Alone in the Dark

Jan. 25, 2006

Random Thoughts by Robert Downes
Recent research suggests that we may be quite alone in the universe.
Reason? A study published in Nature last year revealed that most of the 150-plus planets we’ve discovered around other stars have long, eliptical orbits. These collosal oval-shaped orbits result in extreme planetary temperatures -- from hot as a furnace to shattering cold --  that could make it impossible to sustain life.
The study notes that our solar system, by contrast, is a model of harmony. The Earth revolves around the Sun in a neat circle, keeping our planet nice and comfy-cozy. It’s this constant temperate zone that allowed not only life to develop, but intelligent life.
We’ll know more in 2007 when NASA’s Kepler Mission begins searching for habitable planets around 100,000 neighboring stars.   The mission will use a  space-based telescope to search for Earth-sized planets in habitable zones around other stars.   
To date, we’ve only searched for habitable planets around a few thousand stars, according to Fred Rasio, an astrophysicist from Northwestern University in Chicago, who published the Nature article along with Verene Lystad and Eric Ford.  The planets we’ve found circling other stars have been gas giants on par with Jupiter or Saturn.
Rasio noted in a Chicago Reader article that once we’ve completed the Kepler Mission, we’ll have a much clearer idea as to how singular life is here on earth. We’ll be able to guess, for instance, whether life is a 1-in-150 planet proposition, or a 1-in-100 million chance.
The study makes you realize how lucky we are -- we’ve won the priceless riches of the Intergalactic Lottery just by existing.   
“We know primitive life  can exist in extremely harsh conditions,” Rasio says in the Reader interview by Harold Henderson. “Perhaps in other systems an eccentric Jupter, say, might have a moon where bacteria could live despite temperatures swerving from arctic to ovenlike because of its orbit.  But to evolve from bacteria to intelligent beings takes a very long time and a lot more stable conditions.  And that may not be very common at all.” 
Consider the size of the universe.  Scientists estimate it ranges anywhere from 14 billion  to 156 billion light years across (the larger number is the estimate of a science writer at Space.com).  Considering light travels 5,865,696,000,000 miles in a single year (more than five trillion miles), then that‘s quite a stroll.
Then consider that there are 100 billion stars in our own tiny Milky Way galaxy. Then consider that the Hubble Space Telescope has helped us estimate that there may be 125 billion galaxies in the universe, ranging from 10 million to one trillion stars in size.
You start to realize it’s a pretty big place we live in.  A big place to be alone in the dark.

       





Random Thoughts by Robert Downes
Recent research suggests that we may be quite alone in the universe.
Reason? A study published in Nature last year revealed that most of the 150-plus planets we’ve discovered around other stars have long, eliptical orbits. These collosal oval-shaped orbits result in extreme planetary temperatures -- from hot as a furnace to shattering cold --  that could make it impossible to sustain life.
The study notes that our solar system, by contrast, is a model of harmony. The Earth revolves around the Sun in a neat circle, keeping our planet nice and comfy-cozy. It’s this constant temperate zone that allowed not only life to develop, but intelligent life.
We’ll know more in 2007 when NASA’s Kepler Mission begins searching for habitable planets around 100,000 neighboring stars.   The mission will use a  space-based telescope to search for Earth-sized planets in habitable zones around other stars.   
To date, we’ve only searched for habitable planets around a few thousand stars, according to Fred Rasio, an astrophysicist from Northwestern University in Chicago, who published the Nature article along with Verene Lystad and Eric Ford.  The planets we’ve found circling other stars have been gas giants on par with Jupiter or Saturn.
Rasio noted in a Chicago Reader article that once we’ve completed the Kepler Mission, we’ll have a much clearer idea as to how singular life is here on earth. We’ll be able to guess, for instance, whether life is a 1-in-150 planet proposition, or a 1-in-100 million chance.
The study makes you realize how lucky we are -- we’ve won the priceless riches of the Intergalactic Lottery just by existing.   
“We know primitive life  can exist in extremely harsh conditions,” Rasio says in the Reader interview by Harold Henderson. “Perhaps in other systems an eccentric Jupter, say, might have a moon where bacteria could live despite temperatures swerving from arctic to ovenlike because of its orbit.  But to evolve from bacteria to intelligent beings takes a very long time and a lot more stable conditions.  And that may not be very common at all.” 
Consider the size of the universe.  Scientists estimate it ranges anywhere from 14 billion  to 156 billion light years across (the larger number is the estimate of a science writer at Space.com).  Considering light travels 5,865,696,000,000 miles in a single year (more than five trillion miles), then that‘s quite a stroll.
Then consider that there are 100 billion stars in our own tiny Milky Way galaxy. Then consider that the Hubble Space Telescope has helped us estimate that there may be 125 billion galaxies in the universe, ranging from 10 million to one trillion stars in size.
You start to realize it’s a pretty big place we live in.  A big place to be alone in the dark.