Faustian Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Wild speculation, but seemingly some truth to it. I can't wait for the promised telescopes to go up....one mentioned here, plus others. With our total destruction of the planet becoming all too apparent, finding other suitable planets to inhabit and the means to travel across space should be the biggest priority for our species. In my oh so humble opinion of course. An added benefit would also be to dispel any notion some spiritual entity created this place we call home, as some unique thing. The end of religion is nigh. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7891132.stm Not going to copy the text due to worries about copyright, so you'll just have to click the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weird Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Copy and Paste for Faustian to avoid accidental copyright infringement. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7891132.stm Galaxy has 'billions of Earths'" BBC News. 15 Feb. 2009 . Article: Galaxy has 'billions of Earths' There could be one hundred billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, a US conference has heard. Dr Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution of Science said many of these worlds could be inhabited by simple lifeforms. He was speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago. So far, telescopes have been able to detect just over 300 planets outside our Solar System. Very few of these would be capable of supporting life, however. Most are gas giants like our Jupiter; and many orbit so close to their parent stars that any microbes would have to survive roasting temperatures. But, based on the limited numbers of planets found so far, Dr Boss has estimated that each Sun-like star has on average one "Earth-like" planet. This simple calculation means there would be huge numbers capable of supporting life. "Not only are they probably habitable but they probably are also going to be inhabited," Dr Boss told BBC News. "But I think that most likely the nearby 'Earths' are going to be inhabited with things which are perhaps more common to what Earth was like three or four billion years ago." That means bacterial lifeforms. Dr Boss estimates that Nasa's Kepler mission, due for launch in March, should begin finding some of these Earth-like planets within the next few years. Recent work at Edinburgh University tried to quantify how many intelligent civilisations might be out there. The research suggested there could be thousands of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weird Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Personally, I think guessing 1 "Earth-like" planet per sun is a little far reaching. But I'd like to guess the numbers are pretty good of there being atleast one other "Earth-like" planet out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Thank you kind sir. Not sure where we stand on BBC stuff. Anyway, I agree their quoted figures do seem rather high, but I'd say there's got to be quite a few habitable planets about....how to get to them seems to be a rather massive problem though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Hi, Can't wait for news of another Earth-like planet, especially if it also contains live. I seriously doubt it will spell the end of religion though; those people are too stupid to see reason. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Would it not be funny if the first planet we visit that is Earth like is a desolated dump inhabitated by people who cannibalize each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Sounds a bit like Swindon, a town in the UK.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Maybe we'll find the last planet our ancestors trashed before migrating to this one to start all over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Yep, we will infest the universe some day with our destructive behaviour Imagine: billions of humans on billions of planets Will some of them be Thai though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Planet of the Apes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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