To date, around 1700 planets have been discovered outside our solar system.
- Thread starter Richard Feynman
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There are a finite number of planets and stars. See, that wasn't so hard.
It's a thrilling confirmation (but one that was a near certainty, and has been for some time) -- a few friends have even told me about it which shows the ripples this news has created. I don't hear science news from my friends that often.
Why so exciting?
To discover liquid water (a key ingredient for life as we know it) on a small body, so distant from its sun, alludes to great possibilities and extremely high probabilities that there are many, many other places out there that could harbor the sort of life we're familiar with.
Woo!
Hi Richard, in my opinion, there is no probability that life exists elsewhere, it's a certainty. We just haven't discovered it yet.
Have you been watching Cosmos with Neil Degrasse-Tyson? If not, do so immeidately, it's the business.
Have you been watching Cosmos with Neil Degrasse-Tyson? If not, do so immeidately, it's the business.
This is it !
...Indeed.
One about doctors salaries should do the trick
25 years ago, in an another country, one old horoscope reader told my mum about our family's future. Almost, all major events happened. None of those events were 'common' at that time or even now.
That alone keeps me afraid of God
Interesting....similar thing happened to me as well with a palm reader. When the guy left, the family actually joked about it saying how crazy he was.
I think mind needs a resting place time to time. Whether that place is god, rock, a tree, faith or even somersoft
is anyone's choice/right.On a clear night, when I look at the starts/moon, my mind is at rest. Then 3 kids come and jump on me
I'm with you on that, but true to the scientific method, I won't make claims without evidence.
As for the new Cosmos, yes.
An aside. Ann Druyan has suggested even more cannabis was involved in the conception and creation of this series than the original.
Getting baked and making a series about cool science stuff. What an awesome combination.
Wrong.
You are suggesting there is an end point to space.
No such thing.
If there are a finite number, please let me know how many.
I have to laugh when life on other planets is defined as not existing because they dont have air and water. People, even scientists are defining life by the limits of our finite brains and our requirements for life. They have discovered bacteria that survives in molten lava so there goes that theory. I firmly believe in ufo's and aliens because of all I have read about encounters, but have never seen one, even though being interested is supposed to make you conjure one up (according to debunkers) I also believe that ethically, aliens would not interfere with earths activity as this would destabilise us, however I am surpirsed that for all the years of SETI going, they have never stumbled across some audible evidence accidently being transmitted.
I could write an essay (or ten) in response the the above. But it's all been done before. Just briefly:
You are wholly incorrect in suggesting "scientists" define the requirements for life based on what exists on earth. 50 years ago, sure. But they learn. Fast. Anyone who does, by definition, is not a scientist. The scientific community is fully aware that life may--in fact, almost certainly WOULD--come in a variety of forms, comprised of all manner of matter; some of it completely inconceivable to us. Some postulate life may be capable of existing purely as energy. However, if we're basing a search on probabilities, it makes complete sense to seek out life composed of the most abundant chemical elements throughout the universe.
In order:
1. Hydrogen
2. Helium (Hello, stars)
3. Oxygen (Houston, e now have water)
4. Carbon (G'day carbon-based life)
And so on.
The source of energy life may utilise is another matter.
There are few other obvious things to consider, for example, organisms cannot exist if they're made of particularly unstable matter e.g. stuff that decays in fractions of a second. Additionally, the rarer an element, the less likely it is for life to exist made up of it. It's simple probability.
As for the second point about us not having detected signs of life yet, it's explained pretty well here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2apGYUX7Q0
No I'm not, you are. You said:
"When we talk of real infinities, we're talking about a quantity larger than any number. No matter what number you have in mind, infinity is larger." Carl Sagan
To have an eternal (that is, infinite) number of planets and stars or even space, would mean that the universe would be full to the brim with stars and planets and nothing would exist. Because you can never reach infinity. Even if you think of a number so incredibly large, all one has to do is add 'plus 1' to the end of that number to get a higher number. You could literally do that into perpetuity.
The number of stars in a galaxy reaches into the billions and there are billions of galaxies. But it's still a finite number. Just because you and I don't know *exactly* how many stars and planets there are in the known universe (let alone how many there are in the unknown universe) doesn't mean that there is an eternal number of stars, planets and space. That is literally impossible.
Space (the universe) is constantly expanding, which means that space is also not eternal, since in order for it to expand, it needs to have an edge (think of a balloon expanding when someone blows it up).
Those are the facts.
"When we talk of real infinities, we're talking about a quantity larger than any number. No matter what number you have in mind, infinity is larger." Carl Sagan
To have an eternal (that is, infinite) number of planets and stars or even space, would mean that the universe would be full to the brim with stars and planets and nothing would exist. Because you can never reach infinity. Even if you think of a number so incredibly large, all one has to do is add 'plus 1' to the end of that number to get a higher number. You could literally do that into perpetuity.
The number of stars in a galaxy reaches into the billions and there are billions of galaxies. But it's still a finite number. Just because you and I don't know *exactly* how many stars and planets there are in the known universe (let alone how many there are in the unknown universe) doesn't mean that there is an eternal number of stars, planets and space. That is literally impossible.
Space (the universe) is constantly expanding, which means that space is also not eternal, since in order for it to expand, it needs to have an edge (think of a balloon expanding when someone blows it up).
Those are the facts.
I totally agree with this. i just hope to be alive when they discover what its expanding into! a whole new dimension/ universe????
There is a theory I find interesting regarding multiple universes and the possibility that our Universe was created when another universe imploded, leading to the Big Bang.
I know nossing! - Sgt Schultz
Facts? From where?
Righto, what's on the other side of the "edge" ?
Yeah thought so, more space. Eternal infinite space for which could be filled with whatever you care to name.
That is a fact humans find difficult to fathom but logically it can't be argued against. Constantly expanding into what? More space.....forever, no end.
Crack another beer Mr Fab and relax a little in the knowledge that you (&I) matter squat in the bigger picture of all this.
