54 potential life-sustaining planets

[Kae]

This makes me so happy and sad at the same time, the possibility that there may be at least 1 habitable planet among those 54 fills me with joy, but the fact that if there are habitable planets I won't be able to see them feels me with sadness. Still pretty damn exciting!
And what's with my family I just told everyone and nobody even cared, how do they not find this exciting?!

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Bloody Core. Virgil can sustain the pressures and heat of the core of the Earth, but not falling Boulders?


Right, on to life -

Measurements of life as they are on Earth are what is being used to measure the probabilities of life on other planets.
Not without good reason - we haven't found any life other than how life has formed on Earth - but that there is no reason to believe that our Carbon-based life form, as it is on Earth, is the only way life could have formed.

A silicon-heavy planet, for example, could have silicon-based life forms. It could also have heavy elements of Arsenic, which they consume with wild abandon.

Concieving of human-esque level (Ie sentient, macro)is not easy for the reason that we don't know what other possible conditions could create life.
We just don't.

You know the funniest thing is that a silicon based lifeform that would mirror our animals on this planet would shit wet sand <.<

Though I don't buy silicon based life .... I mean silicon based life = Silicon photosynthesising plants o.o And silicates don't act like that x.x Of course I suppose you could have silicon-based bacterium? I just can't see a silicon based complex multicellular creature though.

 

[Double A]

I can just see this coming:

>54 possibly inhabitable planets
>54 possibly inhabited planets
>54 inhabited planets
>54 planets we need to nuke

 

[Custard_Angel]

First of all, I have never bought into the "if the physical constants were a little different...". Sure there are permutations where the universe can't exist and where life can't exist but I don't buy this is the only one where life can exist. Now, I am not sure you understand just how big space is. We have found unicellular life on Mars and theorized it on Io. Two or three planets in the solar system is pretty big(one is even out of the habitable zone!). There are somewhere between 100-400 billion stars in the Milky way(oldest known one is 13.2 billion years). Now, estimates vary between 100-500 billion galaxies in the universe. Now, lets say that 1000th of those stars have planets and 1 in 1,000,000 of those planets can even have unicellular life. Just for kicks lets take the lower bound of the estimates. That brings us to about 1e13 planets. Out of all of those planets, not even two can sustain the most simplistic life for more than a few million years?

Life on Mars?

I think you have that a bit confused... Methane was found on Mars which MAY suggest that there could once have been the presence of life. Or... You know... It could have just spontaneously generated. What's more likely? That methane spontaneously generated or that life spontaneously generated?

You're talking about incredibly huge numbers and incredibly small odds. Think about the magnitude difference between a unicellular organism and an individual methane molecule. What's more likely?

Also, theorised life on Io? That's some cement evidence right there if I ever heard it.

Know what? Fuck it. Life in the universe? Sure. Whatever. It's somewhere 1 quadrillion light years away and the idea that there will ever be evidence of it is laughable. So... What does it matter?

 

[Bohemian Waltz]

Know what? Fuck it. Life in the universe? Sure. Whatever. It's somewhere 1 quadrillion light years away and the idea that there will ever be evidence of it is laughable. So... What does it matter?

Either way the diameter of the observable universe is only in the low-billions of light years. Speculating on what is outside that is pretty difficult, but statistically there is probably life somewhere between us and that imaginary line so I'd put money on it being closer than 1 quadrillion light years away.

Not to be nit picky or anything.

 

[Jazoni89]

I can just see this coming:

>54 possibly inhabitable planets
>54 possibly inhabited planets
>54 inhabited planets
>54 planets we need to nuke

Add 54 planets that America now owns.

because...yknow, America needs to own everything these days.

 

[Double A]

I can just see this coming:

>54 possibly inhabitable planets
>54 possibly inhabited planets
>54 inhabited planets
>54 planets we need to nuke

Add 54 planets that America now owns.

because...yknow, America needs to own everything these days.

Maybe we could use them for cheap workforce.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

It's only a matter of time before we find the Mass Relays. Then nothing will be able to save us from...him

None of us will be safe...except perhaps out women.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Shit, I forgot about this.

We need an Eldar equivalent species!

So... we need a race that is so decadant and corrupt it engages in a 10,000 year orgy that stops interplanetary travel, thins the barriers between realspace awakening psychic abilities in humans, making us vulnerable to possesion by warp entities, turns a large part of the galaxy into a screaming vortex of madness and death and caused a 33% increase in the Galaxies major chaos god quotient? The Eldar fucked EVERYTHING! It is all their fault. All of it. Humanity was #1 (well, technically, seeing as the Eldar weren't playing) and doing very nicely before those cocks dropped the ball. We need an Eldar equivalent like we need a gate to hell in every toilet bowl on the planet.

OT: Well, might find things work on 1 of those planets, it's a long shot but then so are we.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Shit, I forgot about this.

We need an Eldar equivalent species!

So... we need a race that is so decadant and corrupt it engages in a 10,000 year orgy that stops interplanetary travel, thins the barriers between realspace awakening psychic abilities in humans, making us vulnerable to possesion by warp entities, turns a large part of the galaxy into a screaming vortex of madness and death and caused a 33% increase in the Galaxies major chaos god quotient? The Eldar fucked EVERYTHING! It is all their fault. All of it. Humanity was #1 (well, technically, seeing as the Eldar weren't playing) and doing very nicely before those cocks dropped the ball. We need an Eldar equivalent like we need a gate to hell in every toilet bowl on the planet.

OT: Well, might find things work on 1 of those planets, it's a long shot but then so are we.

YES, you get it. We need an intergalactic, snobbish, 'all knowing,' prcik race to shoot at.

And if they bring the intergalactic apocalypse, than so be it!

Besides, if this comes to pass... we get to have a space Jesus!

Crucifixion can suck it!

 

[Amphoteric]

Distance from sun: Check.
Atmosphere: ?
Magnetic Fields: ?
Shielded from astral projectiles: ?
Presence of elements required for life: ?
Proper gravity for sustaining life: ?

I'd be surprised if even one had all the requirements for sustaining life.

The bolded ones seem like they could vary, like some species could develop to withstand a higher gravity or survive off different elements, like say a species that thrives off sulfuric acid, and why a magnetic field?

No magnetic field = No atmosphere.

The magnetic field deflects solar wind stopping it from ripping our atmospheere away. It is thought that Mars' iron core solidified and that was the reason for it drying out.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

YES, you get it. We need an intergalactic, snobbish, 'all knowing,' prcik race to shoot at.

And if they bring the intergalactic apocalypse, than so be it!

Besides, if this comes to pass... we get to have a space Jesus!

*SNIP*

Crucifixion can suck it!

While I am quite happy to shoot at the snobby all knowing pricks that ruined it for everyone I think that, weighing up the pros and cons, things would have been decidedly better had the space apocalypse not come to pass, space Jesus or no. He's not even that great. I mean his time would have been better spent persuading the Eldar to not to cock everything up and prepping humanity to weather the storm if the Eldar still fucked it. I mean, at least store a complete working STC system in a cave or something. Anyway, I'm getting very off topic now, so I'll stop.

 

[Josh123914]

First of all, I have never bought into the "if the physical constants were a little different...". Sure there are permutations where the universe can't exist and where life can't exist but I don't buy this is the only one where life can exist. Now, I am not sure you understand just how big space is. We have found unicellular life on Mars and theorized it on Io. Two or three planets in the solar system is pretty big(one is even out of the habitable zone!). There are somewhere between 100-400 billion stars in the Milky way(oldest known one is 13.2 billion years). Now, estimates vary between 100-500 billion galaxies in the universe. Now, lets say that 1000th of those stars have planets and 1 in 1,000,000 of those planets can even have unicellular life. Just for kicks lets take the lower bound of the estimates. That brings us to about 1e13 planets. Out of all of those planets, not even two can sustain the most simplistic life for more than a few million years?

Life on Mars?

I think you have that a bit confused... Methane was found on Mars which MAY suggest that there could once have been the presence of life. Or... You know... It could have just spontaneously generated. What's more likely? That methane spontaneously generated or that life spontaneously generated?

You're talking about incredibly huge numbers and incredibly small odds. Think about the magnitude difference between a unicellular organism and an individual methane molecule. What's more likely?

Also, theorised life on Io? That's some cement evidence right there if I ever heard it.

Know what? Fuck it. Life in the universe? Sure. Whatever. It's somewhere 1 quadrillion light years away and the idea that there will ever be evidence of it is laughable. So... What does it matter?

Hi, sorry to butt in but I think I read somewhere that they found life on Mars, it was basically dead bacteria and dated back like 3 billion years

 

[crudus]

Life on Mars?

I think you have that a bit confused... Methane was found on Mars which MAY suggest that there could once have been the presence of life. Or... You know... It could have just spontaneously generated. What's more likely? That methane spontaneously generated or that life spontaneously generated?

You're talking about incredibly huge numbers and incredibly small odds. Think about the magnitude difference between a unicellular organism and an individual methane molecule. What's more likely?

Also, theorised life on Io? That's some cement evidence right there if I ever heard it.

Know what? Fuck it. Life in the universe? Sure. Whatever. It's somewhere 1 quadrillion light years away and the idea that there will ever be evidence of it is laughable. So... What does it matter?

Actually, I would put my money on neither "spontaneously generated"(what with laws of thermodynamics being violated) but that is nit picking. I more mean the <a href=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/marslife.html>meteorites that landed on Earth from Mars with evidence of life. Also yes, <a href=http://www.physorg.com/news195411129.html>theorized life on Io. People also look at Europa; I missed that one originally. I do agree I am talking about big numbers and maybe low chances, but I also under exaggerated those big numbers and those chances don't appear to be that low.

Either way the diameter of the observable universe is only in the low-billions of light years.

And growing

No magnetic field = No atmosphere.

The magnetic field deflects solar wind stopping it from ripping our atmospheere away. It is thought that Mars' iron core solidified and that was the reason for it drying out.

That is not true at all. Mars has an atmosphere but no magnetic field. An atmosphere is just gas that stays around a planet because of gravity. I will agree that the lack of a magnetic field really hurts the chances of life being sustained on a planet.

Distance from sun: Check.
Atmosphere: ?
Magnetic Fields: ?
Shielded from astral projectiles: ?
Presence of elements required for life: ?
Proper gravity for sustaining life: ?

I'd be surprised if even one had all the requirements for sustaining life.

Even we don't we aren't shielded from astral projectiles. I also don't think there is a sign that says "your gravity must be at least this high and this low for life". I also am not sure if a magnetic field is 100% required for life, just really helpful.

 

[Amphoteric]

Life on Mars?

I think you have that a bit confused... Methane was found on Mars which MAY suggest that there could once have been the presence of life. Or... You know... It could have just spontaneously generated. What's more likely? That methane spontaneously generated or that life spontaneously generated?

You're talking about incredibly huge numbers and incredibly small odds. Think about the magnitude difference between a unicellular organism and an individual methane molecule. What's more likely?

Also, theorised life on Io? That's some cement evidence right there if I ever heard it.

Know what? Fuck it. Life in the universe? Sure. Whatever. It's somewhere 1 quadrillion light years away and the idea that there will ever be evidence of it is laughable. So... What does it matter?

Actually, I would put my money on neither "spontaneously generated"(what with laws of thermodynamics being violated) but that is nit picking. I more mean the <a href=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/marslife.html>meteorites that landed on Earth from Mars with evidence of life. Also yes, <a href=http://www.physorg.com/news195411129.html>theorized life on Io. People also look at Europa; I missed that one originally. I do agree I am talking about big numbers and maybe low chances, but I also under exaggerated those big numbers and those chances don't appear to be that low.

Either way the diameter of the observable universe is only in the low-billions of light years.

And growing

No magnetic field = No atmosphere.

The magnetic field deflects solar wind stopping it from ripping our atmospheere away. It is thought that Mars' iron core solidified and that was the reason for it drying out.

That is not true at all. Mars has an atmosphere but no magnetic field. An atmosphere is just gas that stays around a planet because of gravity. I will agree that the lack of a magnetic field really hurts the chances of life being sustained on a planet.

Its 100 times less dense than earths.

 

[Lilani]

Aren't they only basing this on the potential for carbon-based life, though? And didn't we just recently discover that bacteria can live off of arsenic, too? I think that there is plenty of potential for life on plenty of other planets.

Intelligent life, though. That is a different story entirely.

 

[crudus]

Its 100 times less dense than earths.

And a tenth of the mass of Earth

 

[ArianaUO321]

This thread is just one more kick in the face, because it just reminds me that our oh-so-wise government just recently canceled any further manned space missions in the foreseeable future. In the process crushing my dreams of landing astronauts on Mars within my lifetime.

Oh how I wish these any one of these 54 potential life-sustaining planets could be reached by us...

Though in all seriousness, if we did land on one of them, I wouldn't be surprised if we pissed off more than a few people in the process, because I'm sure quite a few of them are not only capable of sustaining life, but are already colonized by other species. Or possibly even the homeworld of another sentient species.

 

[Wolfram23]

I'm just waiting for the probes to get us some information on the moon Europa, which is an ice ball and there's a very good chance of finding evidence of micro organisms below the surface.

That would be within our own solar system mind you.