Can there really life on Gliese 581g - the first Earth-like planet ever discovered in the habitable zone around a sun (with Except for Earth, of course)? Has actually reached us from there two years ago, a short, intense pulse light, like the astronomer Ragbir Bhanthal announced a few days ago? It would be a rapid succession of almost incredible discoveries that our world view ...
But wait. The question is not whether there is life on Gliese 581g , or perhaps even intelligent life , but rather whether the planet exists or not. The discovery of Gliese 581g dates back to many years of measurements on the HIRES experiment at the Keck 1 telescope and the HARPS experiment at La Silla telescope. But this is no way to optical images of the planet (along with oceans and mountains, such representations can expect in the press), but large spectroscopic data sets collected over the years, which it then moves with statistical methods to physical. Of all the scientists of the HARPS experiment, however, now claim to be able to see their data, no traces of Gliese 581g.
Which does not mean that it is therefore not Gliese 581g. It is no longer only agree.
This again casts a revealing light on the dangers of indirect, statistical data analysis. "Those who measure, measure Mist", my professor used to always say, and, yes, he was right. "Untargeted" and subsequent measurements, statistical analysis are always a very, very, very dangerous thing - whether it's about alien planet, the climate, the weather or - very widespread - studies on sociological issues.
After all, astronomers now argue openly, and with all data on the table
