June 15, 2012 - “Earth’s” Are Every Where: The formation of small worlds like Earth previously was thought to occur mostly around stars rich in heavy elements such as iron and silicon. However, new ground-based observations, combined with data collected by NASA’s Kepler space telescope, show small planets form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content and suggest they may be widespread in our galaxy.
Pictured above, a artist’s conception shows a newly formed star surrounded by a swirling protoplanetary disk of dust and gas. Debris coalesces to create rocky ‘planetesimals’ that collide and grow to eventually form planets. The results of this study show that small planets form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content, suggesting that their existence might be widespread in the galaxy. (Credit: University of Copenhagen/Lars Buchhave).
That means that life is probably prolific in the Universe and we are not alone. Isn’t it a little short-sighted to even think so in the first place? Follow the link below for the complete story.
The Master of Disaster
Small Planets Don’t Need ‘Heavy Metal’ Stars to Form – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
I’ve thought for a long time that there must be life outside of our little sphere. I think there are a number of reasons that we haven’t found sentients elsewhere. One, is obviously the distances involved. Second, and many might disagree with this, the more I dwell on it, the more I think that other sentient species must go through many of the same stages of development as we have. Not jist in our prehistory and history, but also in the psychological stages that each of us go through. This might make space travel rather difficult if they were to have the same proclivities as we have.