Is our solar system weird (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, May 03, 2016, 23:48 (3125 days ago) @ David Turell


> > dhw: As regards this new article, “relatively rare” is a nicely relative expression, as indeed is “very unusual”. You wrote: “Note the entry of Tuesday, February 02, 2016, 05:40 where it is shown only 6% of solar systems have some resemblance to ours.” Some scientists reckon there could be as many as 100 billion solar systems in our galaxy alone. My highly sophisticated abacus suggests that 6% of 100 billion is 6 thousand million. Messrs Frank and Sullivan estimate ten billion trillion in the universe. (My researchers can't confirm that, I'm afraid. Lost count somewhere between 12 and 20.) 6% of that would give us…six multiplied by a thousand million divided by...multiplied by…enough potentially life-supporting solar systems to make the expression “very unusual” well worth a giggle. - The relatively rare comment is directed at what we see in this galaxy. You assume that all galaxies are similar. But we see spiral (ours), elliptical, and irregular: ragged and clumped types. Do they each have solar systems like ours? We cannot know. All we do know is that life is allowed.