answered in our lifetime, so I will say this once more. SHUT UP!

Be happy God did not create a chaotic reality. He created us to evolve, so we do not die with change. He makes asteroids collide, so that we might have a proper rock to live on. If the universe was a dead and barren wasteland, we would have no choice but to deny our own existence. He works in mysterious ways, but we are starting to understand those ways.
We used think God was bigger than the ocean, but now he holds the world. We thought He could fill the sky, but now He touches the farthest galaxy. We always knew He loves us, but we never realized He loves us so very, very much.

Some of the religious talk did have very specific details regarding the article that a lot of you have overlooked (or just didn't read).

As I posted. Most planets have the building blocks of life on them, carbon, H20 exetera. What most planets lack however, is the right position away from the sun to have the correct temperature for water to exist in a liquid form. These "super-earths" are called what they are called because of the temperatures they have, not because they're "big chunks of rock".

Think about it, if Venus or Mars were in the same position Earth was in they would have turned out very very differently.

So for one I'm excited, these planets most definitely have the conditions that would allow life to live just like life on earth lives.

I see no conflict with religion. Only the fanatics do. They refuse to even consider that since God made it all, he MAY have sent saviors to all of them. Maybe even the same savior. To me, that would be wonderful. All from the father, part of the father, sent to all his creations. What could possibly be wrong with that. Imagine. Universal sibling rilvary.

oh goodie. another planet we can discuss destroying in the name of economy or religion or something else whilst our own is consumed in a doom of our own design.

i find it amazing, how a few guys find some new planets, and people start ranting and raving about god and how jesus was had the crap kicked out of him. what has that got to do with spotting something through a telescope.

i find it amazing, how a few guys find some new planets, and people start ranting and raving about god, and how jesus had the crap kicked out of him. what's that got to do with spotting something through a telescope.

With 6 billion living bodies (and who knows how many dead ones throughout the ages), am I so important that some Supreme Being is keeping a score card of our deeds and misdeeds? We should be so fortunate. God is a human invention by bored and/or frightened people trying to find meaning to their existence. I prefer the Eastern philosophies which promote goodness for the sake of goodness, keeping life in balance. The world began when I was born; the world will end when I die--The End! In the mean time, I wish Galileo could feel vindication; too bad he died too soon.

It's those same religious people that prevented GALILEO FROM his WORK! Let alone his vindication.
(or do they forget the inquistion too?)

MY Father was THERE for me, not in a book, but in PERSON. He taught me to be wary, you don't always have to trust what you're told. Questions beg for answers, not all answers are the right ones, ask your question until YOU are satisfied with the answer or find it yourself. If we let the religious tell us what IS, we'd live ON a world that's FLAT... 6000 years old and is the CENTER of the UNIVERSE! Those 130 million year old fossils just aren't there because the EARTH is only 6000 years old. Those rocks you just studied in Iceland, nahhhh... 3.8 BILLION YEARS OLD?? they're not there either because the EARTH isn't that old... OH!!! Lucy who?

DARE I MENTION DARWIN and OH MY!!! EVOLUTION!!

People, people; you're all missing the point here.

Fresh 'earths' means one thing and one thing only.

Fresh trout fishing. If there's any justice, we might even get there before the mining industry.

The word is here...

http://troutunderground.com/2008/06/19/astronomers-find-earthlike-planets-underground-packs-bags/

...and the word is good.

Now go forth and get thy waders ready.

...back to the root of the find!!?? 42 light years from our own planet, we can see the effect of an Earth-like planet on it's own sun? AWESOME!
SO much more science to come! So much more precision to come! Better info, better data, leads to better questions, leads to better equipment, leads to better data.... more questions....

.... not trout fishing... HA... :)

you know... i find it odd this argument. i personally have a bit of a skewed personal faith that doesn't fit any religion, but i'll take science over faith anyday. Science can be proven, no religious belief can. plain and simple, that's why science is known and faith is just that FAITH.
i believe that there was influence in the creation of the universe, but i also believe that 'GOD' doesn't give a crap about the individual or for that matter about war or disease. if we kill our selves or nature does... as darwin said survival of the fitest. on the note of religion, read the book Calculating God. it's fiction i know but it raises some good points on religion vs. the real world that is proven

Ok for one Religion is bull, Science has proved that and you have to be a pretty weak minded person bielive in a higher power.

My GOD created the entire universe not just earth.
So what is all the fuss?

Athiests believe the big bang happened all by itself, from nothingness, and by chance (Carl Sagen Cosmos). This makes no sense scientifically or otherwise. Thermodynamics says that a body a rest stays at rest unless influenced by an external force. External Force ==> a creator!!

The Bible has never changed.
Science books are constantly changing.

Bible ==> 1)In the beginning let there be light
2)Life began in the seas. (Genesis)
Science ==> Big bang had big light!
Life began in the seas.

Science says the same thing. Again what is all the fuss?

Science is just a tool we use to discover all the wonders of the creator. The more we discover the more intricaces we find. We find that the universe is much more complicated than we thought.

Paraphrasing Carl Segan "we can't just mix carbon and other elements in a vat of water and get something, they have to be combined at the molecular level" To think that the universe created itself from nothing, and then mixed together elements at the molecular level and came up with something that works, by accident, is nuts!!

Are there other worlds OF COURSE!

Do you think GOD could condense all his knowledge and wonder into a single book, the Bible, no. But just because the talk of other worlds is not there doesn't mean that they do not exist.

Very curious conversation that has happened here. I would like to comment but things have progressed too far for my original concepts.

Andrew, I have a question for you, and there is a good chance I missed it in the article but where does it say the planets are all in an orbit(distance from the sun, not duration of period) similar to earth's?

I also would like to raise the question, to anyone, would a planet with a mass 9 times our own, that completes one period in under 20 days, really have life that similar to our own? Wouldn't the additional mass create a significantly higher gravitionaly field, and thus require life forms to have more or thicker legs to resist the additional force? The speed with which these planets orbit their sun must be more than 12 times the speed of our planet, assuming their orbitial distance is similar to our own. Can anyone offer speculation as to what effects if any that would have on the planet/life?

to curiously, If you apply the same rules of adaptation, to another planet as you would here,any lifeform would indeed need to be stronger to resist such a gravitational field, although what that lifeform were to look like is open to speculation, i.e. thicker legs, My guess is it's probaly microbial

to curiously, If you apply the same rules of adaptation, to another planet as you would here,any lifeform would indeed need to be stronger to resist such a gravitational field, although what that lifeform were to look like is open to speculation, i.e. thicker legs, My guess is it's probaly microbial

I love the idea that there are other planets with life on them "out there." And I don't doubt this article, as I've always believed it. As far as adaptation, forget the legs, I think more along the line of snakes.

I click over here to perhaps read a nice little article about the possibility of new planets being discovered, and walk into a pro-religion / anti-religion, politically-charged, jingoistic flamefest.

And people wonder why I'm a proponent of eugenics.

As far as what these planets must be like and whether there might be life there: Just consider that the YEAR is only 20 days long. If the planets are tilted similarly to Earth, that means they go through all four "seasons" in less than our month! What must that do to any weather patterns? At least, if lead-melting ovens like Mercury, these planets would have more-or-less stable conditions with such a fast orbit. If their atmospheres and temperatures were more like our own, I'd expect them to be roiling meterological messes!

The odds that "Religious Freak" and at least one of the posters debating them are the same person with different handles are up there with the odds of "will we find even more planets?"

Like a real religious poster would post with that handle. Some one has too much time (among other things) on their hands.

As fore the religious element of this, only God would know all that God had made anyway, so that shouldn't be a barrier to exploring our universe. Fascinating article, especially in conjunction with the news from Mars. We learn so much more every day.

Er..maybe I'm just a bit confused here, but wasn't the topic scientific discovery and NOT religion? Religion can be brought into any topic and cause a flame war to ensue. Science and religion are not mutually exclusive and since most science is presumptive (assumption based) anyway, it can neither prove nor disprove any spiritual beliefs. Just saying, isn't it stupid to be arguing over other peoples' beliefs, when the only confirmation of any belief can come after your final death? Real wars have been fought over this kind of argument and REAL people have died, just because they didn't believe the same way someone else did. Isn't it time to STOP placing your beliefs or non-belief into every topic that arises? To paraphrase, 'Can't we all just get along?' It's great that some scientists using technology that many in our own government deny even exists may or may not have made this discovery based on the 'effect', not 'affect' measured. Seriously, though, believers will believe, non-believers won't and there isn't any point in belittling anyone's beliefs or intelligence with sarcasm or outright rudeness. And, the answer truly is 42.

I read though the first 20 comments or so and it's all the same tripe: religious zealots flaming the the non-believers and visa versa. You're both idiots. Both sides need to get their act together and remove their heads from their backsides. I personally don't believe in the God, but I respect others' religion, regardless of what that religion may be. I also wouldn't be surprised if there were a supreme creator and intelligent design is how we came into being. Having an open mind, not a one-track mind is how answers are found. Both sides of this debate need to realize that.

Now, to those of you calling this BS simply because, "they know the planet is there, but can't see it." Go back to school. Pay attention when your physics teacher is teaching you about mass, volume and density; pay attention when that chemistry teacher is teaching you about the atomic weights of gases.

Another tip: the Earth does not orbit the Sun. The Earth and Sun rotate around a mutual center of mass as does every mass that 'orbits' a larger mass.

Now, planets have an effect on a star much like our moon has an effect on the Earth with it's tidal forces. One can determine a distant planet's density, how far away from the star said planet is, it's chemical make-up, etc., etc. by the wobble of the star it's orbiting. They can tell how fast the planet is orbiting by using the basics of the light spectrum (blue=coming towards; red=moving away from). And from that, they can tell how fast planets rotate around a star, the mass of the plant and whether it's a gas bag or a hunk of rock.

Obviously it's much more in-depth than that, but that's the basic premise of how it works. Research, learn and comprehend before you speak.

42 light years away?
the answer to life, the universe, and everything in 42.
Ummmmmm........
strange

"is" 42

I'm ecstatic this wonderful dissemination of recent scientific discovery has devolved into a pissing contest between what at other times I'm sure are deceptively sane appearing individuals. However it does give me no end of amusement to know that even today, when so many things that used to be attributed to god(s), i.e. rain, sunlight, etc, have been so thoroughly explained as to leave no doubt about their mundane nature, can still be perceived as miraculous or divine. As for the human behavioral portion of the disagreement, when has a man ever needed the excuse of a deity to treat his fellows, and nature with respect and kindness? On the other hand having a faith that condemns those of a different creed, color, faith, speech, etc has been an enormous boon to those who really want to cause mayhem, pain, suffering and destruction. So everything tallied, organized religions as a whole are a negative influence on the history of man, and without severe reform will be the same for however long ignorance and intolerance are meaningful. However cling to them if you must, thump your bible or Qur’an! They can be of great solace to people in desperate need to deny reality for a bit, Ps137 "Happy shall be they who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!" Qn4:89 "then take them and kill them wherever ye find them, and choose no friend nor helper from among them." Yay faith, keep me laughing!

Someday science will find that when it finally peers over the crest of the mountain it will find that God has been sitting there all along and the first one who blinks is going to lose his testicles.
-Quote from my favorite movie "Creator"-

Clouder

Great! Now humans found a new planet to mess up. I wonder how long till we start sending "ships" to see about drilling on the planet! in all seriousness this is a great discovery for mankind and I hope that one day we can all walk on the surface of the "new" earth. However, i suspect i will be long dead by then.

"This is great, it brings us ever closer to the day that we will find another Earth. Any possibility of shutting up the religious freaks and the skeptics is a glorious day in my book!"

LMAO! Talk about not knowing what you are talking about. Obviously, someone who has never read the bible. Nowhere, is it taught that life does not exist elsewhere in the universe.

OK, now that that is out of the way, did anyone actually read the story at news.com? It is unknown, whether these are actually earth-like planets or not. The only thing these scientists know for sure is that they are solid like earth, meaning not gas giants like jupiter or saturn. No actual images of the planets are availible, in fact they can only guess as to there even being planets there because the only evidence they have is that the star wabbles which admittedly could well be caused by other just as real phenomena.

yourwellwisher i would like you to post some of those links!!!! just curiosity, if that is how ti is spelled..
thanx...

since when did science become a religious debaate?

Curiously: I think I just assumed they wouldn't bother with the classification of "superearths" unless they actually had properties that resembled what earth has. They can tell us how long it takes these "superearths" to orbit the sun and how big they are, somewhere in there you can figure out the distance they are away from the sun can you not? If not, then wouldn't Venus and mars be considered "superearths" as well?

As for the second part. Humans can run, jump, swim, think, etc reasonably well so I figure a good quality to see in any advanced lifeforms would have the same basic attributes, if not heightened right?

Maybe their bones and muscles are stronger in their legs. Maybe they look centaur-ish? Four legs and two arms? It would be a sacrifice for agility and size but it might be the only way to sustain that extra force. On the flip side they could have lighter bones or maybe nature figured out a way to make them lighter and stronger than what we have now. Or totally out of the park they could have eight legs.

Who knows? I just want to find out :D

Leroy:
"since when did science become a religious debate?"

Thank you! What are all these religious fantatics doing reading science articles? Shouldn't you be at Conservapedia?

the article said that the planets orbit around their sun in 20 days. Are those our earth days. or theirs? either way, the only life able to life in that type of environment are microbes and fungi. if it is our days, they would have to be REALLY close to their sun, and will therefore not contain water, if it is their days, the days and night would be extremely long. one half of the planet would be an arid desert and he other half would be a freezing barren wasteland.

Since when did other planets and religion become mutually exclusive?
The astronauts who have been in space, comment on the awe of His great power in creating the heavens and the Earth. If you understood your Bible, it talks about who has the right, Man or God, to rule This Earth. In order to create life, He must be powerful enough to make more, don't you think.
If a sculptor creates a masterpiece, does that mean he doesn't exist because it is so complex, it must have just come to be? OR, can he create more than just one sculpture?

These items ARE NOT mutually exclusive, use your Gray matter God gave you!

Oh, boy, talk about scientific discoveries and here come the kooks.

Yes, I believe in God - no, I will never follow any religion (they're pretty inconsistant and oh, so fallible they preach peace and then kill and persecute people who disagree with them, same thing with the bible, it's been translated and miscopied by so many hands over the centuries, that you will never find the true meaning there). Yes, I also believe that science does give us the truth to the best of its ability and is not a religion; it is a philosophy and a system of inquiry (just ask a scientist).

I do believe (though mine is not an authoritative belief) that this discovery points to there being life on other planets. To me the evidence is clear: they can find earthlike planets circling around one sun, then they can find them around others at variable distances. They have already discovered many more planets around many more suns, and with so many suns out there, the odds are pretty good that we will find some at the right distance. And who knows, we MAY even discover that not all life forms, intelligent or not, don't need that distance - to cut yourself off from the possiblity is not only close-minded, but dim-witted; let the evidence speak for itself first. Even Arthur C. Clark said that we will probably be amazed by what we will find out there (stuff we couldn't have possibly imagined), so let's not confine ourselves to earth-like perimeters until we absolutely have to. And lastly, they have found water on other heavenly bodies within our own solar system (Mars, Europa). They may not have life (which has NOT been proven yet), but it suggests to me strongly that if there are three bodies within our solar system with water and one ended up with life, I think there is a fair chance that the other planets out there have water on them and have life too. Water plus the right temperature equals life (or so the theory goes).

As far as the god stuff goes, if we find a planet with life and the life forms happen to look exactly like us, then I will doubt no longer that there is a conscious creator guiding the universe (or perhaps built it and took off - sheesh, what a jerk!).

Wow.. Scientists detect another planetary wobble out there and that equates to extra terrestrial life in some of your minds? That is an enormous conclusion to jump to.. A ridiculous one at that. You have absolutely nothing to base that on. It is a product of your Sci-fi permeated minds. Wake up..

Well God da-- find Picard and load up the Enterprise.

Humans are so naive, they get so discomposed over the most unostentatious ordeals. The discoveries of these so called "super earths" is a feeble attempt to draw the populations attention away from where most of their currency is actually going. We will be impressed with your species when you actually leave your planet. And when you are able to concentrate on unifying rather than destroying each other. You are like children, costantly fighting to prove whos better. Making a contest out of everything, someone builds a 1,000 of you so called "weapons of mass destruction"......Someone else must build 2,000 of them. If one country attacks another, the defending country must attack with even more devestation, ultimately resulting in even more death.

Well the fact is in our lifetime speculation is our only legitimate claim,it is highly unlikely that any of this will come to fruition in our lifetime if any lifetime,this articale is very open to imagination and not very specific, it suggests and implies but hardly theorises.Those who have brought religion into it well im muslim and i read the bible and both holy books encourage education and discovery of that which God has put for you to discover ,otherwise it didnt really need to be there :)and you don't even need religion as motivation ,curiosity is enough motivation.The violence will always be there but we can start here,everyone in this debate obviously has the brains to reason and balance a situation so as to avoid agression.I think that if we were visited by aliens they would laugh at our ignorence and petty diffrences and regard us as primitive(assuming they are THE perfect race themselves haha).Well to conclude its beyond us be it God's will or scientific facts.

Ladies and Gentlemen. An incredible discovery has been brought into focus and all you care about are religious views and how they contrast with scientific analysis. The fact remains the way it is. We have discovered three highly outstanding planets that should divert most of our studies and pursuits of life in other galaxies. We have something to finally start from. These three oblivious planets are our first steps into discovering a new tomorrow. I believe in religion and i also believe in science. Allah has implied before that we're not alone in this universe. Allah doesn't forbid the use of scientific modernization, but on the contrary, he encourages it. We were curious enough to search for life and delve our minds into the highly debatable theories and assumptions created by humans. Nevertheless, the facts are set upon us and we should use these findings that we have unlocked. If we ever find life on other planets, there is no doubt that they will be much more advanced in their lifestyles and broad thinking. Humans don't acquire accurate knowledge from the first minute of a new discovery, no we are prone to becoming incorrect, its the only way we learn and avoid past mistakes.

Extra terrestrial life will be found from the deepest corners of the universe and if we do not find them, they will find us sooner or later. We are not the best. We make use of the elements that we have to our full extremities. It's the only way we can say we have peaked and achieved glory with no strings attached.

Okay, lets just leave it at this.

We live in a big universe. People who dont believe there is life out there are getting closer and closer to being considered crazy just because of the odds. Now, for some of you this may be difficult to understand, take the universe. Too perfectly formed to have been created by pure luck. Earth is a planet located just in the right spot for there to be life. The sun and many planets in our solar system are what keep the temperature so exact. Many other areas in the universe have it too,and probably support life. Now, based on all this evidence, how can people simply deny god's existence? It's unquestionable. If anyone has anything else to say i'll be happy to answer.

On a scientific note, a much closer planet called Gliese 581c is said to be much closer. Only 19 light years.

its a hoax!