jtotheizzoe:

Billions and Billions … of Planets

There are infinite worlds both like and unlike this world of ours. For the atoms being infinite in number, as was already proven, (…) there nowhere exists an obstacle to the infinite number of worlds. - Epicurus (341-270 B.C.)

Where is everybody? - Fermi’s Paradox, ca. 1950

In a universe of infinite possibilities, everything is not only possible, it’s probable. Of course, the universe isn’t really infinite. But in certain respects, it is big enough and contains so many of certain “things” that what is possible begins to get awfully close to what is probable.

So it is with planets, and perhaps life outside of our solar system.

But first, the news! NASA has announced its newest estimate for the number of planets in the Milky Way galaxy. Based on observations of a known system of extrasolar planets (those outside our own solar system), they determined there are at least 100 billion planets in our galaxy. At least. That means there is perhaps one planet for every star! That number doesn’t even take into account the existence of forever-alone rogue planets, wandering lifeless and free of warm parent stars.

Which brings us back to Fermi’s Paradox. Lower estimates say there are ~2 x 10¹¹  stars in the Milky Way (200 billion). If we do some more extrapolation and guesstimation, we can say there are roughly 7 x 10²² stars in the known universe … 70 thousand million million million stars. If most galaxies are like the Milky Way, then that means each star would have one planet, on average. Now let’s say that a tiny fraction of those are at the right distance from their stars and composed of the right stuff and subject to a host of other perfect conditions, and they may be capable of supporting life. That’s still a ridiculously huge number.

So where is everyone?! It stands to reason, by odds and probability, that after 13.7 billion years of cosmic evolution we can’t be the sole special case in which that perfect storm of cosmic ingredients came together to produce life. That’s what bugged Fermi, and in a way, Epicurus before him.

NASA’s Kepler project continues to identify and track extrasolar planets, accompanied by occasional announcements of Earthiness. Yet what we have discovered is a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the planets in but our galaxy. the odds of any of them harboring life is immensely small, while the chance that life exists somewhere remains likely … to people like me, anyway. 

To say that Earth is unique in the universe would be to say that one grain of sand on Earth (~10¹⁸ of them, by the way) is somehow more special than all the others. Of course, if we asked the grain of sand, it might say “Yes, I am special!” because it is the best grain of sand it knows of. So it is with us, waiting alone in the “biggitude” of it all, to find out if we’re special.

At Least One in Six Stars Has an Earth-sized Planet

itsfullofstars:

via propagandery:

A possible Bracewell Probe discovered in 1991 will return in 2017. Let’s make it the next apocalypse to look forward to.

A Bracewell probe is a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellarspace probe dispatched for the express purpose of communication with one or more alien civilizations. It was proposed by Ronald N. Bracewell in a 1960 paper, as an alternative to interstellar radio communication between widely separated civilizations.

A Bracewell probe would be constructed as an autonomous robotic interstellar space probe with a high level of artificial intelligence, and all relevant information that its home civilization might wish to communicate to another culture. It would seek out technological civilizations–or alternatively monitor worlds where there is a likelihood of technological civilizations arising–and communicate over “short” distances (compared to the interstellar distances between inhabited worlds) once it discovered a civilization that meets its contact criteria. It would make its presence known, carry out a dialogue with the contacted culture, and presumably communicate the results of its encounter to its place of origin. In essence, such probes would act as an autonomous local representative of their home civilization and would act as the point of contact between the cultures.

[source]

1991 VG

1991 VG is a Near-Earth object discovered by American astronomer James Scotti on 6 November 1991. Due to its unusual orbit and rapid variation in brightness, there was early speculation that it could be a man-made or even extraterrestrial object.

The uncertainty of the object’s origin, combined with rapid variation in the object’s brightness in images obtained during its close passage with Earth in early December 1991, led to some speculation that 1991 VG might be artificial in origin… Some even went so far as to suggest the possibility that it might be an extraterrestrial object such as a Bracewell probe, because its orbital path did not closely match any known man-made spacecraft or rocket bodies. Dr. Duncan Steel suggested extraterrestrial origin in an article in The Observatory.

[source]

Its very Earth-like orbit and observations of rapid brightness fluctuations argued for it being an artificial body rather than an asteroid. None of the handful of man-made rocket bodies left in heliocentric orbits during the space age have purely gravitational orbits returning to the Earth at that time. In addition, the small perigee distance observed might be interpreted as an indicator of a controlled rather than a random encounter with the Earth, and thus it might be argued that 1991 VG is a candidate as an alien probe observed in the vicinity of our planet.

[source]

Now, to spin this into a fun apocalyptic scenario, let’s assume it’s not benign but a Berserker Probe:

A variant of the self-replicating starship is the Berserker. Unlike the benign probe concept, Berserkers are programmed to seek out and exterminate lifeforms and life-bearing exoplanets whenever they are encountered.

[source]

Happy Post-Apocalypse Day, Everyone!

Triangle UFOs: 30 November days yields 86 domestic reports

I just finished watching the documentary ‘Out of the Blue’ and you should watch it too. Listen to retired high-ranking military personnel, government officials, scientists and other extremely credible witnesses talking about their experiences with UFOs. I know this is a long video (1.5h) but believe me, after watching it even the most skeptical mind will be convinced that we’re NOT alone in the universe AND that we’re purposely left in the dark.

Note that this documentary is also available on Netflix if you want to watch it in high quality. Watch it. You owe it to yourself.

The problem with UFO ‘reporters’

I don’t often post on this blog. I can assure you, it’s not because it’s dead. It’s because among all the UFO ‘news’ I run into, most is total and utter BULLSHIT. And I refuse to post anything that doesn’t look at least somewhat plausible. This high bullshit level is doing a serious disservice to the truth movement striving towards full disclosure of the fact that we’re not alone in the universe. A prime example I found last week was this story on UFO Blogger which is one of the largest sites I know of in the field. For a while I was already wondering what purpose this site really has. It laces UFO ‘news’ with the most insane conspiracy theories in areas that have absolutely nothing to do with extraterrestrials. Last week however I found something that really ticked me off. The title of the article reads “Mars UFO : NASA Spirit Rover Spotted UFO On Mars”. Wow, I thought. That sounds interesting. Until I saw the ‘evidence’ they were providing. First they find these specs on a photo taken by the Mars Curiosity rover: which they then try to ‘enhance’, revealing this: A jet fighter. On mars. Really, I kid you not. I tried to truthfully analyze the image myself and I can guarantee you, there’s no possible enhancement in Photoshop that will lead from the first image to the second without doing some seriously ‘artistic’ painting. And believe me, I know Photoshop. I’ve used it since version 2.0. UFO Blogger’s three possible conclusions:

1. Spirit photographed UFO.
2. Spirit spotted NASA secret interplanetary aircraft (X-40 updated version) on mars.
3. NASA rover Spirit never went to mars but was operating near coastline.When Spirit photographed the area, it incidentally also photographed the plane while flying over that area.

My conclusion: You guys manipulated this photo for sensation value and hits. The fact that a comment I tried to post on the site to point this out was not approved only underlines the validity of my conclusion. UFO Blogger: You SUCK. And you probably know it. I’m guessing the ads are making you a decent amount of money eh?

Roswell UFO Was Not Of This Earth And There Were ET Cadavers: Ex-CIA Agent Says

President Eisenhower had three secret meetings with aliens, former Pentagon consultant claims