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Comment by Simple1234 | Hacker News Reader

Kittens are gigantic, compared to protozoa. That doesn't mean we should describe kittens as cute, fuzzy, and gigantic. I would be ok with "only 22 lightyears away." But "nearby"? Most people have a hard time grasping the size of our galaxy. "Nearby" does not help promote a good understanding of the discovery IMHO.

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I think it promotes understanding of the discovery, as well as future discoveries, actually. Those who don't know that our galaxy spans hundreds of thousands of lightyears may not have a conception at all for how far away, and comparatively, how close, some objects are. It's clear we're talking about planets around other stars, and this is almost as close as it gets, so calling it 'nearby' is a pretty excellent description I think.

Words like these are inherently relative and depend on context.

If the context is protozoa, then a kitten is absolutely "gigantic". There's nothing wrong with that at all.

The local grocery store is "nearby" for me, about 500 meters. I sit "far away from" the window in my office, even though it's still two orders of magnitude (and then some) closer than the store. Context.

"Nearby" is absolutely an appropriate word to use for a distance of 22 light years when discussing exoplanets.

especially when you consider that Alpha Centuri is 4.367 light years away, and that is the closest thing, 5 times that is pretty damn nearby.

If your friend lived 5 houses down the street I think that'd qualify as nearby.

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