planets, and more planets

[Daisy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8314581.stm

 

I remember in my physics class at school being amazed that I was being taught that there was a formula that was being used to estimate the number of planets in the universe, and the number of planets with life on them. and the numbers were Very high. seems like we are proving that right.

 

Astronomers have announced a haul of planets found beyond our Solar System.

The 32 "exoplanets" ranged in size from five times the mass of Earth to 5-10 times the mass of Jupiter, the researchers said.

They were found using a very sensitive instrument on a 3.6m telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla facility in Chile.

The discovery is exciting because it suggests that low-mass planets could be numerous in our galaxy.

"From [our] results, we know now that at least 40% of solar-type stars have low-mass planets. This is really important because it means that low-mass planets are everywhere, basically," explained Stephane Udry from Geneva University, Switzerland.

"What's very interesting is that models are predicting them, and we are finding them; and furthermore the models are predicting even more lower-mass planets like the Earth."

 

The discovery now takes the number of known exoplanets - planets outside our Solar System - to more than 400.

 

apparently they are going to try and focus on the 'habitable' zone round stars to try and I suppose find life. then the temps won't be too hot and there maybe water.

[JamesSavik]

Don't pack your bags just yet. Methods and instrumentation for finding earth like planets are still many years away.

 

The data that they are talking about is almost all inferential. Yes- we know that planets of all sizes are there. We are years way from direct observation of earth-like worlds and even further from sending a Voyager like probe to fly by.

 

I do want to reserve a seat on Colonial 1 when we do launch.

[Daisy]

yeah, i know it's far off. it just amazes me every time that I see some astronomy news because science like that seems incredible to me, and they seem to be so far ahead in their understanding and research than I think they are in my day to day life.

[W_L]

Actually, it's not impossible to make an interstellar voyage even with our limited scientific capabilities:

 

SmartIes I think you are referring to the Drake Equation.

 

 

N is the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible;

R^* is the average rate of star formation per year in our galaxy

f_p is the fraction of those stars that have planets

n_e is the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has planets

f_ℓ is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point

f_i is the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent life

f_c is the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

L is the length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space.

 

I love the idea, when I grew up watching re-runs of star trek TNG and still do.

 

As for space travel, I believe it is very possible with a few selective problems solved within our lifetime.

 

The key issues of deep space travel are:

 

1. Power, what can you use to power a deep space vehicle? (Atomic power just doesn't cut it)

2. Propoulsion, How will it get to it's location?

3. Supplies, How can you solve the issue of long term supplies for spacecraft?

4. Long term exposure to radiation, How can you protect people from long term stellar radiation? (We are protected not only with our atmosphere, but the sun's heliosphere, which prevents many cosmic rays/particles from entry.)

5. Living in space, if you don't have things like Warp Drive, Hyperspace, or a form of FTL, then how can you live in space?

6. Finally, Human psychologically, how well can we psychologically live in space even for short durations of time? (There are a host of issues here)

 

I hate plugging for my story, but Exodus does answer all the questions with sustainable scientific prospects.

 

1. Power would in my opinion be best achieved with matter/anti-matter annihilation. While Dan Brown imagines stories of anti-matter weapons destroying Rome, the super collider experiments in Bonn are very good first steps to achieving anti-matter power.

 

2. Propulsion must be a mixed bag. I do agree that there might be possibilities out there for FTL drives, but they are centuries ahead of us unless we discover an interstellar secret, i.e. wormhole or cosmic tunnel network (Andromeda Slipstream/Star War Hyperdrive/Babylon 5 Jump Drive). I think magnetic drives/solar sail drives would be the best approach in combination with a Bussard concept. The Bussard collectors could capture in cosmic matter and the ships could use that matter to generate power for their antimatter/matter annhilator generator. The power generated could be redirected into a magnetic field generator, which could augment the solar sail propulsion systems by providing additional push generated by the ship.

 

Think of my example like someone going down hill, you could speed up the process if you add in your own energy by running down the hill versus the slower process of acceleration. The same can be said of solar sails, which would take a while to gather the necessary momentum from the sun to get that far.

 

3. Here's where things get interesting, some people believe the best approach in space travel is through hibernation, i.e. some form of suspended animation. However, I tend to believe that freezing is not going to be possible with the human body due to issues of tissue damage. I believe that supplies can be gathered simply if you plot out a course with small pit stops along the way. Think of the flyby asteroids/comets/ and other space objects as McDonald's. Supplies can be fashioned out of the raw material there. As for food, well you'll get to see space farming as it has to be done with next few chapters (Can't give you everything that I have been working on). Also, supplies of a more advanced nature must be fashioned onboard. That is where advances in nano-technology comes in. You will also want to have new things created and styles changes; that is where my belief in the future of Holographic technology would be headed in the next decade (Holography is very impressive).

 

4. This is where a magnetic drive comes in handy. The magnetic field of the earth and the sun are my inspirations for developing a conceptual magnetic drive field that can cancel out interstellar radiation. If you can generate a suffiecient enough field around a localized area, then you should be able to protect several ships from radiation exposure.

 

5. Space illnesses are not rare and they are just be documented. All I got to say is that McCoy was right, "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."- Star Trek (2009). Remember to keep a few doctors handy.

 

6. Psychology of human beings is very uneasy in space. It's not simply being lighter in weight (in my story, I actually borrowed J. Michael Straczynski Babylon 5 concept of centrifical force replicating gravity, the rotating Cylinder concept). Space psychology is just beginning to be conjectured, but I think there are as many issues of physical wellbeing as there are psychological issues. However, having a psychiatrist on staff would be handy.

 

 

The three major discoveries and advances are in the fields of: Anti-Particle generation, advances in nanotechnology, and applicational three dimensional holographic systems substituting desktops or laptops as the main way human beings access or work with computers, i.e. a true tactile interface.

[Daisy]

wow, very detailed response W.L.

I haven't really looked into it all that much. as much as I find it fasinating, physics was my 2nd worst subject at school after languages. i found it a bit difficult to understand.

 

that formula very well may be it .

 

it's one of the few things I remember from those classes.

[W_L]

It's been my hobby and fascination. I love space tech and theoretical physics/engineering.

[glomph]

Over time, then, the number of planets that can pick up "I Love Lucy" broadcasts increases as the signal becomes more diffused. That probably graphs into some sort of simple curve.

[JamesSavik]

We will someday be attacked by aliens offended by boradcasts of Mr. Ed.

 

 

Morbo is confused and angered by talking horse!