Privileged Planet: comparing solar systems (Introduction)

by dhw, Tuesday, February 02, 2016, 18:31 (3217 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Only six percent of ones seen are like ours and have gas giants like Jupiter:-http://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2016/01/31/solar-systems-like-ours-remain-sca...-QUOTE: "Solar systems like ours, in which Jupiter-like planets orbit their parent stars at Jupiter-like distances, remain scarce in the local stellar neighborhood, says an Australian-led team of astronomers."
 
David's comment: Our Earth is very different and very special, and it looks like our solar system is quite unusual, which fits the pattern that life needs a very special place to develop. The Earth is two-thirds of the way out on the second spiral arm, a quiet place in the Milky Way without too much radiation or explosions.
-Definitely different, definitely special. It makes you wonder why in heaven your God had to make all those billions of ordinary, same-old, non-special solar systems that don't seem to do anything for anyone. (Apparently they're all there for our sake, though only he knows why.) Or maybe...maybe...we just got lucky...


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