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taphead739 t1_j6r30la wrote

Now hold up with the sensationalism. They found an exoplanet with 1.0-1.2 Jupiter masses using microlensing, which is cool. But that‘s all the info they have on the planet. Calling this a near-identical twin of Jupiter is like saying “I weigh 80kg and I found out someone in another part of the world weighs 88kg - that must be my near-identical twin!“

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PlaceboJesus t1_j6rsw11 wrote

Even some identical twins are more identical than others.
People are incredibly sloppy with language and tend to resist or reject any push towards precision.

While I agree that there's some hyperbole in that title, we probably don't agree as to what qualifies as sensational.

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linkdude212 t1_j6sey8x wrote

Just wait until you read about "super-Earths" that aren't Earth-like at all.

>"New data shows that TOI-1075 b is one of the most massive super-Earths discovered so far," NASA officials wrote referring to the planet that orbits it's host star so closely that a year lasts 14.5 hours and temperatures reach 1,050C°.

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brianfarina76 t1_j6sqw4g wrote

super earth just means rocky

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linkdude212 t1_j6su204 wrote

Then they should use "terrestrial". Using "Earth" creates expectations in people's minds that are far beyond anything meant by "super-Earth" and leads to broad misunderstanding of the science. Look no further than the word "theory" for how damaging this can be.

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