by Kevin Coupe
This morning's "FaceTime" commentary was a bit of a downer, focusing on limitations. So I wanted the "Eye-Opener" to talk about possibilities.
I found the right stuff in a Washington Post story about how NASA scientists have announced the discovery of 1,284 new exoplanets in our galaxy - that is, 1,284 planetary bodies that have been found and confirmed by the Kepler Space Telescope with "99 percent certainty."
Furthermore, the Post writes that "of the newly confirmed planets, nine are thought to be rocky planets (like Earth, as opposed to gas giants or tiny worlds made of ice) in the habitable zone — meaning that they’re the right distance from their host stars to potentially host liquid water, a necessary ingredient for life as we know it ... As of today, NASA knows of 21 exoplanets that it considers likely to be rocky, potentially wet worlds. And based on Kepler data ... our galaxy probably has more than 10 billion rocky planets that live in the habitable zones of their stars."
Which I just think is cool ... and the numbers suggest a galaxy that is just bursting with possibility.
Is it time to make some sort of star trek? Maybe. Because the truth may well be out there.
It'd be an Eye-Opener.
This morning's "FaceTime" commentary was a bit of a downer, focusing on limitations. So I wanted the "Eye-Opener" to talk about possibilities.
I found the right stuff in a Washington Post story about how NASA scientists have announced the discovery of 1,284 new exoplanets in our galaxy - that is, 1,284 planetary bodies that have been found and confirmed by the Kepler Space Telescope with "99 percent certainty."
Furthermore, the Post writes that "of the newly confirmed planets, nine are thought to be rocky planets (like Earth, as opposed to gas giants or tiny worlds made of ice) in the habitable zone — meaning that they’re the right distance from their host stars to potentially host liquid water, a necessary ingredient for life as we know it ... As of today, NASA knows of 21 exoplanets that it considers likely to be rocky, potentially wet worlds. And based on Kepler data ... our galaxy probably has more than 10 billion rocky planets that live in the habitable zones of their stars."
Which I just think is cool ... and the numbers suggest a galaxy that is just bursting with possibility.
Is it time to make some sort of star trek? Maybe. Because the truth may well be out there.
It'd be an Eye-Opener.
- KC's View:
