Earth-like planets may be more rare than thought

Nature Magazine ^ | 30 July 2004 | Philip Ball

[null and void]

*sigh* make that 4 posts...

[null and void]

I'm asking you. I have a reason for wanting YOUR answer.

[HitmanLV]

You just blew my mind again, brother! If you are ever in Las Vegas call me, I'll buy you a ginger ale and you can share more! ;-)

[Dimensio]

No need to spend all that research money. All they had to do is read the Bible.

What is really scary about this statement is that I know that you weren't being sarcastic.

[null and void]

However, it means we'll likely never ever contact one.

Probably just as well. I don't look forward to playing explorers and natives, with us cast as the natives...

[Dimensio]

Big News, the longer we study the Universe the more it invariably points to a Creator who designed this little "happenstance" called Earth.

It does?

[Nataku X]

Moreover, I think that we can only find Jupiter-sized planets if they're orbiting really, really close to the star. Since we don't have any gaseous planets next to the Sun, it stands to reason that the only planets we can find right now are the onest that have been formed in a different way. Bottom line: we simply don't have the technology to detect planets like any planet in our Solar System.

[longshadow]

Most of them are, however, much closer to their sun than Jupiter is to ours: they are known as 'hot Jupiters'.

Can you say "selection effect?"

Obviously, large, close planets gravitationally interact more with the parent star than do large, distant planets or small planets at any distance. Thus, our extrasolar planet-detecting systems will preferentially detect the type of planets that the study then cites as the basis on which to conclude that earth-like planets must be rare.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

IIRC, they have a common ancestor Tümuch Beer...

...who is constantly being followed around by his little brother Holdmüh Beer.

[commonerX]

The more I read lines of scripture, the more I am convinced that the people who wrote this stuff were doing some pretty drugs.

[RUCKUS INC.]

Yes, it does. What is your best explanation for the fact that the more we learn the more complex everything becomes?

[Cincinatus]

There is also the "moon factor" which impacts the earths tilt and also provides other benefits of which I can't recall.

The tilt effect is the moderation of swings in axis inclination -- makes for a stable, benign climate. Also, a big moon creates tides, allowing marine life to emerge onto dry land.

Problem is that our Moon is a freak, created during a giant planetary-scale collision 4.5 billion years ago. Although it can happen (clearly), it's not a likely event.

[null and void]

Ummmm, If the ultimate answer is "God did it" shouldn't everything get simpler the more we learn???

[RightWingAtheist]

What is your best explanation for the fact that the more we learn the more complex everything becomes?

Everything about becomes more complex precisely because we have learned more about it. It's question of epistemology, not ontology. Your argument that complexity means that there must be a designer is reminiscent of liberals claiming that complexity necessitates a head-in-the-sand approach to everything.

[RightWingAtheist]

What is your best explanation for the fact that the more we learn the more complex everything becomes?

Everything about the universe becomes more complex precisely because we have learned more about it. It's question of epistemology, not ontology. Your argument that complexity means that there must be a designer is reminiscent of liberals claiming that complexity necessitates a head-in-the-sand approach to everything.

[alnitak]

Actually only slightly so, except for Pluto. Mars is quite high too. In the table linked here, "Orbital Eccentricity" is the line to look at. The "Ellipticity - Flattening" refers to the non-sphericalness of the planet itself (Saturn stands out here due to high rotation and low density)

http://home.cwru.edu/~sjr16/advanced/planets_main.html

[Michael_Michaelangelo]

It's as if there is a Precise Plan For Humanity

[Dimensio]

What is your best explanation for the fact that the more we learn the more complex everything becomes?

The more we learn, the more information we have about how the world works, so naturally we have to come up with more and more complex explanations for it all.

I don't see how that relates to a "Creator".

[The KG9 Kid]

Aw, what did I do? C'mon, I'm a scientist.