Hot Jupiters May Indicate Hospitable Planets

eldavojohn writes "An interesting article from National Geographic points out that other solar systems which contain planets like a 'Hot Jupiter' have a higher chance of also containing Earth-like planets." From the article: "'We now think there is a new class of ocean-covered--and possibly habitable--planets in solar systems unlike our own,' Raymond said. The simulations also showed that rocky planets known as hot Earths may often form when hot Jupiters push material forward during their inward treks. But hot Earths, which can be up to five times bigger than our Earth, orbit closer to their stars and are not likely to support life. Even if water does contribute to their formation, most hot Earths probably end up dry, study co-author Raymond says. "

Title inconsistent with summary

[WilliamSChips]

At first it says that a Hot Jupiter would make a habitable planet, but then it says that the Hot Earths it makes will be uninhabitable.

Space... the Final Frontier

[TopShelf]

What we need is a five-year mission [slashdot.org] to explore these strange, new worlds, seek out new life, and new civilizations...

My misread

[matt me]

Hot Jupiters May Indicate Hospitable Penis.

What an amazing exclamation!

[Kamineko]

"Hot Jupiter, Batman! What's going on here?"

Re:Cool, confirms my hypothesis.

[eln]

Yah, I sometimes post to Slashdot after hitting the bong too.

Re:There has to be a joke somewhere here....

[Duhavid]

Would you hit it?

Enough gravity, and you may not have a choice.

Sign up now

[Kesch]

Step 1) Discover possibly habitable worlds (or get others to do it for you)
Step 2) Sell acreage on said worlds
Step 3) Profit!

There is no ??? here, it's a pure goldmine. I have to hop on this right away (PATENT PENDING PATENT PENDING PATENT PENDING).

Once I run out of acreage on discovered planets, I'll just start selling space on the next discovered one.

C'mon you know you want a beach house in an entirely different galaxy (nevermind that the beach overlooks an ocean of magma).

Re:Cool, confirms my hypothesis.

[Tackhead]

> I think saying "Cool, confirms my hypothesis." is stretching it a bit far... ;)

Depends. What if his original hypothesis was the result of a divide by fish error? Proof, I tell you. Or at least 180 proof.

100% offtopic

[bunions]

"Hot Jupiters!" has just become my favorite exclamation, bumping "Good Gravy!" off the list and pushing "OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!!!" down to the #2 spot.

You must be new here...

[multipartmixed]

...the term for an "earth-like" planet is "Class M".

These scientists, however, are talking about "Hot Earths" -- which would be "Class L" planets.

Re:There's a perfectly good word for rocky worlds

[Surt]

We should publicize that more heavily, then the bush administration will spend more on space technology so we can take the war on terrestris to other star systems.

Re:Hot Titans?

[Surt]

Has anybody exhaustively explored the concept?

I got tired just thinking about it.

More seriously: of course not .. we barely have any understanding what's going on with this planet, much less hypothetical other planets in surprising new types of planetary systems.

Re:Space... the Final Frontier

[Waffle Iron]

I've been studying extrasolar planets for exactly 40 years. My findings don't agree at all with the hypotheses presented in the article. Here is what I've found out:

• All extrasolar planets have a mass and density such that gravitational acceleration at the surface is 9.8 m/s^2.
• All extrasolar planets have an atmosphere breathable by humans and a surface temperature of approximately 70 degrees F.
• Imaging shows that from space, in the visual wavelengths different extrasolar planets reflect a wide variety of random but usually Da-Glo colors. Few if any surface features are visible from space.
• Nevertheless, the surface of most extrasolar planets are largely covered with a similar beige sandy soil. The planets have many rock outcroppings, and remarkably, the rocks are almost exclusively comprised of a polystyrene polymer.
• All extrasolar planets harbor life. Almost all of them have a climate and flora very similar to the desert regions of southern California.
• Most extrasolar planets have an unexplained energy field emanating from some point on the surface.