The Frontier Telegram

cozydark:

Free-Floating Planets in the Milky Way Outnumber Stars by Factors of Thousands: Life-Bearing Planets May Exist in Vast Numbers |
Researchers say life-bearing planets may exist in vast numbers in the space between stars in the Milky Way.
A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing Earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way. So argues an international team of scientists led by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, UK. Their findings are published online in the Springer journalAstrophysics and Space Science.
The scientists have proposed that these life-bearing planets originated in the early Universe within a few million years of the Big Bang, and that they make up most of the so-called “missing mass” of galaxies. The scientists calculate that such a planetary body would cross the inner solar system every 25 million years on the average and during each transit, zodiacal dust, including a component of the solar system’s living cells, becomes implanted at its surface. The free-floating planets would then have the added property of mixing the products of local biological evolution on a galaxy-wide scale.
Since 1995, when the first extrasolar planet was reported, interest in searching for planets has reached a feverish pitch. The 750 or so detections of exoplanets are all of planets orbiting stars, and very few, if any, have been deemed potential candidates for life. The possibility of a much larger number of planets was first suggested in earlier studies where the effects of gravitational lensing of distant quasars by intervening planet-sized bodies were measured. Recently several groups of investigators have suggested that a few billion such objects could exist in the galaxy. Wickramasinghe and team have increased this grand total of planets to a few hundred thousand billion (a few thousand for every Milky Way star) — each one harbouring the legacy of cosmic primordial life. continue reading

Free-Floating Planets in the Milky Way Outnumber Stars by Factors of Thousands: Life-Bearing Planets May Exist in Vast Numbers |

Researchers say life-bearing planets may exist in vast numbers in the space between stars in the Milky Way.

A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing Earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way. So argues an international team of scientists led by Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham, UK. Their findings are published online in the Springer journalAstrophysics and Space Science.

The scientists have proposed that these life-bearing planets originated in the early Universe within a few million years of the Big Bang, and that they make up most of the so-called “missing mass” of galaxies. The scientists calculate that such a planetary body would cross the inner solar system every 25 million years on the average and during each transit, zodiacal dust, including a component of the solar system’s living cells, becomes implanted at its surface. The free-floating planets would then have the added property of mixing the products of local biological evolution on a galaxy-wide scale.

Since 1995, when the first extrasolar planet was reported, interest in searching for planets has reached a feverish pitch. The 750 or so detections of exoplanets are all of planets orbiting stars, and very few, if any, have been deemed potential candidates for life. The possibility of a much larger number of planets was first suggested in earlier studies where the effects of gravitational lensing of distant quasars by intervening planet-sized bodies were measured. Recently several groups of investigators have suggested that a few billion such objects could exist in the galaxy. Wickramasinghe and team have increased this grand total of planets to a few hundred thousand billion (a few thousand for every Milky Way star) — each one harbouring the legacy of cosmic primordial life. continue reading

4 days ago -

26

Cute!

compendium-of-beasts:

Les souris blanches. (white mice)

via NYPL

(via scientificillustration)

2 weeks ago -

27

Is Science Just Another Opinion? - Sci/Tech - Blogcritics

My sentiments exactly. (The answer is “No, it isn’t just another opinion.”)

2 weeks ago

How thinking about death can lead to a good life

This article piqued my interest because it reminded me of an exercise in Erik Weigardt’s Stoic Handbook. As the philosophy of the Stoa is a philosophy of practical wisdom, where one applies to their lives what they learn in contemplation, rather than simply study it, there are a number of practical exercises with which a Stoic should take interest. As Epictetus put it:

…philosophers advise us not to be contented with mere learning, but to add meditation likewise, and then practice…. If, therefore, we do not likewise put into practice right opinions, we shall be nothing more than expositors of the abstract doctrines of others.

from Epictetus, Discourses II:10

One of the exercises that Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius both recommended was that of negative visualization. By contemplating the unfortunate things that could happen (realizing, of course, that actual “bad” is only in human will), we grow more aware of how much worse our station could be, and thus feel better about our current one. By visualizing the death of ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbors, and so on, we are better prepared to face with equanimity (and our healthy, natural emotions) these eventualities. Weigardt recommends it because:

Such an exercise prepares you mentally and emotionally for the changes in fortune that are a part of everyone’s life. To be prepared in this way softens the blow of losing what we most love, but even more incredibly it helps us to remember to be thankful for the blessings we have been given while they are still with us. Visualizing the death of a loved one should remind you to be thankful everyday that this person is still enriching your life. Be happy, count your blessings, and don’t forget to tell the loved one how much happiness they bring you.

So it makes sense as a practical exercise. This article from Science Daily shows that, aside from its purely rational basis, there is some empirical support for the benefit of thinking about death.

But the benefit of realistic thinking on the subject extends beyond the individual.”[…] experiments have replicated these and similar findings, showing that the awareness of death can motivate increased expressions of tolerance, egalitarianism, compassion, empathy, and pacifism.”

3 weeks ago

Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

3 weeks ago

cozydark:

Asteroid Craters On Earth Give Clues in Search for Life On Mars |

Craters made by asteroid impacts may be the best place to look for signs of life on other planets, a study suggests. Tiny organisms have been discovered thriving deep underneath a site in the US where an asteroid crashed some 35 million years ago.

Scientists believe that the organisms are evidence that such craters provide refuge for microbes, sheltering them from the effects of the changing seasons and events such as global warming or ice ages. continue reading

4 weeks ago -

4

Stoic’s College

Since my last time posting on this blog, I have taken an interest in Stoicism. Several times I had been told that the beliefs I hold, and the things I say, reminded people of Stoic thoughts.

I decided to investigate further, and discovered the online community of Stoics, New Stoa, which also is home of The College of Stoic Philosophers.

Originally named the Stoic Registry, New Stoa was founded in 1996 by Erik Wiegardt to provide a means for Stoics, or people interested in Stoicism around the world to meet in an online community. Wiegardt, an (almost) life-long Stoic, is still a major driving force in New Stoa, and has helped develop a modern study of Stoicism relevant to people today, and through the site, advocates putting Stoicism into practice. Among other things, New Stoa offers plenty of information on Stoicism, with whole books, such as the excellent introductory e-books by Erik Wiegardt (here, and here), and digitized collections of other works on the subject.

Intrigued, I signed up for the Stoic Essentials course at the college, and will begin studying Stoicism under a mentor in a matter of weeks (after I move to Portland, OR).

In the meantime, I have been studying Stoicism independently. I have read all of the books in the Stoic library except the Book of Doubt, which I will probably read last. I am very enthusiastic about what I have read. (Yes! Stoics can feel enthusiasm.)

For those of you not familiar with Stoicism, I recommend reading The Path of the Sage, or if that is too long, 32 Principle Doctrines. While this blog is not directly about Stoicism, I might be bringing it up from time to time to help better explain it and relate it to daily life.

1 month ago

Back, and “Rebranding”

Hello everyone!

I’ve been at a bit of a loss as to what to blog about. So, I’m rebranding my blog to make it both more personal and more broad. However, since space is still a big part of my life, and science as well, both will feature prominently.

Brendan

1 month ago

Look at the pattern this seashell makes. The dappled whorl, curving inward to infinity. That’s the shape of the universe itself. There’s a constant pressure, pushing toward pattern. A tendency in matter to evolve into ever more complex forms. It’s a kind of pattern gravity, a holy greening power we call viriditas, and it is the driving force in the cosmos. Life, you see.

Kim Stanley Robinson

Red Mars - Viriditas

(via themishaps)

4 months ago -

4

Russian Official Suggests Weapon Caused Exploration Spacecraft’s Failure

A scientific spacecraft whizzing out of control around the Earth may have failed because it was struck by some type of antisatellite weapon, the director of Russia’s space agency said.

4 months ago