Astronomer: There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in Milky Way

[Jayems]

Not sure if this should be in science thread or not...

An artist's impression shows a planet passing in front of its parent star. Such events are called transits.

(CNN) -- As NASA prepares to hunt for Earth-like planets in our corner of the Milky Way galaxy, there's new buzz that "Star Trek's" vision of a universe full of life may not be that far-fetched.


Pointy-eared aliens traveling at light speed are staying firmly in science fiction, but scientists are offering fresh insights into the possible existence of inhabited worlds and intelligent civilizations in space.

There may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution and author of the new book "The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets."

He made the prediction based on the number of "super-Earths" -- planets several times the mass of the Earth, but smaller than gas giants like Jupiter -- discovered so far circling stars outside the solar system.

Boss said that if any of the billions of Earth-like worlds he believes exist in the Milky Way have liquid water, they are likely to be home to some type of life.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/0...ler/index.html

I for one still can't even fathom just how big the galaxy is.

[photon]

And ours is just one galaxy out of tens or hundreds of billions. And that's just the visible universe.

[Gozer]

We think Dark Matter comprises most of the universe, but we don't know what it does or where it comes from or anything about it, but trust us, we're experts. -TMQ

I think most of these reports come from the Astronomy equivalent of Ehklund, doesn't really understand whats going on but he hears something interesting and then tells other people about it. And unlike hockey no one can call him on any bullspit.

[CaptainCrunch]

We're all going to be dissapointed when the first alien steps on earth, and instead of a uber cool alien bringing advanced technologies and insanely interesting logic. We get an overweight tub of goo who is his planets equivalent to a third rate courier.

Humans - "We great you in peace, welcome to earth"
Xenu - "Yeah whatever, I need you to sign for this package"

[photon]

Dark matter doesn't comprise most of the universe; most of the universe is comprised of dark energy.

[Barnes]

Ooooooo..

What's in the package?

[cyclone3483]

100 billion Earth-like planets, and we get the one with Edmonton on it.

*sigh*

[cyclone3483]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

We're all going to be dissapointed when the first alien steps on earth, and instead of a uber cool alien bringing advanced technologies and insanely interesting logic. We get an overweight tub of goo who is his planets equivalent to a third rate courier.

Humans - "We great you in peace, welcome to earth"
Xenu - "Yeah whatever, I need you to sign for this package"

Originally Posted by Barnes

Ooooooo..

What's in the package?

funny stuff, lol

[photon]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Ooooooo..

What's in the package?

You have already won $100 Bazillion Smizmars.

Or it's addressed to Planetary Resident

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Not sure if this should be in science thread or not...

I for one still can't even fathom just how big the galaxy is.

Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the street to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space...

[worth]

I highly doubt there is one planet in the habitable zone for every sun like star in the galaxy.

In any event, we will know very soon how many habitable planets there are likley to be, like within the next 3 years.

Kepler mission is going to search for earth like planets in one part of the galaxy over a period of 3 years by looking for slight deviations in the brightness of stars. When a planet passes in front of the star, it dims ever so slightly. Kepler is a very sensitive instrument that can pick this up, and by watching for 3 years, it can track the orbit to make sure it is indeed a planet orbiting a sun. If a planet were to take 3 orbits in 3 years on a sun the same same size as ours, we can deduce that this planet is of the same size as the earth and would generally lie within the habitable zone.

http://kepler.nasa.gov/

http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/

Launch of the Kepler is on March 5.

[transplant99]

This stuff is just mind-boggling to me...hard to wrap ones head around it when you start to fathom how friggin vast it is.

remarkable.

[cyclone3483]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Space is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-boggingly big it is. You may think it's a long way down the street to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space...

You probably also believe that it was sneezed out of a being called the Great Green Arkleseizure and are waiting for the coming of the Great White Handkerchief.

oh, and Zaphod's just this guy, you know...

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by photon

You have already won $100 Bazillion Smizmars.

Or it's addressed to Planetary Resident

Or you can have one Smizmar who works for a delivery company and who's worth about $100 billion.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by transplant99

This stuff is just mind-boggling to me...hard to wrap ones head around it when you start to fathom how friggin vast it is.

remarkable.

And when you imagine that all these stars and galaxies and the dark matter, the whole vast universe, was once packed into a tennis ball sized...ball? ...mind-boggling doesn't even begin to describe it.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by worth

I highly doubt there is one planet in the habitable zone for every sun like star in the galaxy.

In any event, we will know very soon how many habitable planets there are likley to be, like within the next 3 years.

Remember that even though he's an "astronomer", he's trying to sell his new book on the search for planets. How many people are going to pick it up if in the press release he's all "oh well maybe there's 1 habitable planet for every couple thousand sun-like stars". He's not LYING in saying there could be 1 per sun-like star, but that's probably at the extreme upper range of probabilities.

[photon]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Or you can have one Smizmar who works for a delivery company and who's worth about $100 billion.

That's where I got that word from!

At least when we find other planets we can find out if they're neutral and then attack.

What makes a man turn neutral.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by Barnes

Ooooooo..

What's in the package?

Last week it was my package from Fredericks of Hollywood. This week I am hoping its my package from Columbia. Sometimes its the only way I can put up with you lil sheeets.

[Five-hole]

On a related note, I'm reading a book by David Deutsch called The Fabric of Reality. He talks about quantum photon interference and posits the existence of a "multiverse" based on the likelyhood of quantum interference from parallel universes. A bit mind-boggling.

Anyway, he claims there are probably 90% more "shadow photons" -- that is, the photons from parallel universes causing the quantum interference -- than there are photons in our observable universe. That ratio sounds an awful lot like the 90/10 dark/real energy split. This is only my hypothesis and I'm the rawest of amateurs but it's interesting nonetheless.

[rockstar]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

On a related note, I'm reading a book by David Deutsch called The Fabric of Reality. He talks about quantum photon interference and posits the existence of a "multiverse" based on the likelyhood of quantum interference from parallel universes. A bit mind-boggling.

Anyway, he claims there are probably 90% more "shadow photons" -- that is, the photons from parallel universes causing the quantum interference -- than there are photons in our observable universe. That ratio sounds an awful lot like the 90/10 dark/real energy split. This is only my hypothesis and I'm the rawest of amateurs but it's interesting nonetheless.

There is only one "true" photon.

But he's offline right now.