Life in the Balance – And why Earth-like planets may be rare

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | March 30, 2012 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[NYer]

Another gem from Msgr. Pope, ping!

[cripplecreek]

There are definitely a lot of variables that have to be taken into account but its looking increasingly likely that God created trillions of planets in the universe.

That said the article does a pretty good job of pointing out the things that are problematic for human life on other planets.

[BushCountry]

Recent excerpt:

In an announcement with massive consequences for the human race, astronomers say there are “probably about one hundred” planets within just 30 light-years of our solar system which could support life along Earthly lines. By their calculations, there are tens of billions of such worlds in our galaxy, suggesting that even if life is very rare it is bound to have arisen elsewhere.

[Verginius Rufus]

Even if life has arisen on many other planets, the chances that chocolate has evolved on them is extremely slight.

[redgolum]

Funny thing is I once read a book suggest the Earth did have a smallbset of rings at one time, and how that made life a lot easier.

[moose07]

Very nice video.
The stories from the ancients ,to explain that, would be interesting to hear.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Given the fact that there are at least a hundred billion galaxies in the universe, and that each galaxy has at least a hundred billion stars, I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of planets in the universe that support life, but it’s irrelevant because they would be millions of light years away.

[onedoug]

Thanks for that NYer.

Guillermo Gonzalez & Jay W Richards, “The Privileged Planet: How Our Place In The Cosmos Is Designed For Discovery”

[Psycho_Bunny]

This is a subject with so many variables the human mind simply can’t draw any logical conclusions.

[papertyger]

Just google “michael crichton” + “drake equation” for a real eye-opener on the true value of the astronomer’s “calculations” in this areas.

My contempt for these people and their duplicity only grows with each data point.

[papertyger]

Given the fact that there are at least a hundred billion galaxies in the universe, and that each galaxy has at least a hundred billion stars, I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of planets in the universe that support life,

Given that there are at least a hundred billion inclines in the universe, and that each incline has to have something at the top as well as something at the bottom, I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of inclines in the universe where water can defy gravity and flow uphill.....

[mikrofon]

Q: Why doesn't Earth have a ring?

A: Because it's a single parent.

[SunkenCiv]

This is just a shill piece for global warming caused by human activity, but thanks moose07 for the ping.

[papertyger]

This is a subject with so many variables the human mind simply can’t draw any logical conclusions.

Nonsense. There are no combination of variables that make a lottery easier to win.

[the invisib1e hand]

of course they're rare. and the earth's balance is hairline fragile.

I once did (and since forgot) some calculations the long and short of which is that the most miniscule variation in the earth's diameter would render the whole planet an ice cap or a desert.

[CatherineofAragon]

Thank you for posting this. I once saw a teaching by Frank Turek on the same subject, and the reality of how finely God tuned His creation-—so that we can exist-—is pretty breathtaking.

http://www.crossexamined.org/blog/?m=20120321

[AlexW]

“I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of planets in the universe that support life, but it’s irrelevant because they would be millions of light years away.”
_______________________________________________________

I agree, and I am a strong denier that ET is, or ever has been zipping around Earth.
All of the anecdotal “sightings” in the world mean nothing, despite what one hears on Kook to Kook AM.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Given the fact that there are at least a hundred billion galaxies in the universe, and that each galaxy has at least a hundred billion stars, I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of planets in the universe that support life,

Given that there are at least a hundred billion inclines in the universe, and that each incline has to have something at the top as well as something at the bottom, I have no doubt that there are millions or billions of inclines in the universe where water can defy gravity and flow uphill.....

The statement you responded to draws it's conclusion from the fact that there is at least one star in this galaxy with a planet that supports life. The statement you make draws it's conclusion from...what? Why do you think this is analogous to the first statement or that it refutes the first statement?

[Dilbert San Diego]

But on Star Trek, there are numerous Class M planets throughout the galaxy.

There is a formula or equation they used, which predicted how many there were.

Well, they visited such planets almost every week on that show.

(sarcasm)