Sci-fi Fans Everywhere Rejoice, Despair

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Scientists have discovered, for the first time, a planet outside our own solar system that is "potentially habitable," with Earth-like temperatures. The planet is a similar size to Earth, may have liquid water, and, at a mere 120 million miles away, is practically down the block.

Oh shit! Just the other day, while perusing the pages of Analog, I read a very similar story wherein the inhabitants of a similar planet forced humanity into slavery. Great.

It's a significant step on the way to finding possible life in the universe," said University of Geneva astronomer Michel Mayor, one of 11 European scientists on the team that found the planet. "It's a nice discovery. We still have a lot of questions."
Yeah, right. Possible life.

The findings have been published in the scientific journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. Unlike Earth, the planet circles a Red Dwarf star, which is much smaller and much cooler than our Sun, meaning (of course) that the inhabitants will have tremendous tolerance to extreme temperatures. Fucking fantastic.

The new planet, in NASA's boundless creative force, has been named 581 c. No word on whether the 581 c-ians have massed up their arsenals, but I'm still wearing tinfoil on my head, just in case.

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