8.8 Billion Earth-like Planets in the Milky Way

[crowTrobot]

http://news.msn.com/science-technology/study-88-billion-earth-sized-just-right-planets

 

[blazerboy30]

It's very interesting to think with those odds that we haven't had any interaction with other life.

It would seem that with that many life-supporting planets, there would be many civilizations much more advanced than ours with the technology to visit us.

 

[barfo]

It would seem that with that many life-supporting planets, there would be many civilizations much more advanced than ours with the technology to visit us.

Why would they want to?

barfo

 

[blazerboy30]

Why would they want to?

barfo

You wouldn't understand. They're much more intellectually advanced than you.

 

[barfo]

You wouldn't understand. They're much more intellectually advanced than you.

Thus my question.

barfo

 

[crowTrobot]

It's very interesting to think with those odds that we haven't had any interaction with other life.

It would seem that with that many life-supporting planets, there would be many civilizations much more advanced than ours with the technology to visit us.

that could mean a lot of things. it could mean even if life is common, intelligent life is extremely rare. it could mean long-range interstellar space travel is effectively impossible regardless of technological advancements. or as was noted that an advanced civilization wouldn't want to interfere with us.

 

[blazerboy30]

that could mean a lot of things. it could mean even if life is common, intelligent life is extremely rare.

Yes, but we're talking about at least 8.8 billion planets just in our solar system. That starts to approach being beyond "extremely rare".

it could mean long-range interstellar space travel is effectively impossible regardless of technological advancements.

However, you could imagine a species that has the time, patience and desire to travel hundreds or thousands of years to explore. I am pretty confident we could find many volunteers to travel through space for the rest of their lifetime.

or as was noted that an advanced civilization wouldn't want to interfere with us.

Or an advanced civilization could want us gone since they see we're going to ruin our own planet and move on to the next. Obviously all hypothetical guesses.

I'm not sure I understand your response. Are you saying that it isn't interesting that we haven't been visited because one of those three possibilities must be true, and case closed?

 

[blazerboy30]

Thus my question.

barfo

I know.

 

[crowTrobot]

Yes, but we're talking about at least 8.8 billion planets just in our solar system. That starts to approach being beyond "extremely rare".

there are other factors involved obviously. earth had life but no intelligent life for 3.8 billion years. modern humans have only been around a few hundred thousand, and the evolutionary branch that led to us probably goes nowhere if not for a fluke asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. if the earth happens to be in any way typical it would not be surprising if life were common in the universe but intelligence was rare.

However, you could imagine a species that has the time, patience and desire to travel hundreds or thousands of years to explore. I am pretty confident we could find many volunteers to travel through space for the rest of their lifetime.

I was referring to the possibility that it might be fundamentally impossible to travel anywhere near the speed of light, which would make even short-range interstellar explorations impractical for civilizations. also long distance space travel is very dangerous (impossible for us with current technology) due to radiation.

I'm not sure I understand your response. Are you saying that it isn't interesting that we haven't been visited because one of those three possibilities must be true, and case closed?

I'm saying as far as we know the fact that we haven't been visited means absolutely nothing. it doesn't indicate either way what life may or may not be out there.

 

[jlprk]

The study narrowed the 200B stars to 8.8B using only 2 constraints, planet size and temperature. More important to Earth life have been a magnetic field, oceans, and a very large moon.

Add those constraints and the 8.8 gets a lot smaller. The study couldn't because astronomers haven't figured out how. Wait another generation.

 

[MarAzul]

Perhaps no one else can figure out how to travel at light speed (Warp), I don't think we will. Until that happens, no one can live long enough to get anywhere worth checking out. Pretty hard to attract venture capital to project like we could mount or maybe any alien can mount.

err, that is If the creator dabbled at all beyond this little atoll.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Perhaps no one else can figure out how to travel at light speed (Warp), I don't think we will. Until that happens, no one can live long enough to get anywhere worth checking out. Pretty hard to attract venture capital to project like we could mount or maybe any alien can mount.

err, that is If the creator dabbled at all beyond this little atoll.

Pfft Deep Blue..Earth has the venture value in this Galaxy that The Isle of Ate u has on Earth..just not worth the effort unless it had a military value

 

[jlprk]

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2...ract?sid=d7bacb1a-5937-4541-ad28-1d94dbb115a7

This new study says 22% of the stars in the galaxy have planets with similar temperature and size. There are 300-400B stars, so that's 66-88M Earth-like planets. Give them 20 years and they'll have better estimates.

None of them are profitable anyway with their high capital gains rates, so who wants them.

 

[jlprk]

Probably a bunch of welfare boozers. Another burden on the shoulders of rich American conservatives.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Probably a bunch of welfare boozers. Another burden on the shoulders of rich American conservatives.

naw man, you have it backwards this planet would be the drag on an advanced society

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

Resources are finite. The distances are incomprehensibly vast. The technology required is just insurmountable. Are there other life forms out there? Almost certainly so. Intelligent ones, too. Most likely they will die off never knowing if they are alone, as we will.

 

[speeds]

NDT on intelligence...

[video=youtube;qikjljlbTQw]




NDT on loneliness...

[video=youtube;7odVBe-TY2M]

 

[MarAzul]

Pfft Deep Blue..Earth has the venture value in this Galaxy that The Isle of Ate u has on Earth..just not worth the effort unless it had a military value

True, true I think I have never been to Ateu but I have to Attu.

The worth is one thing then there is the mechanics when you consider E = MC\2
Finding E when S=C and M>0 has never been done.

 

[MARIS61]

Yes, but we're talking about at least 8.8 billion planets just in our solar system. That starts to approach being beyond "extremely rare".

There are only 8 planets in our solar system, and 4 dwarf planets including Pluto.

There are possibly ten trillion planets in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is what they're talking about. So 1 in 1,000 is still pretty good odds for other beings to exist. Actually bumping into them in such an enormous galaxy seems unlikely.

 

[blazerboy30]

there are other factors involved obviously. earth had life but no intelligent life for 3.8 billion years. modern humans have only been around a few hundred thousand, and the evolutionary branch that led to us probably goes nowhere if not for a fluke asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. if the earth happens to be in any way typical it would not be surprising if life were common in the universe but intelligence was rare.

I think it is pretty obvious that intelligence is rare. But identifying over 9 billion possibilities in our galaxy alone provides a lot of chances to offset that rarity.

I was referring to the possibility that it might be fundamentally impossible to travel anywhere near the speed of light, which would make even short-range interstellar explorations impractical for civilizations.

You're assuming that some other intelligent life form has a similar length of life as we do. If another life form has an expected lifespan of 1000 years, then it isn't necessarily impractical to travel for 10,20, or 100 years.

also long distance space travel is very dangerous (impossible for us with current technology) due to radiation.

How do you know it is dangerous to these hypothetical life forms?

It appears you want to fit other intelligent life forms into the same set of rules that our bodies have, and I don't think that is necessarily reasonable.

I'm saying as far as we know the fact that we haven't been visited means absolutely nothing. it doesn't indicate either way what life may or may not be out there.

I don't think anybody claimed otherwise.

 

[blazerboy30]

Resources are finite. The distances are incomprehensibly vast. The technology required is just insurmountable. Are there other life forms out there? Almost certainly so. Intelligent ones, too. Most likely they will die off never knowing if they are alone, as we will.

Why is that most likely?

 

[blazerboy30]

There are only 8 planets in our solar system, and 4 dwarf planets including Pluto.

There are possibly ten trillion planets in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is what they're talking about. So 1 in 1,000 is still pretty good odds for other beings to exist. Actually bumping into them in such an enormous galaxy seems unlikely.

Whoops. Typo. I mean galaxy, not solar system.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Michio Kaku believes that most intelligent societies eventually destroy themselves and it will be a miracle if we don't destroy ourselves.

 

[crowTrobot]

You're assuming that some other intelligent life form has a similar length of life as we do. If another life form has an expected lifespan of 1000 years, then it isn't necessarily impractical to travel for 10,20, or 100 years.

unless you are moving at almost the speed of light 100 years gets you nowhere. also even if you have an extended lifespan and could travel at near lightspeed you would have to know exactly where you're going for it to be practical. at this point the signals from our species are still invisible to 99.999% of the galaxy.

How do you know it is dangerous to these hypothetical life forms?

I don't. it is just one of many alternate hypothesis that would explain why we haven't been visited even if intelligent life happened to be common.

I don't think anybody claimed otherwise.

you implied that there is some significance to the fact that we haven't been visited. there is not.

there MAY be some minor significance to the fact that we haven't detected radio signals from other life, but we haven't really put a lot of comprehensive effort into searching so far (which is fine with Denny )

 

[Denny Crane]

The study narrowed the 200B stars to 8.8B using only 2 constraints, planet size and temperature. More important to Earth life have been a magnetic field, oceans, and a very large moon.

Add those constraints and the 8.8 gets a lot smaller. The study couldn't because astronomers haven't figured out how. Wait another generation.

And a big jupiter in orbit further out. And... lots more.

 

[blazerboy30]

unless you are moving at almost the speed of light 100 years gets you nowhere. also even if you have an extended lifespan and could travel at near lightspeed you would have to know exactly where you're going for it to be practical. at this point the signals from our species are still invisible to 99.999% of the galaxy.



I don't. it is just one of many alternate hypothesis that would explain why we haven't been visited even if intelligent life happened to be common.



you implied that there is some significance to the fact that we haven't been visited. there is not.

there MAY be some minor significance to the fact that we haven't detected radio signals from other life, but we haven't really put a lot of comprehensive effort into searching so far (which is fine with Denny )

I didn't imply that. I simply said it is interesting to contemplate. And then you wanted to argue.

 

[crowTrobot]

I didn't imply that. I simply said it is interesting to contemplate. And then you wanted to argue.

this is what I'm disputing -

It would seem that with that many life-supporting planets, there would be many civilizations much more advanced than ours with the technology to visit us.

 

[Denny Crane]

Where are they?
-- Enrico Fermi

 

[TradeNurkicNow]

Why is that most likely?

Well, assuming other planets are made from the same stuff our planet is made from and their resources are finite, much like our own, it's most likely that they are in the same boat as us -- doomed to die alone. Maybe we're in the backwoods, though, and there are solar systems with two or three inhabited planets. But the sheer distance is just insane, and the technology required is beyond imagination.

 

[speeds]

Where are they?
-- Enrico Fermi

The more pertinent question might be when, not where.