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louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Fake News or Great News?

https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/89 … ope-Google

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louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Fake News or Great News?

Seems to be about the Kepler 90 star system...interesting but not a discovery of alien life.

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RobertDyck

Moderator

From: Winnipeg, Canada

Registered: 2002-08-20

Posts: 7,933

Website

Re: Fake News or Great News?

Also says they're working with Google to scan SETI data.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Fake News or Great News?

The space agency teamed up with Google to use artificial intelligence to search for exoplanets. Artificial Intelligence Used to Discover Eighth Planet Circling Kepler-90
http://spaceref.com/exoplanets/artifici … er-90.html

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/arti … stant-star

Antius

Member

From: Cumbria, UK

Registered: 2007-05-22

Posts: 1,003

Re: Fake News or Great News?

What is remarkable about exoplanet discovery so far is how few star systems resemble our own.  Most planets appear to be more massive than our own, in more eccentric orbits and with fewer planets in each star system.

The more complex life becomes the more specific the range of conditions needs to be in order for it to evolve.  Bacterial life can evolve in a wide range of environments.  As soon as life moves beyond the single cell, the range of conditions it can tolerate plummets.  Suddenly, it needs an oxygen atmosphere, a narrower range of temperatures, etc.  It is difficult to imagine a technological civilisation evolving under very different conditions to our own.  It would need dry land, with stable climate, oxygen atmosphere, a sufficient abundance of ores, etc.  Its physiology must include an opposable thumb and a reasoning brain, capable of complex social interaction, 3-dimensional visualisation and long-term planning.  The more advanced life is, the rarer it is and the more like us it must be.

Last edited by Antius (2017-12-15 08:22:00)

louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Fake News or Great News?

I agree Antius...this tends to the idea that our solar system has some unique properties that favour the development of life and particularly intelligent life.  So if our sort of solar system is v. rare - let's say 1 in a thousand...that immediately rules out billions or rather trilllions of solar systems as being conducive to life.

If you add to the rarity of our solar system's structure something like the rarity of NOT being wiped out by a major asteroid strike  (could be a very rare rarity!) then you are getting towards an explanation of why, at least in our corner of the cosmos, we appear to be alone.

What is remarkable about exoplanet discovery so far is how few star systems resemble our own.  Most planets appear to be more massive than our own, in more eccentric orbits and with fewer planets in each star system.

The more complex life becomes the more specific the range of conditions needs to be in order for it to evolve.  Bacterial life can evolve in a wide range of environments.  As soon as life moves beyond the single cell, the range of conditions it can tolerate plummets.  Suddenly, it needs an oxygen atmosphere, a narrower range of temperatures, etc.  It is difficult to imagine a technological civilisation evolving under very different conditions to our own.  It would need dry land, with stable climate, oxygen atmosphere, a sufficient abundance of ores, etc.  Its physiology must include an opposable thumb and a reasoning brain, capable of complex social interaction, 3-dimensional visualisation and long-term planning.  The more advanced life is, the rarer it is and the more like us it must be.

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elderflower

Member

Registered: 2016-06-19

Posts: 1,262

Re: Fake News or Great News?

Part of the apparent bias towards larger planets is probably due to the fact that they are easier to spot because of their increased mass relative to small rocky jobs. This would increase the Doppler effect on a parent star's light.
Another bias is down to spotting regular dips in brightness favouring the discovery of planets with short orbital periods.
It would be a long, long time before you would discover Neptune from a few light years away using current methods and even Mars would be difficult due to its small size.

louis

Member

From: UK

Registered: 2008-03-24

Posts: 7,208

Re: Fake News or Great News?

To be fair I think the NASA presentation made those points.

Part of the apparent bias towards larger planets is probably due to the fact that they are easier to spot because of their increased mass relative to small rocky jobs. This would increase the Doppler effect on a parent star's light.
Another bias is down to spotting regular dips in brightness favouring the discovery of planets with short orbital periods.
It would be a long, long time before you would discover Neptune from a few light years away using current methods and even Mars would be difficult due to its small size.

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SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,431

Re: Fake News or Great News?

Just one more reason to look in our back yard first some where less than 10 light years for the possibility of life capable planets. We know that the goldy lockes zone is quite wide depending on not just the planet size but on its sun as well.
Eample venus is hot due to the greater size of it so a small planet the size of mars would be better close to the inner region of that zone while a bit large planet than earth or venus at the mars outer zone would be better.