• Researchers say galaxy may swarm with 'nomad planets'
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[IMG]http://cdnn.techiezine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/physorg-app.png[/IMG] [release][B]Our galaxy may be awash in homeless planets, wandering through space instead of orbiting a star. [/B]In fact, there may be 100,000 more "nomad planets" in the Milky Way than stars, according to a new study by researchers at the Kavli Institute for[URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/particle+astrophysics/"]Particle Astrophysics[/URL] and Cosmology (KIPAC), a joint institute of Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. If observations confirm the estimate,[B] this new class of [URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/celestial+objects/"]celestial objects[/URL] will affect current theories of [URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/planet+formation/"]planet formation[/URL] and could change our understanding of the origin and abundance of life.[/B] "If any of these nomad planets are big enough to have a thick atmosphere, they could have trapped enough heat for bacterial life to exist," said Louis Strigari, leader of the team that reported the result in a paper submitted to the[I][URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/monthly+notices+of+the+royal+astronomical+society/"]Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society[/URL][/I]. Although nomad planets don't bask in the warmth of a star, they may generate heat through internal [URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/radioactive+decay/"]radioactive decay[/URL] and tectonic activity. Searches over the past two decades have identified more than 500 [URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/planets+outside+our+solar+system/"]planets outside our solar system[/URL], almost all of which orbit stars. Last year, researchers detected about a dozen nomad planets, using a technique called[URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/gravitational+microlensing/"]gravitational microlensing[/URL], which looks for stars whose light is momentarily refocused by the gravity of passing planets. [B]The research produced evidence that roughly two nomads exist for every typical, so-called main-sequence star in our galaxy. The new study estimates that nomads may be up to 50,000 times more common than that.[/B] To arrive at what Strigari himself called "an astronomical number," the KIPAC team took into account the known gravitational pull of the [URL="http://www.physorg.com/tags/milky+way+galaxy/"]Milky Way galaxy[/URL], the amount of matter available to make such objects and how that matter might divvy itself up into objects ranging from the size of Pluto to larger than Jupiter. Not an easy task, considering no one is quite sure how these bodies form. According to Strigari, some were probably ejected from solar systems, but research indicates that not all of them could have formed in that fashion. "To paraphrase Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, if correct, this extrapolation implies that we are not in Kansas anymore, and in fact we never were in Kansas," said Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science, author of The Crowded Universe: The Search for Living Planets, who was not involved in the research. "The universe is riddled with unseen planetary-mass objects that we are just now able to detect." A good count, especially of the smaller objects, will have to wait for the next generation of big survey telescopes, especially the space-based Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope and the ground-based Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, both set to begin operation in the early 2020s. A confirmation of the estimate could lend credence to another possibility mentioned in the paper – that as nomad planets roam their starry pastures, collisions could scatter their microbial flocks to seed life elsewhere. "Few areas of science have excited as much popular and professional interest in recent times as the prevalence of life in the universe," said co-author and KIPAC Director Roger Blandford. "What is wonderful is that we can now start to address this question quantitatively by seeking more of these erstwhile planets and asteroids wandering through interstellar space, and then speculate about hitchhiking bugs." Additional authors included KIPAC member Matteo Barnabè and affiliate KIPAC member Philip Marshall of Oxford University. The research was supported by NASA, the National Science Foundation and the Royal Astronomical Society. [I]Provided by Stanford University ([URL="http://www.physorg.com/partners/stanford-university/"]news[/URL] : [URL="http://www.stanford.edu/"]web[/URL])[/I][/release] [URL="http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-galaxy-swarm-nomad-planets.html"]Source[/URL]
Poor planets, all alone with no star :(
I think this would be somewhat obvious due to the fact we already know our very own solar system when it was young had dozens of planets orbiting at one point, Im sure many other solar systems went through a similar process it is bound for a planet or two to get knocked out of the solar system with the fact of many planets forming and orbiting in an early star system.
Before people say "but wat if one of dem crashes into earth world war iii nwo one world government illuminati?", I would like to point out that the galaxy is, in fact, very large. The chances of a planet specifically crashing into Earth is about as high as two gnats on the opposite sides of the world colliding with each other.
[QUOTE=LiquidNazgul;34836169]Before people say "but wat if one of dem crashes into earth world war iii nwo one world government illuminati?", I would like to point out that the galaxy is, in fact, very large. The chances of a planet specifically crashing into Earth is about as high as two gnats on the opposite sides of the world colliding with each other.[/QUOTE] [h2]BUT IT STILL COULD BE POSSIBLE! RUN AND PANIC! RUN AND PANIC! RUN AND PANIC! RUN AND PANIC![/h2]
[QUOTE=LiquidNazgul;34836169]Before people say "but wat if one of dem crashes into earth world war iii nwo one world government illuminati?", I would like to point out that the galaxy is, in fact, very large. The chances of a planet specifically crashing into Earth is about as high as two gnats on the opposite sides of the world colliding with each other.[/QUOTE]yeah, but Nibiru :(
[QUOTE=Triumph Forks;34836323]yeah, but Nibiru :([/QUOTE] [url=http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm352/UN-Spacy/BARE.png]Made this for you[/url]
It reminds me of when bender was floating through space that time. Sad thought.
My planet beats yours.
I thought this was common knowledge. I mean come on, it's a miracle enough that planets are able to maintain a stable orbit, surely there is a huge number out of there who have failed this initiation and are now doomed to collide into stars, black holes, other planets, or even go into empty space (the void between galaxies).
Get a job you lazy gypsie planets
These planets ain't even mad when wandering around the space without orbiting a star.
Fucking great. If it isn't the pikey's in the empty lot down the street, now I have whole fucking planets to be concerned about.
They've got no main, no reserve.
Forever alone planet :L -snip image meme :P-
[QUOTE=Hardpoint Nomad;34836850]My planet beats yours.[/QUOTE] oh god he's taking over the galaxy aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
One of these would make an awesome setting for sci-fi horror story.
Homeless planets? This galaxy's welfare sucks!
[QUOTE=Camundongo;34837732]One of these would make an awesome setting for sci-fi horror story.[/QUOTE] Meloncholia
[QUOTE=LiquidNazgul;34836169]Before people say "but wat if one of dem crashes into earth world war iii nwo one world government illuminati?", I would like to point out that the galaxy is, in fact, very large. The chances of a planet specifically crashing into Earth is about as high as two gnats on the opposite sides of the world colliding with each other.[/QUOTE] But then again if you think about it, it's so large and so full that the chances are very high. Anything from any direction could come through at anytime FROM ANYWHERE. GOD. DAMNIT!
Damn gypsies. find your own star system!
So without a star, this means no light... all I can think of now is a planet full of those things from pitch black.
Good luck landing on one.
[QUOTE=LiquidNazgul;34836169]Before people say "but wat if one of dem crashes into earth world war iii nwo one world government illuminati?", I would like to point out that the galaxy is, in fact, very large. The chances of a planet specifically crashing into Earth is about as high as two gnats on the opposite sides of the world colliding with each other.[/QUOTE] To be fair it doesn't necessarily have to hit the planet. If a sufficiently sized "Nomad" planet enters the Oort Cloud it may be enough to redirect a few comets into the inner system. Although its still unlikely that the comets will hit the Earth, it raises the chance of one doing so significantly.
Jeez I though this was about the Galaxy phone :v: But this is 100 times better, space never stops being so cool.
[QUOTE=LiquidNazgul;34836426][url=http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm352/UN-Spacy/BARE.png]Made this for you[/url][/QUOTE] perfect, i'll make this the cover of my upcoming book, I'll even send you an autographed copy
OH GOD OH GOD, THEY'RE GOING TO STEAL ALL OUR SOLAR SYSTEM'S TAX LIGHT! QUICK DEPORT THEM!
Space-Obama really dropped the ball on this one.
Even if these planets are outside away from a star, the chances of life are second to none since life as we know it requires some sort of heat energy, and thus life cannot continue on this planet give that the life forms need heat to live.
they're tomb worlds
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