We’re fortunate indeed to live in an age of discovery. Consider this continually updated list of all the planets that astronomers have discovered outside of our solar system to date, sorted by date of discovery since the 1990’s. (You can filter or resort it by other criteria.) Truly amazing, and more so every year.
Archive for the ‘future visions’ Category
453 extrasolar planets, and counting
Posted in future visions, physical sciences on June 3, 2010|
Progress on the Drake equation
Posted in physical sciences, well-founded visions on April 22, 2009|
The Drake equation (named after the astronomer who first wrote it) proposes a way to estimate the number of alien civilizations in our galaxy with which we might communicate. The estimate is the product of a bunch of very poorly known factors. These include the fraction of stars with planets and the fraction of those planets conducive to life. Astronomers are making great progress in discovering planets outside our solar system, which is intrinsically important and also may bear on these factors in the Drake equation. For example, a new report described by the Royal Astronomical Society seems to show that more than one in a hundred white dwarf stars have some asteroids or rocky planets that would give rise to infrared light detected by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Since white dwarf stars are one of the likely endpoints of stellar evolution, this fact may provide a minimum for the number of ordinary hydrogen-burning stars that have rocky “terrestrial” planets. One of the study’s authors suggests the answer is at least 1% to 3%.
A new great university?
Posted in current events, future visions, knowledge as a value on March 29, 2008| Leave a Comment »
Could the Arabian peninsula awake from its long medieval slumber? Perhaps so! An optimistic sign is the serious thought and great resources being put behind a new university in Saudi Arabia: KAUST. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology starts with a laudable burst of optimism and good intentions for world service and the advancement of knowledge, in a video vision statement. World-class academics and universities are lending a hand in starting up KAUST. The real test of a Saudi Arabian university will be whether it promotes advances in science and the frontiers of fundamental knowledge , rather than simply training engineers for industry. We can be optimistic about this new university.
A study of interstellar communication
Posted in brief postings, well-founded visions on January 5, 2008| Leave a Comment »
A recent theoretical study of interstellar communication yielded a fundamental argument for the advantages of relatively slow mass exchange (like package delivery) over radio or other speed-of-light communications, based on a lower energy cost for information transmission. A popular summary is also available.
The known universe just grew
Posted in history, inspiration, physical sciences, well-founded visions on December 24, 2007| Leave a Comment »
Our knowledge of the geography of the universe grew a great deal over the past few years. A wonderful web atlas, capable of zooming in or out over many powers of ten, is available here (and mirrored here).
My favorite view shows the nearest superclusters . This is where some science fiction stories and games of exploration should be set. Much closer to home is a map showing the Orion arm of our galaxy, and another 3D map showing our immediate neighborhood.
More detailed and recent views are available in the professional literature, for example here.
The Cogniverse 