Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

160 billion planets in the Milky Way?!
MSNBC ^ | January 11, 2012 | Alan Boyle

Posted on 01/11/2012 11:05:37 AM PST by presidio9

A statistical analysis based on a survey of millions of stars suggests that there's at least one planet for every star in the sky, and probably more. That would add up to 160 billion planets or so in the Milky Way.

"We conclude that stars are orbited by planets as a rule, rather than the exception," an international research team reports today in the journal Nature.

The estimate may sound amazing: Just a year ago, the world was wowed by the claim that at least half of the 100 billion or more stars in the Milky Way possessed planets, yielding a figure of 50 billion planets. The latest survey now suggests that there's an average of 1.6 planets per star system, which would work out to 160 billion. But perhaps the most amazing thing about the findings is ... astronomers don't find them amazing at all.

"I am not surprised by the numbers," Didier Queloz, a planet-hunter at the Geneva Observatory who was not involved in the survey, told me in an email. Back in 2008, Queloz was part of a different research team that concluded one-third of the stars like our sun harbored super-Earth-size planets — the kinds of planets that could support life.

Over the past couple of years, findings from a variety of planet-hunting missions — including NASA's Kepler space telescope, the European Space Agency's COROT telescope and ground-based telescope surveys — have reinforced the view that planets are plentiful.

"Resiuts from the three main techniques of planet detection are rapidly converging to a common result: Not only are planets common in the galaxy, but there are more small planets than large ones," Caltech astronomer Stephen Kane, a member of the team behind the findings reported in Nature,

(Excerpt) Read more at cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: xplanets
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last
To: C210N

Feynman said we should stop using the term astronomical numbers when describing huge numbers. He pointed out that political numbers masse more sense,,, that they are much bigger.


21 posted on 01/11/2012 11:32:44 AM PST by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but communists just ran for office)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: bolobaby

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.


22 posted on 01/11/2012 11:33:06 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: presidio9

All those potential habitats for life and nobody has bothered to say hello. That’s the Fermi paradox.

Maybe we smell bad.


23 posted on 01/11/2012 11:41:45 AM PST by Our man in washington
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: presidio9

The more planets they find, the more miraculous our existence. All those millions of planets and not one are sending out radio waves proclaiming intelligent life.


24 posted on 01/11/2012 11:42:54 AM PST by jimmygrace
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace

We’re still the only planet with chocolate.


25 posted on 01/11/2012 11:44:36 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: presidio9

Maybe we can send an ambassador to some of those planets to ask for some loans for our Federal debt.


26 posted on 01/11/2012 11:46:47 AM PST by lurk
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace

I’m thinking it was Sagan, but it may have been someone else, who was asked several decades ago what they believed would be the most amazing discovery in the history of mankind. He replied ‘To discover that we are alone after all.”


27 posted on 01/11/2012 11:49:57 AM PST by Anitius Severinus Boethius
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: presidio9

I dispute their assessment:

1. Planets have been observed only near stars that are relatively close to us. We live in a part of the galaxy that is rather sparsely populated by stars.

2. In the center of the galaxy, and to a lesser extent in the spiral arms, the star density is considerably higher. Stars are much closer to each other, making planetary orbits less stable. The majority of the stars are located in these denser areas.

3. To the best of my knowledge, there are only a small handful of planets observed in double-star systems. This may be because they would be difficult to observe in a multiple-star system, but it may also be due to orbital instability in multiple star systems.

The assessment presented here is way too simplistic, and likely overestimates the number of planets by a significant amount.


28 posted on 01/11/2012 11:51:58 AM PST by kidd
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: presidio9
"Queloz was part of a different research team that concluded one-third of the stars like our sun harbored super-Earth-size planets — the kinds of planets that could support life."

They don't have a clue if these planets could support life. They only know the planets are there the "wobble" effect in the star created by the planet's gravitation effect. Thus, the general mass of the planet and it's distance from the star is all they know. Scientists have shown that there are at least 23 finely tuned conditions of the earth which are absolutely necessary to support life. This includes things like the exact composition of the atmosphere, the very narrow temperature range, gravitational forces on the surface, tilt of the axis, etc. etc. The probability of even 15 of these conditions all being present on any given planet are more than 10 to the -256 power against it. Such a large improbability is generally considered an impossibility.

29 posted on 01/11/2012 11:55:20 AM PST by circlecity
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace

On the contrary, I’d suggest these results provide more support for the Anthropic Principle, and the “perfect” conditions for intelligent life in our solar system could well simply be the random result of having 160 billion shots at achieving those conditions just in our galaxy alone.


30 posted on 01/11/2012 11:55:35 AM PST by Strategerist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace
All those millions of planets and not one are sending out radio waves proclaiming intelligent life.

Radio is 1930s human technology. An alien race may not have ever used it and may think so differently that their science and technology is outside what we think is possible.

Maybe their invasion armada is on its way and they don't want to tip us off.

Could be that they keep quiet to avoid attracting the attention of really bad guys while we're here with a bullhorn and flares.

Personally, I hope the universe was created for us and doesn't have any intelligent life. Instead, God wants us to go forth, be fruitful, and multiply.
31 posted on 01/11/2012 11:56:30 AM PST by cripplecreek (Stand with courage or shut up and do as you're told.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace

Well they very well could be sending out signals, but we’re only monitoring the section of carrier waves we actually use (which is about 10%) and most of these planets are far enough away that if the first thing we’d done after we invented radio transmission and aim it at space our signals wouldn’t even be halfway there yet assuming it even managed to have enough strength to still be readable. Light speed is actually pretty slow when you get to celestial distances, and void is really hard on any and all forms of transmission.


32 posted on 01/11/2012 11:56:59 AM PST by discostu (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: discostu
Well they very well could be sending out signals,

They already did, "Send More Chuck Berry!"

33 posted on 01/11/2012 11:59:12 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator
We’re still the only planet with chocolate.

Considering the number of planets in the universe, there are probable planets with vast oceans of chocolate, with clouds of whip cream, and tangerine trees...wait....

34 posted on 01/11/2012 12:01:41 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: presidio9

When do they compile a list of every planet, named and described?

I think we need more computers and more telescopes...maybe a telescope on the far side of the moon.


35 posted on 01/11/2012 12:02:46 PM PST by mamelukesabre
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bolobaby

“Feeling small yet?”

When I have someone barking about something I show them the “You are here” picture of the Milky Way.


36 posted on 01/11/2012 12:02:54 PM PST by CodeToad (Islam needs to be banned in the US and treated as a criminal enterprise.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: jimmygrace

That’s probably because the waves they are sending out, are so far in advance of ours, that we don’t even know how to recognise them. Sort of like trying to explain how a tv works, to a sea slug.


37 posted on 01/11/2012 12:07:10 PM PST by stuartcr ("In this election year of 12, how deep into their closets will we delve?")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: mamelukesabre

Habitable planets catalog (They do point out that the planets listed are only theoretically habitable)

http://phl.upr.edu/projects/habitable-exoplanets-catalog


38 posted on 01/11/2012 12:08:18 PM PST by cripplecreek (Stand with courage or shut up and do as you're told.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: cripplecreek

Prices on the Planet Algon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXEgRGvfOwE


39 posted on 01/11/2012 12:10:04 PM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: bolobaby; presidio9
Feeling small yet?

I've felt that way for a very long time.

I took this shot of M-16 Eagle Nebula not long ago. It's about 7,000 light years distance from our tiny planet.

Ya see those dark pillars near the center of the nebula?

The height/length of these pillar is approximately 24 trillion miles high....

That's "trillion" with a T.

40 posted on 01/11/2012 12:15:35 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson