Avatar for Real?

I loved Avatar, and commented shortly after seeing it that it looked like Republicans were in charge of the earth.  We may have discovered a real Avatar, because scientists have found a planet capable of supporting life for the first time.  The first rule has to be: No Republicans Allowed!  Scientist believe life is common, and even though I think they are correct, we don’t know for sure.  If there is intelligent life there, it’s possible that Republicans could destroy the only intelligent life in the universe.

Gliese 581g may be the new Earth.

A team of astronomers from the University of California and the Carnegie Institute of Washington say they’ve found a planet like ours, 20 light years (120 trillion miles) from Earth, where the basic conditions for life are good.

"The chances for life on this planet are 100 percent," Steven Vogt, a UC professor of astronomy and astrophysics says. "I have almost no doubt about it."

The planet is three times the size of Earth, but the gravity is similar.

Dr. Elizabeth Cunningham, planetarium astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, says the discovery is a huge deal.

"It could have liquid water on the surface," she said. "That’s the first step to find life."

There are hundreds of known extrasolar planets that have been discovered in the Milky Way, but this is the first that could support life.

Earthlings won’t be traveling to Gliese 581g any time soon unfortunately. Scientists say a spaceship traveling close to the speed of light would take 20 years to make this journey.

But if we did – we’d find some other things familiar. The atmosphere and gravity are similar to Earth, and if you’re from the polar regions, you’d definitely feel right at home. Scientists say the highest average temperature is about -12 degrees Celcius (10 Fahrenheit), but they point out that the planet doesn’t have a night and day – one side continually faces the star and the other side faces the darkness of space. This means one side is blazing hot and the other freezing cold…

Inserted from <CNN>

Don’t be too sure we won’t be going there anytime soon.  I remember standing in my back yard and watching Sputnik in wonder.  I remember doing math in college with a slide rule.  Will we destroy that planet too?