1. Just 120 Trillion Miles From Home

Comment #36089 by Nigel Harris on April 30, 2007 at 6:58 am

Mortiz - I wouldn't get too excited about the idea of finding more watery planets closer than Gliese. Gliese is far, far, far closer to us than almost everything that exists. The region within 20 light-years of Earth represents only about one billionth of our own galaxy, let alone the rest of the universe! Within that one-billionth of the galaxy are just 131 stars.

As for human beings ever visiting any of them, travelling even 20 light-years is mind-bogglingly beyond our capabilities. Not just practical capabilities but theoretically possible capabilities. Unless we have fundamentally misunderstood the rules of physics, there is essentially no chance that a living human being will ever set foot on any planet orbiting any sun other than our own. Unless, that is, the Flying Spaghetti Monster can take us there...