Filed under: Amazon, Astronomy, Fermi's Paradox, NASA, Predictions, Science, Science Fiction, SETI, Space, tech, Titan | Tags: Aliens, Amazon, astronomy, BETA, blogging, Communion of Dreams, Darnell Sidwell, exoplanets, Fermi's Paradox, jim downey, META, NASA, OSETI, Peter Dockrill, predictions, science, Science Alert, Science Fiction, Seth, SETI, space, technology, Wikipedia
Perhaps:
Earth could be unique among 700 quintillion planets in the Universe, study finds
So much of humanity’s astronomical research is based around the notion of finding something like us out there – whether that’s looking for environments that could sustain life, ranking planets in terms of their potential habitability, or comparing distant worlds to our own.
But what if – statistically speaking – the odds are stacked against us finding another planet even remotely like Earth? That’s the thinking behind a new study by an international team of researchers, which has taken what we know about the exoplanets that lie outside our Solar System and fed the data into a computer model.
Their resulting calculations, designed to simulate how galaxies and planets have formed over some 13.8 billion years, produces a “cosmic inventory” of terrestrial planets – and one in which Earth very much looks to be unique.
Jon nodded. “Thanks. So what’s the meeting about? What happened?”
“Dr. Jakobs tried to contact you this morning. After hearing her message, I bounced it up to Director Magurshak. They found something on Titan. An artifact.” Seth paused, looked down at his hands, “a nonhuman artifact.”
Jon sat there for a moment, trying to digest what Seth said. According to what pretty much everyone thought, it wasn’t possible. SETI, OSETI, META and BETA had pretty much settled that question for most scientists decades ago, and twenty years of settlement efforts throughout the solar system hadn’t changed anyone’s mind. Even with the Advanced Survey Array out at Titan Prime searching nearby systems for good settlement prospects, there had never been an indication that there was an intelligent, technologically advanced race anywhere within earshot. Seth knew Jon well, didn’t let the silence wait. He looked back up, eyes level and unblinking, “It isn’t a hoax. The artifact is definitely nonhuman, or at least non-contemporary human. Mr. Sidwell found it out near his base. Dr. Bradsen will have as much a report on it as is available, which isn’t much.”
Jim Downey
Communion Of Dreams 